Day 12 — Off to the Altiplano

Tuesday — April 14

After an early breakfast, we went down to the lobby to meet Joaquin for our transfer to the airport. Imagine our surprise when we found Vidal waiting for us as well. It turns out that the farmers’ strike was extended into today, so he was unable to take the overnight bus to Puno last night as planned. On the way to the airport, he outlined the new plan, gave us the name of the guide who would be meeting us at the Juliaca airport, made sure we had his cell phone number to reach him in an emergency, and promised us that he would make every effort to get a bus out tonight. We tried to assure him that it was OK and that we understood. After all, the strike was not something he had any control over. It was clear, however, that he was unhappy about not being able to keep his commitment to see things through as planned.

It was bedlam when we arrived at the Cusco airport. Added to the usual crowd of passengers were people trying to purchase last minute airline tickets to destinations they had intended to travel to by bus. When we first started planning this trip, we’d considered taking the bus because we wanted to see some of the countryside between Cusco and Puno. In the end, however, we simply ran out of time and didn’t have the luxury of a day to make the bus trip. What a good thing that turned out to be!

Boarding passes already in hand, we joined the bag drop-off queue. The line was long, but it moved steadily. In the meantime, at our behest, Vidal went to see if there were any seats available on the Juliaca flight. It was a futile attempt. So we bid adios to a heavy-hearted Vidal, shelled out $23 for the excess weight fee on our bags (remember all that shopping), paid our departure tax, and went through security without any mishap. Our wait at the gate was short and soon we were aboard LAN 123. There was no room to spread out on this sold-out flight, but it didn’t matter. The 30-minute flight was over in the blink of an eye. Before we knew it, we were landing at Aeropuerto Internacional Inca Manco Capac in Juliaca.

The Andes Mountains peek through the clouds as we head to Juliaca.

Welcome to Aeropuerto Internacional Inca Manco Capac.

Debarking the plane, the altitude hit us like a brick wall and left us gasping for air. There was no doubt that we were on the “altiplano” (high plain)! (Note the altitude information in the inset in the picture above — equates to about 12,550 feet.) We immediately slowed our pace and in no time we were breathing normally. Our bags took a few minutes to show up on the carousel, but all three pieces were accounted for, so all was well in our travel world.

As Vidal had promised, Percy was waiting for us outside the terminal. As soon as he and Leo (the driver) had the bags loaded into a well-maintained late-model van, we were on the road to Puno, 30-miles (50 km) away — and another 115 feet (35 meters) higher in elevation. It was a pleasant drive on a paved highway with beautiful scenery to keep us entertained. The clarity of the air and the intensity of the colors (especially the blue of the sky) was amazing — another indication of the high altitude.

Around 10:00a, we pulled up to the Casa Andina Private Collection located outside the hubbub of Puno town. After seeing us safely checked in, Percy left us to get settled in, promising to return at noon for our planned outing to a few places around Lake Titicaca.

Our second-floor room in the main building was just as I had hoped it would be — bright and clean; beds made up with crisp linens and cozy comforters; wonderfully soft alpaca throws laid out to ward off the nighttime chill; central-heating system waiting to be turned on if we needed it. And the highlight feature — a view of Lake Titicaca.

Our second floor room at Casa Andina Private Collection.

A fabulous view of Lake Titicaca greets us from the balcony of our room.
(the orange tiles are the roof of the other building on the property; better views from our higher vantage point in the main building)

After getting settled into our room, we decided to grab a quick lunch in the hotel’s dining room. At just past 11:00a, we had the dining room and the serving staff to ourselves. Not very hungry, I was content with a smoked ham sandwich, although I did have a bite or two of Mui’s Saqta de Gallina (traditional chicken stew topped with strips of Andean cheese), which was very tasty indeed.

With a view like this, even cardboard would taste good.

Tummies sated for the time being, we collected our cameras and went to meet Percy for our afternoon outing.

