Inka Express

We all felt much better the next morning which is good because we had almost 7 hours to sit on a bus 'tour' that would bring us to Lake Titicaca. The Inka Express is the tour company that specializes in nice transportation with some bonus sightseeing along the way. They have 2 routes. Cuzco to Lake Titicaca and the Lake to Cuzco. Here are some of the pictures from our departure from Cuzco. Check out the carved wooden balconies in the city.

Our first stop was a little church. I should remember the name and why it was famous, but I really don't. What I do remember was how 'scary' the style of carved statues they had on display were. Not something you want to encounter on a dark night without knowing it was there. But the architecture was cool.

Our next stop was the ruins of Rachi. But Angie, Aaron and I had already seen them so we were trying to figure out what to do when we came across the biggest father's day celebration I have ever seen. Since it was at the field right next to the ruins, we ditched the main group and were the only non-Peruvians at the celebration. They had traditional dancing, meals cooked in large kettles over open fires, fruits, veggies, trinkets, and some natural herbs. It was a blast. The fruits looked so delicious that I risked it and enjoyed a chunks of fresh watermelon. Delicious and I didn't get sick. Yay!

We made a stop at the highest elevation along the route. La Raz or la Paz...this is what happens when I write about it 4 months later. Lame, I know. But the pictures were still awesome. Peru has this unwritten rule that if you take a picture with a local holding a llama or dressed in native costume, then you have to shell out a few coins for that privilege. I came across an adorable baby llama as I was shooting the landscape so I started taking pictures of it up close. It took a little boy about 5 minutes to realize he left his llama unattended and then as I was getting up to walk away he demanded money. No way. I supported the locals a lot by buying their crafts, but begging because you weren't paying attention? Nope.


The bus ride ended in Puno which is right on the lake. Our HI hostel picked us up and we had a really decent room with 3 beds. The woman even helped us book a tour of the lake for the next day. That is one thing that I tried to book before leaving the US, but didn't hear back from companies in time. She hooked us up with a local man who owned a boat and an English speaking guide. The price for the whole thing including a taxi back to Juliaca where the aiport was so that we could fly back to Lima.

The city of Puno has an interesting rule. If a building is not finished completely, then you pay lower taxes. For instance, if the cement rods are sticking out or the brick is showing, it is not pretty enough for the higher taxes. So just about every building in the city is mostly finished. They will paint 3/4 of the way up the walls and leave the top bricks exposed. If they really don't have money, then the brick never gets painted. You can tell the rich people by how complete their house is. Puno and Juliaca are both very poor cities that have a full blown black market on the side just to make ends meet. Puno was still relatively safe at night.

That night we found a great little local place to eat. This time it was so authentic that they didn't even have an English menu. My beef was amazing. Way too much meat but so tasty. Avocado, banana, rice, cheese, tomato, toast, egg...a feast. And all for $5. Angie was brave and bought the Cuy..aka. roasted Guinea Pig. Personally I found it very greasy. She was more than a little turned off by the idea that it still had a face. And regretted it later. At least she can say she tried it.