Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Yet another early start to take the bus journey from Cusco to Puno. One last breakfast was fitted in at the the Hostel Niños of delicious Juice yoghurt, honey and cereal before departing. Seats at the back of the bus were very bumpy, but the journey worthwhile with a number of interesting stops and spectacular views on the altiplano. The first stop was at an old church which was painted throughout in a fusion of Spanish and Peruvian style and was apparently a key wedding venue. The ceiling beams and plaster were painted continuously and hardly been damaged by the severe earthquake in the 1950?s though other parts of the church had needed restoration, which was ongoing.
The next venue was a highlight. The Incan site of Racchi was very impressive and in typical style was built with a solstice in mind. A corridor between the buildings was exactly where the sun rose on the winter solstice. Otherwise the building style was different as the stone used was volcanic and there was a massive temple built with pilars to hold up the roof between the central wall and the outer ones. Some of the store houses had been reconstructed to how they would have been with their thatched rooves.
The highlight of the journey was reaching the highest point at La Raya (4313 metres) and the never ending plateau that followed. Photos were duly take at the highst point where you could see glaciers on the mountains in the distance. It was at this point the Andes ridge from Chile met with those from the north, but beyond they separated to leave a vast plateau of land cultivated, just, by what must be very hardy people living in tiny adobe brick houses. Winter temperatures going down to minus 10 and no electricity! This is where we saw for the first time herds of lamas and alpacas along with sheep and even cows. Bicycles seemed to be mostly used by the farmers though there were some horse being used, one we saw was being ridden expertly by a local woman in her brightly coloured outfit.
Another major stop was at Pukara to see the museum where objects from htis this pre-Incan era were gather and being restored. Not sure any of us felt comfortable with their focus on beheading because the head is the site of power, which was clear in the objects on display. Nevertheless amazing to see and put clearly in perspective by the timeline. The rocks also showed carvings of animals like pumas, frogs and lizards. When we came out Angharad gav a coin to a very old poor lady, who was so blind with cataracts that she ahd to feel the coin to find out what it was. It woul have been so much better to have been able to organise a cataract operation for her to see again.
When we arrived in Puno the sun was going down and the temperature falling fast. We went out to eat at La Casona wrapped up in jumpers, hats and coats. We were able to try the local fish including trout from Lake Titicaca and it was delicious.
- comments