The Lake with a Funny Name, and a Brief Intro to Cusco

Lake Titicaca is listed as the #2 most important place in Peru (according to Lonely Planet), after Machu Picchu. This lake is the highest navigable lake in the world at 4000 meters or so. Also, it is huge. Lake Titicaca spans part of the border between Peru and Bolivia, and is shared by the two countries. I only visited the Peruvian side, and once again Alex of England acccompanied me.

We stayed in the supposedly lively city of Puno, located on the lakeshore. Getting to Puno was an event of its own. Our night bus was freezing cold, the lights came on randomly at 2 AM, and we arrived 2 hours earlier than expected: 4 AM... We got pestered endlessly upon arrival, until we accepted a taxi ride to a terrible hotel. Not the best start to this portion of the trip. Despite it being Easter weekend we saw close to nothing in the form of celebrations in Puno. There was a massive thunderstorm that drowned out a small procession in the street, leaving us inside a bar playing dominoes with a Jenga set.

Day two was a big improvement! We booked a boat tour of Lake Titicaca. The tour included a stop at the floating Uros Islands. That's right, the islands float! For centuries the people of the lake have used the floating masses of totora reed plants as a place of residence. The root balls of the plant provide a platform on which they stack the stocks of the plant in layer after layer. The islands were obnoxiously touristy, but our fellow tourists were cool, as well as our guide.

The other stop on the trip was to an island of the non-floating variety: Isla Taquile. The views from this island were spectacular. The people were also pretty fascinating. The men and women wear colorful hats, belts, and robes to represent social and marital status. The people of Taquile also happen to be deeply religious, and of the Catholic variety. They are best known for their weaving and traditional lifestyle. Not too sure what else to say here...

Overall Puno and Lake Titicaca were a little underwhelming. Alex and I befriended some more Brits, as well as some Kiwis, many of whom joined us for a night of karaoke.

After Puno we took a long bus ride to Cusco, the former capital of the Incan Empire. With only a couple days to see Cusco I chose to spend a day, once again with the burden of Alex (completely kidding), exploring ruins just outside of town. The ruins included an ancient fortress, ceremonial baths, and a couple less memorable but cool structures.

Now that my pre-expedition vacation is coming to an end I have some awesome stuff to look forward to. For the next ~2 weeks I will be in the Andes to assist with the PhD research of Kelsey Reider of Florida International University. I'll be sure to make a blog post about that expedition after I return. Can't wait to get started!

Also, thank you Alex, Barbara, and everyone else for keeping me company during the last two action-packed weeks!