Next Up: Day 12 — Ahayamarka & Aramu Muru

Day 14 — Heading Out of Puno

Thursday — April 16

After another good night’s rest, we were ready to tackle our sightseeing/travel day. Overnight showers had left everything looking fresh. The early morning temperature was crisp, putting a bounce in our step as we hastened to the dining room for one last breakfast at Casa Andina. Afterwards, we took a brief stroll to the hotel’s floating totora reed dock. There were a variety of birds and waterfowl looking for breakfast in the marsh waters. It would have been nice to do some bird watching, but time was not on our side.

"Alma — Cocina Viva" where we enjoyed good food during our stay.

Lake Titicaca boat tours organized through the hotel leave from this private dock.

Vidal arrived as we were checking out of the hotel. When he asked us for permission to have Veronica tag along, we agreed wholeheartedly — an opportunity for “on-the-job training” for our budding tour guide.

With the bags loaded into the van, we headed out of Puno, but not without making a quick stop at the Mirador Puma Huta first. Loosely translated, the name of the overlook means “the viewpoint the puma came to” — remember Percy’s translation of Titicaca: “where the puma came to drink.” Fittingly, the first thing we saw was a huge stone puma looking out over the lake. Next came the gaping maw of a snake — another sacred symbol of the Inca.

A puma, one of the sacred symbols of the Inca, stands watch over Lake Titicaca.

Mui’s been swallowed alive by the giant snake at the mirador.

We put aside the oddity of the giant stone creatures and enjoyed the view of Lake Titicaca on what was quickly becoming an overcast morning.

An “I visited Lake Titicaca” photo op from the mirador.

Panoramic view of the world’s highest navigable lake.

While we were enjoying the views, Vidal had disappeared from sight. He was apparently getting permission to visit the school next door — a little surprise for us. The kids were lined up at the railing outside their classroom, prepared to sing a song for us. We enjoyed the short, impromptu performance and gave them a standing ovation. Vidal, who had already distributed pencils to the kids, then gave each child a sheet of stickers as a thank you for a job well done. When we left, the kids were grinning from ear to ear.

The kids prepare to sing a song for us.

The kids are rewarded for their performance.

We would have spent more time at the overlook and the school, but we had one more stop to make before we needed to get started on the drive to Juliaca — it just wouldn’t do to miss our flight.

Next Up: Day 14 — The Chullpas of Sillustani

Day 14 — The Chulpas of Sillustani

Thursday — April 16

Sillustani, the site of pre-Columbian funeral towers, is about 9 miles (~15 km) off the main road between Puno and Juliaca, making it a perfect stopover on our way to the airport.

This Google Earth image shows Sillustani in relation to Puno and Juliaca.

Half an hour after leaving Puno, we were standing on a peninsula that splits Lago Umayo into two uneven parts, taking in the views before starting our short trek to explore the site. Looking out over the north side of the lake, the skies were overcast with clouds threatening rain. Towards the ruins, however, we had beautiful blue skies. (For those who might be wondering what Sillustani means, the name comes from a Quechua word that means "fingernail" — refers to the peninsula on which the site is situated.)

View of the smaller portion of Lago Umayo from the peninsula that splits it into two.

Looking towards the funeral towers of Sillustani, the skies look quite different.

The highlight of this site are the chulpas (burial towers) of the Colla, an Aymara-speaking civilization that pre-dated the Inca occupation. Simple though these circular stone towers seem to be, the engineering that went into building them was quite complicated. In fact, to date, archeologists have been unable to rebuild one of the damaged towers. The consensus amongst the experts is that the Collas had a more sophisticated mortarless construction style than the Incas who invaded them in the 15th century. The towers, some of which are 40 feet (~12 m) tall, were used as burial chambers for the nobility, who were entombed with not just their worldly goods, but with their entire families.

The masonry work of some of the chulpas is quite rough.

This chulpa, which occupies a prominent spot at the site, has come to symbolize Sillustani.

