We knew that after we had such a lovely time at Las Olas, any new place would turn out to be a disappointment, and even though Puno is a cute little Peruvian town hugging the shores of Lake Titicaca, getting settled into our new accommodation was a bit hard. The main problem is that it's incredibly cold here and that it`s difficult to warm up - alas, the days of fireplaces and hot water bottles are definitely over.
Puno is a quick stop en route to super star attractions Cuzco and Machu Picchu, but there were 2 sights that we didn't want to miss while in this region. First of all, we wanted to see Sillustani, which is an archeological site on the Lago Umayo Peninsula. Here you can visit a staggering collection of about 150 chullpas or funerary towers, which seem to serve the same purpose as Egyptian pyramids: impressive structures to house the important dead. There are pre-Incan chullpas dating from the Tiwanaku period (the site near La Paz that we visited a few weeks ago) and Incan chullpas that are made of huge blocks and that reach heights of up to 12 meters. Afterwards we made a quick stop at a typical altiplano home where we could see how the local people live. They fed us too, so I was excited!
The second thing that we wanted to see while in Puno were the Islas Flotantes of the Uros people, just a 30-minute boat ride away from Puno. I must admit that this is quite a touristy sight, but it's still amazing to see. These people have made what can only be described as floating islands - islands made entirely out of totora reeds that float on the lake (they hold the islands in place with a kind of anchor to avoid drifting off). They use these reeds for absolutely everything: boats, houses, handicrafts, food, fuel et cetera. It's very impressive. There are about 50 of these islands and we visited 3 while being transported from island to island in a totora reed boat. On one island a group of 6 families lived and they explained us all about how they live and showed us their homes. It was really cool to see their way of life.
Tomorrow morning we are taking an early bus to Cuzco and Jochem and I both feel that the end is coming, even though we have a whole month of traveling left before we go home. Next week we're hiking the Inca Trail and then before you know it we're in Lima and then back in Europe. Sometimes I can't wait to go home, but other times I realize that there is still to much to see. We`re in Peru after all, archeological wonder of South America!
If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!
Puno is a quick stop en route to super star attractions Cuzco and Machu Picchu, but there were 2 sights that we didn't want to miss while in this region. First of all, we wanted to see Sillustani, which is an archeological site on the Lago Umayo Peninsula. Here you can visit a staggering collection of about 150 chullpas or funerary towers, which seem to serve the same purpose as Egyptian pyramids: impressive structures to house the important dead. There are pre-Incan chullpas dating from the Tiwanaku period (the site near La Paz that we visited a few weeks ago) and Incan chullpas that are made of huge blocks and that reach heights of up to 12 meters. Afterwards we made a quick stop at a typical altiplano home where we could see how the local people live. They fed us too, so I was excited!
The second thing that we wanted to see while in Puno were the Islas Flotantes of the Uros people, just a 30-minute boat ride away from Puno. I must admit that this is quite a touristy sight, but it's still amazing to see. These people have made what can only be described as floating islands - islands made entirely out of totora reeds that float on the lake (they hold the islands in place with a kind of anchor to avoid drifting off). They use these reeds for absolutely everything: boats, houses, handicrafts, food, fuel et cetera. It's very impressive. There are about 50 of these islands and we visited 3 while being transported from island to island in a totora reed boat. On one island a group of 6 families lived and they explained us all about how they live and showed us their homes. It was really cool to see their way of life.
Tomorrow morning we are taking an early bus to Cuzco and Jochem and I both feel that the end is coming, even though we have a whole month of traveling left before we go home. Next week we're hiking the Inca Trail and then before you know it we're in Lima and then back in Europe. Sometimes I can't wait to go home, but other times I realize that there is still to much to see. We`re in Peru after all, archeological wonder of South America!
If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!
1 comment:
Love all this pictures!!!! Have a good and safe trip to your homeland!
Big kiss from Lisette
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