Tuesday, May 15: Puno and Lake Titicaca:

Sunrise over Lake Titicaca!!! Oh, My!!!

We left the drapes open last night and about 5:20 I woke up, realized it was light out and jumped out of bed. The sun actually appeared over the horizon at about 5:50, so we had a long time to enjoy and photograph the brightening sky. Just amazing ! We couldn't have had better [cloud positions] view or a better morning for it. Sunrise at Lake Titicaca is a widely known spectacular show.

A few hours later we had a lovely breakfast, then our car took us to the dock in Puno to leave for Uros Islands. Puno is really not a beautiful city but no one has pointed out anything of interest except the rather pretty central plaza. 

The Uros Islands; however, are a whole other world, its almost magical to be among and on them. Our guide gave us a very good overview of Lago Titicaca and the surrounding area during the 45 minute trip out. We also saw interesting flora and fauna.

Then we were among the floating islands and were welcomed onto one of them. The islands are constructed of blocks of reed roots tethered together and anchored to the lake bottom, then covered with layer after layer of reeds. Every month or so a new layer of reeds is added. Holes are left for fishing and fish farming. Reed houses are built on the structure. They use fires for warmth and cooking, but now have a few solar panels for power. 

 Their clothing is very colourful and attractive and their handicrafts are first rate. We all did quite a bit of buying. After sampling the reeds which are a major source of food, we boarded one of their reed boats and were rowed to another island. The inhabitants sang goodbye to us in their own language.
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On the second island we found a small museum and bought a few more handicrafts. Then we took the boat back to Puno.

We had lunch at the bar and then a siesta before going for a walk on the island where our hotel is. We had hoped to encounter a heard of alpacas we saw in the morning, but didn't.

We watched the sunset from the bar, then had a great dinner in the dining room. The maitre d', Carlos, was very friendly and shares some of his stories with us. He has 2 daughters in Lima, and only sees them every 6 months. This was another wonderful day.

Rumours have been circulating about a strike tomorrow that may make it hard to get to the plane in Juliaca.  

Photos 15 May Puno Lake Titicaca