Cuzco to Puno

Rene and Hector came to pick us up from Casa Andina and take us to the railway station for long anticipated Andean Explorer train ride to Puno.  There was even a local group of musicians performing traditional music in the waiting room to entertain passengers.  We boarded the luxury train with wonderful wood paneling and old style charm.  Then 8:00am came when we were suppose to depart and nothing happened.  At 8:20 am we were told that it would be another 30 minutes.  Then we were told that there was a land slide about 30 minutes from Cuzco and it would be another hour.  Finally at 10:00 am we were told that it would take another 5 hours to clear the line so the train ride was cancelled.  The next train to Puno is Wednesday.  We were told that Perurail would refund our money. 

We had to contact Tambo Treks to let them know that we were still in Cuzco and would need an alternative solution to get to Puno.  Tambo Treks office staff were very good.  They told us to wait at the station and came to collect us.  In the end they organised for Hector to drive us to Puno.  They also included Mary one of the office staff to come along as Hector did not speak English.  Mary was not that confident with her English so she convinced Rene to come along.  Talk about a change of plans for everyone.  Finally at 11:00 am we left Cuzco.  We were told that the drive would take 6 hours.  This was for a 380km trip.

In some way this was a bit of bonus as we got more explanation about interesting sacred places along the way.  Rene certainly knew a lot about the significance of the sacred places.

Our road trip pretty much ran along side the railway track so we saw the same view as if we were on the train.  Travelling along the valley we saw many glacial valleys and mountains on both sides.  There were many farms along the way.  Majority of the farm dwellings are made of mud with stone wall fences.  One could almost mistaken that this was Scotland.

Up until the highest point at La Raya, the landscape was green and had trees but as soon as we were on the other side of the mountain, it looked drier, more rocky and no trees (looked like Snowy mountain area).  We saw many herds of llama, alpacas, cows and sheep.  The locals here are very tough as it was cold and windy outside and yet they were out there looking after their herds.

Along the way, we saw a puma-shaped rock which Rene explained is a sacred pre-inca site.  He also pointed a very small volcano and hot spring.

We stopped for a late lunch at Ayaviri. It was at a small cafe which specialised in baked potatoes and lamb.  The owner had the cooked potatoes and lamb wrapped in paper and a blanket.  Each serving was 3 potatoes and 2 pieces of roast lamb.  It was simple and very delicious.  After eating lunch Rene told us the best way to help digest the food was a drink of aniseed liquor, najar.  Meryl gave it a go and said it was nice (like ouzo). Rene took the leftovers of our lunch which he later threw out of the window along way to feed stray dogs waiting along side of the road to be fed by passing vehicles.  There are so many stray dogs in Peru.

We drove through a stretch of the road which was full of potholes.  Hector did his best but with the number of potholes it was impossible to miss every one.  At the time it was unclear if Hector and the others were going to drive back to Cuzco that night.  Let's hope that they were allowed to stay the night.

The trip took us through Juliaca.  Rene said that Juliaca is a town where the cocaine trade is florishing and you can pretty much buy any car, computer and any goods.  The town is chaotic, dusty and the roads were just simply awful, full of potholes and lakes of water hiding massive potholes.  What an eyesore of a town.  Unfortunately for us, we need to come back here to fly to Lima.

When we go got to the outskirts of Puno our van was stopped by the local police.  There were other vehicles stopped by the local police.  It was normal practice for the police to stop vehicles with registraion number plates from other areas.  Vehicles are required to pay some 'special tax' to the police.  The 'special tax' supplements their normal salary.

The rest of the drive to our hotel (another Casa Andina) was unevetful.  Rene hopped off at the main square as he was not suppose to be there.  Mary introduced us to Jorge at the hotel and handed us over to our contacts in Puno.

Puno is certainly a more charming town than Juliaca (which was not hard).  After checking in and organising ourselves, we went looking for a light dinner.  We found a cafe which is also a pastry shop.  Dinner was quite nice.

Then we went for a walk around the mall and popped into a few shops to check out souvenirs.  Nothing caught our eye.  Then it was back to our hotel to rest.