March 20: Puno

I woke up at 6:45am so I could get the earlierst possible bus south to Puno in hopes of pushing on through to the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. Though I was told the earliest possible bus was at 8am, I managed to land a S/. 15 ride at 7:30am with the San Luis line. Of course, in true South American fashion, the 6-hour ride took 8 hours, getting me into Puno at 3:30pm. Bolivia is one hour ahead of Peru, but I still thought I could make it. However, a man pushing his hotel and tour company came on to our bus in Juliaca, 45 minutes shy of Puno, and explained to me that the Bolivian border closes at 5:30pm, making it impossible to get across. I abandoned hope of getting into Copacabana in one day, and buckled to the pressure of staying in the guy's hotel. I would later learn that the Bolivian border really closes at 7:30pm. So, perhaps it is possible to get to Bolivia in one day from Cuzco without taking an overnighter... I still just don't know. That was a lot of numbers - I'm sorry.

After checking into my crap-ass lodging for the night, La Casa Del Virrey, I was picked up and taken to the waterfront for my afternoon visit to the Uros Islands. In fact, my room, tour, and morning bus to Copacabana, Bolivia were all packaged together by the hotel guy for S./ 50. The Uros Islands, just a short ride out from the shore, are a group of actual floating islands constructed of reeds. People actually live and work on the islands, and they've even managed to harness a little solar power.

Anyone planning a visit to Lake Titicaca, at one point or another, hears about these islands. For that reason, they have become ultra touristy - sort of a floating junk market. So, leading up to my journey south, I was more than prepared to skip the whole thing. However, seeing as I had to spend the night in Puno, I decided - what the hell. Yes, it was touristy. However, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the unique experience - it feels like you're walking on the moon. It's a quick visit, and after the short bilingual seminar, we had a little free time to explore. If you can get past the sitting merchants with their commonplace tourist junk, the Uros Islands are actually sort of a good time. Cute, dirty kids are always a bonus.

For S/. 5, you can ride a reed raft over to one of the other islands (the tourist boat just sort of coasts over there to meet you). The money goes directly to the people - not the tour company - and it's quite soothing to glide slowly along the lake. The ladies even let each of us paddle for a bit... how very Tom Sawyer of them.

To my surprise, despite all the horrible things I had heard about Puno, I found the city to have more than enough charm for one evening out on the town. On Jr. Lima, a pedestrian street jutting out from the main plaza, I found numerous bars and restaurants - most offering free Cuba Libres just to get you in the door. It worked. After having two rounds with a fantastic Hawaiian pizza at a little joint called Deja Vu Pizzeria Pub (just off the main drag), I ended up having a couple more freebies on the balcony of Ekeko's Pub. It was totally void of any patrons, save for yours truly, so I made myself comfortable and enjoyed a sudden rainstorm. One night in Puno was more than enough, but I certainly didn't have a horrible time.

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