Puno - Peruuuu

Puno – Day 1
Our bus ride to Puno wasn’t too bad. There was more crazy Spanish films on TV and me & Jim were sitting apart. The guy beside me’s breath stank and every time he yawned or let out a big sigh, I had to turn away.. PEEYEW.
Anywho, the weather was lovely and the scenery was fandabbydozey. I started to read a little of Jim’s book – Sideways. (It’s actually written by a guy called Rex - not Jim)
We arrived in Puno about 3pm and went about ignoring everyone at the bus station but to no avail. Some loon trying to promote his hostel, actually jumped in the boot of the car with our bags and kept waving his hostel brochure in our faces. I was trying not to laugh. We decided even after all his effort that we were going to go to our own one anyway. Hostel Europa. It was big and had private bathrooms. It was grand and dandy. We went for lunch & a couple of beers. I had yummy creamy poetaytoe curry soup. Yum. The streets were filled with colourful bands and kids throwing water balloons and spraying shaving foam on each other. This was because it was Carnival time (again – it’s always carnival). We escaped their foamy gringo wrath and went back to our hostel to chill for a while.
Later we went out for some Chinese food and then a few drinks in this rather cool bar with cheesy music. I was knackered despite sitting on my arse all day.

Puno – Day 2
Me & Jim got up early and headed out of the hostel to go to see the Isles Flotantes on Lake Titicaca. Upon meeting us, our hostel owner told us we couldn’t go to the islands, that we would have to make a reservation with him and then we could go at 9 am tomorrow. At this stage we’re used to everyone having their own agenda so we tried to tell him to feck off in Spanish and wandered off. Jim said Goat friend was behind yer man listening to all we were saying. LOL. (Goat friend being this guy with a goaty beard who seems to be everywhere we are – he is one of those gringos intent on immersing himself in the culture and he has a llama hat, jumper & llama socks).
We hopped in a little bicycle type taxi and got an auld lazy lift down to the port, where once again we were hopped on by people selling grapes/water/sweets & tours. We paid some little man at the pier box and jumped onto one of the local’s boats. There was no one else on it! (cue tumbleweed). The Captain said we would hang around and wait until there were ten people on the boat. This is at 7.30am on a cold & bleak morning in low season. He He
But lo and behold along came a tankload of Peruvians, obviously on a daytrip, and off we went on the world’s slowest boat. It was gas. And freezing. The boat started to leak in beside me for a few minutes, until some young fella, with no shoes and a snotty nose, came along and stuck a hose in through the wooden hull. (or whatever part I mean).
We pulled in at the first floating island. These islands are made entirely of reeds. The ground is reeds, the houses are reeds, the boats are reeds, the well you get the picture. It felt really weird walking on the island as everytime a boat sailed closeby, the ripples would hit the island and it felt a bit like being on a bouncing castle. The Uros women of the Island were out selling their wares. I wanted to buy an Uros Jumper but Jim put the spending reigns on again!
Then back into the boat and off to the next island where a Uros woman was cooking fillets of trout and selling them for 6 soles. 2 auld dears bought them and sat down to have a nibble. Jim & I took a few pics of the gaffs, the church, the giant swan shaped lookout point and a duck/bird. The islands themselves are amazing. I dunno if the Uros sleep on the islands really, as the chance of getting arthritis from the damp is quite high. Then on to the 3rd island where we watched some Uros chicks play a lil volleyball.  Then it was back into the leaky boat and we lolled about on the way home as the engine of the boat kept conking out! Tee hee hee. We jumped back on the front seat of a taxi slash cyclist for the short journey home. However Jim didn’t know the way, we were going for ages and the tricycclist was getting a bit puffed out on the way uphill! He He. We jumped off our poor chauffeur and headed back to the hostel where we met the resident hotel promoter/looney/amigo, who informed us that our friends (Priska & Manwell) had booked their bus to Cuzco with him and we should do the same. Apparently he promised them a direct two tier bus with toilet and lots of other great stuff. Yeah Right! The bus took yonkers, it picked up every Tom Dick & Petula on the way. Then the bus had to stop again to let them all get off and pee on the side of the road! Then a smelly woman came on board the bus with a hachet and a big bag of meat & poetaytoes, whereupon she proceeded to hack up some portions of meat, stuff them into a bag with a potatoe, using her grubby hands and pass the much appreciated delicacy’s down the bus to the hungry crowd. Jim was tempted til he felt the meat splatter him on the face. There was also a million krap films on the bus – all really loud and distorted! Thank god for Ipods!
When we arrived in Cuzco, we ditched our bags in the Hostel Rojas (not bad), then went into the local gringo haunt to tucker up with some delicious olives, bread and other yummy stuff! Then off to try have a krappy shower in the hostel, but abandoned the idea due to the lack of hot water.
Beddy Byes.