Except for some locals from the nearby village going about their business, we had the site to ourselves and took our time exploring it with Veronica and Vidal providing insight into the symbolism associated with the towers — the cylindrical tower = a phallus; the interior of the tower = a womb; the body mummified in a fetal position = returning to mother earth in the same position that one comes to life; the small door facing east = where the sun rises and life is reborn every day.

Our meandering walk through the site eventually took us to the other side of the promontory where the main body of Lake Umayo was laid out before our eyes, with Umayo Island about halfway offshore (the island is now a wildlife reserve to protect the threatened vicuña, a camelid much prized for the very fine wool that is produced from its fleece).

Mui and I are caught in action at Sillustani.
(photo by Vidal)

Umayo Lake and Island; the latter is a vicuña reserve.

Lake Umayo makes a great background for our photo op.
(photo by Vidal)

After exploring the tower that was destroyed by lightning — they have lightning rods around the site now — we returned to the chulpa that has become synonymous with the site: the “Lizard Chulpa.” The burial tower is so named because of the image of a lizard carved in relief on the external wall. From certain angles, the tower looks completely intact. In reality, it was dynamited by grave robbers who were looking for treasure. What makes the destruction particularly sad is that the treasure that was in the tower had already been removed and placed in a museum.

Left: If you look closely, you can see the lizard for which the chulpa is named.
Right: A “we visited Sillustani” photo op. (photo by Vidal)

With the hour getting on towards 11:00a, we left Sillustani to resume our sightseeing with one more stop on our way to the airport in Juliaca.

Next Up: Day 14 — A Traditional House in the High Andes

Day 14 — A Traditional House in the High Andes

Thursday — April 16

Having noticed what looked like mini-estates on either side of the road to Sillustani, Mui had asked if it would be possible to visit one of them. After consulting Veronica, who is more familiar with the local sites, Vidal had replied, “but of course; we can stop on the way back from the ruins.” Thus, our last stop before we finally headed to Juliaca was at a traditional house typical of the area. Although these houses look like they are constructed of stone, they are actually made with adobe bricks cured under the hot Andean sun. They consist of several small buildings and are surrounded by a tall wall with one or more arched entrances.

A traditional house on the road to Sillustani.

The livestock at this house includes alpacas (left) and llamas.

We were welcomed into the estate by the Aymara-speaking owner and his young son, Alex. After conversing with Vidal, our host went back to his weaving, leaving Alex, who was casting furtive looks our way, to follow us around as we explored the grounds.

Alex and his father welcome us into their home.

Near the open hearth that serves as a summer kitchen, Vidal removed the cloth that was covering a display of various types of potatoes and grains. He then went on to talk about the staples of the local cuisine and explained that they add a clay mixture (like a thick sauce) to the potatoes in order to get some of the essential minerals that would otherwise be missing from the diet. Vidal seemed to enjoy his little “demonstration snack,” but when Mui asked if he could try some, he suggested that Mui abstain from this particular delicacy. Instead, we enjoyed our potatoes with some Andean cheese that our host graciously provided as an alternative.

Potatoes and grains — the basic ingredients of the local diet.

Vidal prepares himself a snack of potatoes and clay.

Afterwards, we wandered around the grounds, checking out the guinea pig houses, the storage rooms, the pile of pottery shards unearthed by our host (which may well have historic significance considering the ancient cultures that once called the area home), and the dried herbs and worms used by traditional healers.

Our exploration of the grounds completed, we returned to the weaving area where we browsed the wall hangings our host had made from llama wool (coarser in comparison to alpaca wool). I would like to have bought one of the bigger tapestries — particularly the one hanging on the loom in the picture below — but our limited luggage space meant being content with one of the smaller ones.

In addition to farming and raising livestock, our host weaves wall tapestries.
(the second tapestry from the left came home with us)

Thus bringing our two-week Andean adventure to a close, we departed for the Juliaca airport.

Next Up: Day 14 — Back to Lima