Monday the 12th of May 2003 – Day 83
As mentioned in the ealier post, I was far from been sober (but in great form) when I arrived at the bus staion at 7.45am. I met two Peace Corp Wokers there called Alex and Sarah. It is an ORG that help promotes a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served. Hmm, Ok, bu there are nice people. Idelaists. Sarah had her bag with 500 US stolen from the strps of the bus ternmuinal the day before, so watch it. ( I found out later that this is the thirs time – one a bag slasher on a bus andother the old vimit scam). Anyway the bus to cusco direct (130 B) was cancelled because of trouble in one of the towns we had to pass. Damn, it was wait another day or get the cheaper 90 B bus, and I knew what that meant – Israelis.
I got a refund and bought the 90 B ticket which meant stopovers in Copacabana, Puno and god knows where else. As expected there were the three of us and 20 Israelis who were as loud as possible. Very little sleep got on the first stint to Copacabana. Passed Lake Titicaca mist of the first three hours. At 3820m (12,530ft), is the highest navigable lake in the world. At over 170km (105mi) long, it is also the largest lake in South America. Its altitude means the air is unusually clear and the azure waters particularly striking. Lake Titicaca has long been considered a sacred place among indigenous Andean peoples. The people who live in and around the lake consider themselves descendants of Mama Qota, or Sacred Mother, and they believe that powerful spirits live in the lake’s depths. According to Andean legend, Lake Titicaca was the birthplace of civilization. Viracocha, the creator deity, lightened a dark world by having the sun, moon, and stars rise from the lake to occupy their places in the sky.
The ride to Copacababa takes 3 hours, including a 3-minute ferry ride (1.50Bs) across the Straits of Tiquina. Here, you must disembark from the bus and take a ferry across to the other side. The bus is carried over on a separate boat. Anyway we arrived at Copacabana at 12.00 and were allowed an hour there. Copacabana was an important religious site way before the Spanish realized that the world was round. Lake Titicaca is believed to be the birthplace of the Incas, and for many years, this city was one of the holiest of the Inca Empire. These days, pilgrims come from far and wide to visit the Cathedral of Copacabana to pay homage to the Virgin of Copacabana (also known as the Queen of Bolivia and the Virgin of Candelaria), who has supposedly bestowed many miracles upon her true believers. She is the most venerated virgin in all of Bolivia.
Had time so grabbed a bite to eat. Feeling bad, but met two kiwis I met in potosi and an english couple Ive met about 3 times. No time for small talk.. changed buses and off we went. Met a guy called Peter ( a Canadian on board) and five Irish girls on a trip. They were from Dublin. As I wasn’t feeling like talking … I didn’t enquire much. Passed immigration with a small problem. No tourist Ive met had been given a green entry form. there was a charge of 5 US or 35B. An Irish girl was in front of me with 10 US. They would not give change. She paid for me as well, and wouldnt hear of me paying her back. Ah well.
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La Paz – Bolivia to Cuzco – Peru – Lake Titicaca
Taken on the 12th of May 2003
Lake Titicaca (Spanish: Lago Titicaca) is South America’s largest lake and, at 3821 m above sea level, the highest commercially navigable lake in the world.
Titicaca has a surface area of approximately 8300 square kilometres. Located in the Altiplano high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia, it has an average depth of between 140 and 180 m, and a maximum depth of 280 m.
More than 25 rivers empty into Titicaca, and the lake has 41 islands – some of which are densely populated.
Titicaca is notable for a population of people who live on the Uros, nine artificial islands made of floating reeds. These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno. Another island, Taquile, is another tourist attraction featuring a different indigenous community. The Taquile locals are known for their handwoven textile products, which are some of the highest quality handicrafts in Peru.
Map of Lake TiticacaTiticaca is fed by rainfall and meltwater from glaciers on the sierras that abut the Altiplano. It is drained by the Desaguadero River, which flows south through Bolivia to Lake Poopó; however, this effluent accounts for less than five per cent of the water loss, the rest being accounted for by evaporation as a result of the strong winds and intense sunlight at this altitude.
The origin of the name Titicaca is unknown; it has been translated as “Rock of the Puma”, combining words from the local languages Quechua and Aymara, and as “Crag of Lead”. Locally, the lake goes by several names.
