Colca Canyon and Puno

Day 19. Today and tomorrow I'm going on a tour to the Colca Canyon, probably the second deepest canyon in the world. The journey is long, the landscape is very beautiful, high mountain steppe. At the first stop, we can observe vicuñas and see the Misti volcano from the other side. Alpacas, vicuñas, and llamas can be easily distinguished by their eyes, neck, and fur. Almost everyone on the tour speaks Spanish. An older couple from the Netherlands is nice and you can have a conversation with them. And then there's Maria from Chile, who has been living in Germany since the Pinochet dictatorship. She just retired and is very talkative. It's nice to speak German for a change. The next stop is the highest point, 4910 meters; in theory, you can see half a dozen volcanoes if it weren't cloudy. I don't think coca leaves really help. At high altitudes, you feel slightly intoxicated. Then we were allowed to stroke llamas and alpacas, very cuddly animals. For lunch, I separated from the group, I don't need the overpriced tourist buffet, I ate at a local restaurant. The city of Chivay where we stay is tiny. The hotel is good, which I don't usually do, but I was the only guest, a bit spooky. In the afternoon, we went to the hot springs, it was wonderfully relaxing. Only the Dutch woman collapsed. In the evening, there was folklore with food on the program. I had thought about whether I would participate, I don't really like folklore. But it was quite nice, good food, traditional costumes, music, and dances. And in the end, I danced the Macarena with the others.

6 am breakfast, just my thing. Apparently, I'm in the land of early risers. All alone in the cold dining room, it is really cold in the mountains. I still have a slight headache. The tour goes from Mirador to Mirador, and at one of them, we were lucky to observe condors. Andean women are selling stuff everywhere; Maria buys too much junk. The canyon is impressively deep, filled with Inca terraces. After a short hike, we had a drink made from Sancoya (cactus), super sour, and they make a cocktail out of it called Colca Saur. The sun is merciless, the UV UV index is 17 at noon, I am well covered. Today I had no choice but to eat at the buffet; according to Maria, it was better and cheaper than yesterday. By chance, the young German from the airport was also there. Alpaca is very lean and tastes more savory than pork. I didn't know that we could go directly to Puno after the tour. So another night in Arequipa. The hostel is located in the central square and very good for only 25 soles. In the evening, I briefly visited Alberto at his second bar. Along the way, I booked my ticket for Machu Picchu, what a pain. Everything is in Spanish and very poorly designed. And that for the country's most important attraction. Well, unfortunately, I only got a ticket for April 6th, at 6 am. If only I had thought of it earlier, the tour agencies seem to buy all the tickets.

Since I messed up the bus, it's back to the Arequipa bus terminal, 7 hours by bus to Puno. How boring. The landscape was still exciting in the canyon, now it bores me. The Andes, vicuñas, steppe, and lakes. So I read a book called 'Der kleine Gartenversager' (The Little Garden Failure), very amusing. Thanks, Conny! The traffic in the cities is so inefficient and annoying. Everything is somehow moving forward, but no one is really making progress. Most of the time is spent getting in or out of the cities. The motorcycle taxi struggles up the hill in Puno. It's even colder here, the hostel is great and even has a heater. In Puno, there is a main street where all the tourists and people are. I quickly booked some tours and then met Germais through couchsurfing and had a meal. Slept like a log.

The altitude causes a slight haze in the brain (Puno is at 3800 meters). The program includes a boat trip to the islands. According to legend, Lake Titicaca is the birthplace of the Incas and the second largest lake in South America. Divided between Bolivia and Peru. The first stop was the Uros Island, a floating island made of reeds and reed roots. There are 5 little houses and 20 people live there; at least they have solar power. Their life is a tourist attraction, for a good sum, you can also spend a night and a day with a family. Walking on the island feels strange; you kind of sink in a little. Singing again, then we were allowed to visit a hut. I went to a young couple with a baby and they presented a lot of handicrafts. These communities won't last forever; many young people prefer life on land. I can understand that. You have to make sure the islands don't disappear and for everything, you have to take a boat. Then we spent 1.5 hours on the ship to Taquilo Island, a very beautiful nature. We hiked for one hour at noon, in the blazing sun. The food was very good, then they explained the different meanings of the hats worn by the people of the islands. And of course, there were folk dances. Leave me alone with the traditional stuff. And back again forever on the boat. In the evening, we went to eat sushi with other travelers from the hostel, nice people with interesting stories. Most of them stayed in Puno for only one night because on that day there was a census in Bolivia and no one was allowed to leave the house for 24 hours, even tourists.

The next morning (Day 22), I thought it would be a good idea to walk to Mirador del Condor. According to Google, it's only 15 minutes from the hostel. I feel like I'm 70 with the thin air. Each step is exhausting, after 5 minutes I'm out of breath and my heart is racing. I didn't expect that. It took 40 minutes but it was worth it, a splendid view of Lake Titicaca. I truly deserved the siesta. I love the local restaurants (off the tourist streets). They offer the menu del dia consisting of a drink, often Chicha, a Sopa de Casa, and a main course. Usually, I choose Pollo or Pescada Frita. It costs between Cinco and Quince Soles, depending on the location and quality. In the afternoon, I booked a trip to Silustani, a pre-Inca and Inca burial site. We started at a viewpoint in Puno, which I could have skipped in the morning. As always, the tour also stops at a place where you can pet llamas and alpacas. It was quite nice, the guide explained a lot. Some of the graves look like penises. In the evening, I took the overnight bus to Cusco. There were way too many people at the bus terminal.