Puno and Lake Titicaca

The most magical places are often discovered after unexpected journeys. Sillustani near Lake Titicaca was such a place for me. I hadn't been planning to travel to Puno, but with a tiny bit of encouragement from Carmen and Tristan, and an unexpected 5-day weekend to fill... we found ourselves at the end of a 5-hour bus ride tucked into a little hostel in the touristy town of Puno, on the coast of Lake Titicaca in the southeast corner of Peru.

Other than exploring the town's artisanal vendors and buying WAY too many handcrafted souvenirs, I couldn't help but enjoy the city's renovated waterfront and many restaurants and bars. And of course there was the lake itself...

A few hours boatride from Puno is the island Taquile, formerly a Spanish colonial prison and owned by the Taquile indigenous people since 1970. Known for their woolen textiles and handcrafts, we had the honor of sharing the boat with a Taquile gentleman knitting a gorgeous multicolored hat. On the island we enjoyed gorgeous views of the water and nice traditional meal of fried trout. We convinced the restaurant to sell us a pair of their simple ceramic teacups, which I'm sure I will enjoy for a very long time.

Much closer to the Puno shore are several man-made floating islands made of reeds, inhabited by the pre-Incan Uros. Today only a few hundred Uros live on the islands, primarily in response to tourist demand.

As I mentioned, most memorable excursion during our Lake Titicaca adventure was to Sillustani. The pre-Incan burial ground at Lake Umayo is scattered with chullpas, or burial towers, left over from the Colla civilization who were conquered by the Incas in the 15th century. I found the site abslutely magical... and capatured some of my favorite photos from the entire 6-month trip. On the bus trip back from Sillustani we also stopped at a quaint indegenous farmstead (clearly set up for tourist visits), where the mother-daughter team shared their hospitality with hot potatoes, fresh cheese and a few great photo opportunities.

(Link to slides)