NEVER AGAIN!

More Inca ruins? YAWN!
see all photos »

We thought a 3-day trip to Lake Titicaca would be a fun way to pass our time in Peru.  After all, what is more fun to say than "Titicaca"?  Plus it is the highest navigable lake in the world, which is an interesting (but confusing) fact.  What does that really mean?

We booked our tour with an agent in Cusco, who promised us an exciting 9-hour bus trip to the town of Puno with several stops along the way at historic ruins, etc.  More like a 9-hour bus trip with several stops at tourist traps where vendors try to sell you more crap made out of alpaca, overpriced Snickers bars, and other tourist trappings.  And a very dull guide.

Once again we boarded the world´s slowest boat

Guinea pigs getting ready for slaughter. Seriously, they eat them here.
see all photos »

Finally, we arrived in the city of Puno and checked into our rather skanky hotel.  Immediately we headed out and about in search of dinner.  As we walked along the main tourist drag, we noticed many large groups of police - usually 5 of them standing together.  Not sure if the police presence made us feel safe, or if we should have been worried about our safety.  Anyway, we found a nice little place and had a pizza for dinner, washed down with some free vino tinto.

Floating reed villages on Lake Titicaca.
see all photos »

On Day 2 we took the world´s slowest boat out to visit the famous floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca.  They were interesting, but once again very touristy.  We had the "opportunity" to buy more sweaters/hats/gloves/bracelets/carved gourds/pipes/mobiles/crap from about 8 different vendors set up on one itty-bitty island.  Then the women inhabitants stood in a row and sang songs for us so we could take pictures of them.  Quite honestly, it made me a bit uncomfortable.

Kids on floating reed island
see all photos »

Once again we boarded the world´s slowest boat for an additional 3-hour ride to the island of.....oh I don`t even remember the name.  Brian and I were quickly handed off to a local woman named Olga who marched us up a big hill to her family home and showed us to our sleeping quarters.  At about 3pm she served us lunch of potato soup along with a big plate of white rice, 2 more kinds of potatoes, and a piece of salty fried cheese.  At 630pm we were served dinner.  Guess what it was?  Potatoes.   As it turns out, they grow and eat a lot of potatoes there.  In fact we were told that over 4,000 kinds of potatoes grow in Peru.  I´m pretty sure we tried nearly all of them.

The view from our sleeping quarters
see all photos »

At night we all got to dress up in the traditional clothing of the people in the village.  We hiked up the hill to a large auditorium where a band played and we danced the night away.  Other than the beer vendor having some sort of seizure in the midst of the party, the night was uneventful.

Day 3 took us to another island which sounded like Tequila, but that really was not it´s name.  Unfortunately Brian fell ill and could barely make the 2 mile hike into the heart of town where we had lunch.  Lunch was uneventful as well, and afterwards we made our way back to the world´s slowest boat for the 3.5 hour return ride to Puno.  By the time we arrived at port, Brian´s illness had turned into a full blown fever and his head looked like a big tomato.  We spent the rest of the night in our skanky hotel room and didn´t even leave for dinner.

Storm brewing over Titicaca
see all photos »

I wish we would have gone to the Nazca lines.

Anne

I´m absolutely never visiting an indigenous village again.  As if we needed a reminder that toilet water was not safe for cooking and general consumption.  This three day tour left me grotesquely ill, and according to the Lonely Planet Guidebook, I have contracted Hepatitis A, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, and Malaria.  If it looks like we were smiling and having a good time in the pictures, it was merely in an effort to be polite.  Same with the food that we choked down at Olga´s place.  Oooing and awing how good it was, just to pretend that we were enjoying it.  It still makes me gag thinking about it.  I know that I am coming down hard on the less fortunate, but I´m certain that we need not be reminded how lucky we are to have been born in the United States.

This is sure a fun tour
see all photos »

bkh