The next leg to Puno was all about putting that right and sure enough once we had climbed above the tree line again there were herds of the beasties running around. By the time we reached Puno the 45th cry of 'llama' got little more than a nod of acknowledgement, job done.
The Cusco to Puno road is another one of those shouldntbemissedbeforeyoudie routes. 14 years ago Pam and I took the train and had time to watch the landscape pass by, take a nap, watch the landscape some more, nap again and eat, watch the landscape just a little bit more and oh look there is a horse overtaking us...it may be one of the highest but it is certainly one of the slowest train services on the planet and whilst the scenery is incredible, at 15 mph there is rather a lot of it.
In the car this time however we were often bettering European motorway speeds, the road is new and beautifully tarmacked which as you will appreciate was quite something for us at this stage of this trip!
Along the way we stopped at the Temple of Raqchi with its adobe walls still standing over 12m high and lots of other buildings around such as barracks, a palace, baths and aqueducts and plazas...
And then on to Puno, the gateway to the world's largest high-altitude body of water, Lake Titicaca is over 160kms long and approx 50 wide, its huge its blue and split down the middle between Peru and Bolivia.
lots to see in a lovely spot near to the volcano which apparently inspired the temple to be built to appease Viracocha (the Inca creator god) who had caused the volcano 'to spew out fiery boulders in a rage of anger'.
The main reason we were here was to see the floating reed Uros islands and the Island of Taquile.
The Uros are an ancient people who were severely hassled nearly to the point of extinction by the Spanish which was probably the reason they started living on these floating islands.
It is weird, to say the least, to walk by someones house on what feels like a bouncy castle surrounded by water knowing that this pliable platform is slowly rotting and needs replenishing continuously, especially when there is a satellite dish attached.
The key to life here is the tótora reed which is a food source as well as the main building material.
They also use it to build boats upon which they travel and give tourists a ride around the neighboring island.
The Uros are an ancient people who were severely hassled nearly to the point of extinction by the Spanish which was probably the reason they started living on these floating islands.
It is weird, to say the least, to walk by someones house on what feels like a bouncy castle surrounded by water knowing that this pliable platform is slowly rotting and needs replenishing continuously, especially when there is a satellite dish attached.
The key to life here is the tótora reed which is a food source as well as the main building material.
They also use it to build boats upon which they travel and give tourists a ride around the neighboring island.
People have said that today the Uros people live in nice houses in Puno, dress up each morning in their traditional garb and travel out to work with the tourists on the islands in their modern boats.
We saw plenty of evidence however to the contrary, that they do indeed still live on these inverted water beds for round the back were piles of the usual detritus that humans will produce in everyday life, dirty washing, rubbish etc...
Whatever the reality of their situation today it is a great place to visit, an extraordinary way of life to witness and if it is just a history lesson then what a brilliant way to learn.
Next stop was the island of Taquile where you really do feel like you are on top of the world with the sheer enormity of the lake beneath you, snow capped mountains in the Bolivian distance and blue blue blue in every direction.
This is the health centre today, a rather posh and sophisticated building compared to the one in which Cami held a dental surgery 14 years ago! It's brilliant to see the place looking so well on all the tourist dollars and although there is always the risk of traditional ways of life being eroded...
...our guide was very positive about how the island's population has grown over the last few years whilst maintaining the rules of yore.
I know exactly what you mean about the snail pace speed of the train journey between Cuzco & Puno as the line climbs up to La Raya and over the Nudo de Vilcanota pass, a barely noticeable slope for a road but quite a steep climb for a train on a regular railway track. The first time I did that journey some 50 years ago, we passengers first began hearing some ear piercing screaching as the wheels began spinning on the iron rails and then we slowly ground to a complete stand-still, quite grateful that we weren't actually sliding backwards down the slope. After some discussion, all the passengers were herded off the overloaded train and ordered to walk the remainder of the gentle climb, up to and over the La Raya pass (some 14,000+ feet above S.L.) while the now somewhat lighter train regained some purchase on the rails and gradually climbed up to the pass beside us - no trouble keeping up with it speedwise, even at that altitude! Luckily, the train driver and other railway workers were obviously used to this occurrence and we were never required to help push the train up to help it over the pass!
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