Walking on Reeds

I've already posted about my attempt to get to Puno from Colca Canyon and the stop at the police check point, directed to board the wrong bus, and ending up in the wrong city. If you missed it, look for "I`ll Take the Physical Challenge".

Once in Puno, the town situated on Lake Titicaca, it was time to start collecting everything I would need to secure a visa for entry to Boliva, time to catch up with my travel buddy, and time to see the floating islands of Uros.

My travel buddy arrived a few hours after I did and we went out for alpaca steaks with apple sauce. Hot apple sauce. Without cinnamon. Boo. We caught up over a beer (I drank the beer since she was sick) and a bit of ice cream for dessert. Turns out she had her iPod stolen from her hostel room in Arequipa. She was not a big fan of Peru at this point. We went to sleep around 11pm in our shit beds in a worse hostel. Seriously, worse bed I had slept in since I started traveling. But my cheap ass was so excited to find a room for under $4/night that I pretended not to care. Even though I didn't sleep at all that night.

The next morning I was up at 7:30 to try my luck at the Bolivian consulate a few blocks away (another reason I picked the shit hostel). The man working at the consulate was really nice and very patient with my spanish. He brought out a notebook and pointed to all of the things I would need. But I couldn't get my visa here. I would have to collect everything and try my luck at the border. I was going to need an itinerary and invitation from my host family, along with proof I had enough money to support myself (um, I am going to Bolivia - I should only need $50 right?), a yellow fever card, passport, two forms to fill out, and two wallet-sized photos. *whew*. I thanked him over & over again for all of his help and then ran to the nearest cyber cafe to email my coworker about the need for an invitation and itinerary. Amazingly, he got his uncle to send me an invitation within minutes.

With that all squared away, it was time to discover Puno. I met up with my travel buddy again and we took care of some essentials: showers, breakfast (a huge Americano breakfast at a great little cafe), and purchasing our bus tickets to Copacabana for the next day. And with all those things done (and a quick jaunt through a locals market looking for Christmas items to stick on some one's backpack), we made our way to the port to find a boat out to the famous reed islands.

We had no problem finding transportation. Touts flocked to us as we approached the dock. "You want to see the islands??", "Come with me, we have a boat", "Special price just for you". We picked the first tout and were immediately ushered to a boat. And there we waited. The boat would leave only when the captain (I use that word very loosely) felt like there were enough riders on board to make the trip worth his while. That happened about 35 minutes later. And off we went. Slowly. The boat creeped towards the floating islands. Maybe to let us take in the scenery?

The floating islands of Uros on Titicaca are made completely out of the lake's totora reeds. The people made these islands centuries ago to escape the Collas and Incas on land. They are constantly adding new reeds from the lake's shallow waters to replace the layers that rot. This makes for fun, bouncy footing. And an island destined to become a tourist destination.

What seemed like an enternity later we arrived and took our first precarious steps on one of many of the floating neighborhoods. We were one of only three gringos, the rest of the people on our boat were Peruvian young couples checking out the islands too. One of the island dwellers motioned for us to sit in a circle near a map of the islands. We did so as he started a presentation of the history and significance of the islands in spanish. My travel buddy translated for me. He told of how their whole exhistance depended on the reeds (why else would tourists come visit them and spend money?). How they built their houses and boats from the reeds and even their crafts - which were on sale just behind us. The lecture was interesting enough and we had time and the freedom to explore the small island on our own. We wondered what the people did way out here other than wait for tourists to come. Didn't seem like there was much else to do.

Then we were told we could ride in one of the reed-made boats to another island. A young girl who seemed no older than 12 guided our boat to the next island. When we arrived we were told there was a fee for riding the reed boat. Or course there was. Keeping with that theme we found the second island made for the tourist dollar. Not quite as interesting but impressive nonetheless. There was a public phone booth (made out of reeds - not the phone, just the booth), bars where you could order a beer, little cabins to stay in over night, and little restaurants - all offering fried trout. And of course, more souvineers. My travel buddy and I ignored the restaurants, bars, and souvineers and found a place to pop a squat and take in the island life. When we realized all the others from our boat were eating at the restaurants, we settled in for a long chill session.

When the others started to come back out to the boat we jumped up to join them. One couple was missing. Apparently they had decided to stay behind and enjoy one of the cabins at 2:30 in the afternoon. Hmmm.

Back on board we made the long ride back to Puno. And noticed one of the guys on board was growing increasingly drunk. We did a quick count in our head and realized he had downed five beers on the islands. His young wife was left to deal with their child as he made several loud calls on his cell phone and seemed to doze off at points. "Lovely vacation, honey. Ju-wanna-nothah-beer?"

Back on solid ground I realized I was sunburnt from our short stay on the islands. We found a bike taxi back towards town, but it was slow and there was no protection from the sun on board. I was reduced to wearing a designed cloth craft I had bought on the island to hide from the sun.

Later that evening, still full from a late ceviche lunch, we went looking for a coffee shop. The idea was to play cards and sip coffee in the warmth of a cozy cafe. It was cold at that altitude. We found a great restaurant with a fire place and cable tv showing Christmas programs in spanish. There was loft area seating and we immediately went upstairs and planted ourselves over-looking the rest of the restaurant. The sight of the food being served was too much, and when we looked at the prices on the menu it was agreed we needed to order dinner. Besides, our super huge waitress didn't seem happy that she had to hike the stairs just to bring us coffee. We played cards, we drank coffee, we ate way too much good, cheap food, we watched xmas programs. And then we headed back to our hostal where, for the second night in a row, I didn't sleep at all. But I was only paying $4 for the room...

For pics of the time spent at Titicaca, follow this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15233918@N00/sets/72157603664478790/