Because the southeast quarter of the lake is separated from the main body by the Strait of Tiquina, the Bolivians call this smaller part Lago Huinaymarca and the larger part Lago Chucuito. In Peru, these smaller and larger parts are referred to as Lago Pequeño and Lago Grande, respectively.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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La Paz – Bolivia to Cuzco – Peru – Lake Titicaca
Taken on the 12th of May 2003
Our bus on the move. The boat took our bus throught the Strait of Tiquina. This is the passage that connects the larger and smaller parts of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It was a simple a 3-minute ferry ride (1.50Bs) across the Straits. Here, you must disembark from the bus and take a ferry across to the other side. The bus is carried over on a separate boat.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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La Paz – Bolivia to Cuzco – Peru – Copacabana Church
Taken on the 12th of May 2003
The Cathedral of Copacabana–In 1580, the Virgin of Copacabana appeared in a dream to Tito Yupanqui. He was so taken by this vision that he set out to Potos? (then one of the most important art centers in the world) to learn to sculpt. With his new skill, he hand-carved the Virgin from the wood of a maguey cactus. He then carried her by foot from Potosi to Copacabana (a journey of more than 400 miles), where she was placed in an adobe chapel in 1583. Immediately afterwards, the crops of those who doubted her power were mysteriously destroyed. The Spanish, smitten with the Virgin, completed this Moorish-style cathedral for her in 1617. The Virgin stands in a majestic mechanical altar. On weekends, the priests rotate the Virgin so that she faces the main chapel; on weekdays, when there are fewer pilgrims here, they spin her around so that she looks over a smaller chapel on the other side. The silver ship at the bottom of the altar represents the moon, while the gold statue above the Virgin’s head is believed to symbolize the power of the sun. Believers have bestowed millions of dollars worth of gifts upon the Virgin. In 1879, the government of Bolivia sold some of her jewelry to finance the War of the Pacific against Chile. The cathedral is open daily from 11am to noon and from 2 to 6pm; admission is free.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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La Paz – Bolivia to Cuzco – Peru – Lake Shore
Taken on the 12th of May 2003
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Got to Puno around 5.00pm. Our bus to cuszo was at 8.00pm. Three tours to kill. Lots of touts offering trips to “Floating islands”. Took a trip which cost 15 Soles with an English speaking guide. This included transport to the docks, visit to two islands and transport back.
From frommers.
“As improbable as it sounds, the Uros Indians of Lake Titicaca live on floating “islands” made by hand from totora reeds that grow in abundance in the shallow waters of the lake. This unique practice has endured since the time of the Incas, and today, there are some 45 floating islands in the Bay of Puno. The islands first came into contact with the modern world in the mid-1960s, and their inhabitants now live mostly off tourism.
Many visitors faced with this strange sight conclude that the Uros can’t possibly still live on the islands, that it must be a show created for their benefit. True, they can seem to be little more than floating souvenir stands; the communities idly await the arrival of tourist boats and then seek to sell handmade textiles and reed-crafted items while the gringos walk gingerly about the springy islands–truly an odd sensation–photographing houses and children. Yet the islands and their people are not just a show. A couple hundred Uros Indians continue to live year-round on the islands, even if they venture to Puno for commercial transactions. The largest island, Huacavacani, has not only homes but also a floating Seventh-Day Adventist church, a candidate for one of the more bizarre scenes you’re likely to find in Peru. Others have schools, a post office, and souvenir shops. Only a few islands are actually set up to receive tourists. The vast majority of the Uros people live in continual isolation and peace, away from camera lenses.
The Uros, who fled to the middle of the lake to escape conflicts with the Collas and Incas, long ago began intermarrying with the Aymara Indians, and many have now converted to Catholicism. Fishers and birders, the Uros live grouped by family sectors, and entire families live in one-room tent-like thatched huts constructed on the shifting reed island that floats beneath. They build modest houses and gondolas with fanciful animal-head bows out of the reeds, and they continually replenish the fast-rotting mats that form their fragile islands. Visitors might be surprised, to say the least, to find some huts outfitted with televisions powered by solar panels (which were donated by the Fujimori administration after a presidential visit to the islands). “
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La Paz – Bolivia to Cuzco – Peru – Floating Island
Taken on the 12th of May 2003
We got to Puno and decideded to get to the Floating Islands. Population 80,000, located on Lake Titicaca, the worlds highest navigable lake, at 12,421 feet. Puno is surrounded by 41 floating islands, and to this day Uros still depend on the lake for their survival. As improbable as it sounds, the Uros Indians of Lake Titicaca live on floating “islands” made by hand from totora reeds that grow in abundance in the shallow waters of the lake. This unique practice has endured since the time of the Incas, and today, there are some 45 floating islands in the Bay of Puno. The islands first came into contact with the modern world in the mid-1960s, and their inhabitants now live mostly off tourism.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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La Paz – Bolivia to Cuzco – Peru – Floating Island
Taken on the 12th of May 2003
To be honest, this strange sight they can seem to be little more than floating souvenir stands
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
I had a nice time, except for one annoying Israeli who had been on the same trip as me since the start. loud, obnoxious. He was impossible to speak.. even thought he spoke loudly to himself all the time.
After we got back from the trip (6.30pm), Sarah, Alex and Peter, and I decided to catch a taxi into town (2 S) to get a bite to eat. Went to a nice restaurant on he pedestrian mall. Had ravioli with chicken sauce (17 S) which was nice. Got a taxi back. Seemed like a nice town, but cant judge because of lack of time. Decided to take up the bus company offer of 2 nights accommodation in Cuzco for 5 us. This was because we would be arriving at 3.00am at night. This was a good deal.
The bus was ready, a very comfortable semi cama where you could stretch out. I got the front upstairs seat and wasn’t sleepy even thought I hadn’t slept the night before. It was a cold bumpy ride and I didn’t get much sleep. We arrived at 5.00m (later than expected) and as part of the accommodation deal got free transport to the hostel. OK private room, with shared bath about 8 minutes walk from the town centre.