Lago Titikaka - Puno's saving grace

Almost missed the bus to Puno. Went to the bus station with Marleny (she’d adopted me – her golden goose presumably) and we found the bus leaving the bay. Marleny (bless her) ran for some 200m with my big suitcase while I brought up the rear. Made it with a lot of huffing and puffing (becoming par for the course in Peru). Then it was a 7 hour ride to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titikaka – through typically Indian scenes. Green fields with cows and oxen; shepherds with scrawny sheep; the occasional dusty little town and the ubiquitous painted slogans on kuccha brick walls for everything from Inka Cola to posters for local municipal candidates. Not to mention scrawny dogs running after the bus and vendors peddling everything from water to cheap wafers everytime the bus stopped anywhere. The bus (semi-cama) boasted a toilet – but it was stinking and there was no water; just plastic bags and tetrapaks stuffed into the basin. Felt right at home!

Arrived at Puno at around 4pm – and felt instantly depressed. Puno is a ghastly town with not a single redeeming feature. All the houses have an outer wall of exposed brick; as if the entire town is still yet to be finished. And then there are these coils of overhead wires festooned on every street and rooftop. The market was dry and dusty and the veggies all covered with a layer of dust. The bus terminal wasn’t brick-walled but being painted a blotchy blue didn’t exactly help the aesthetics of the place. The only saving grace was the sparkling blue waters of Lake Titikaka beside the ugly sprawl.

Marleny had transferred the goose to Giovanna (pronounced Yobana). She picked me up at the bus terminal, took me to the hotel, showed me a number of tour options and got me into my first (hopefully last) con of the trip. She charged me USD25 for a day trip on the lake that I later discovered cost half that amount. After giving her a blasting on the phone (she offered to come to the hotel and explain but curiously enough, never showed up after that!), I wandered around the central part of Puno. It is touristy but looked nice (compared to the rest of Puno that is). Early to bed for another early day tomorrow on the lake.