With a stop over in Puno

Trip Start Jun 15, 2007
1
25
104
Trip End Dec 06, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Peru  ,
Monday, August 20, 2007

Because we were in a rush to get a couple of stops in before our deadline of the 24th for Machu Picchu we got an early bus to Puno (from Copacabana) our first stop in Peru and then later that night got a bus to Arequipa and arrived there at four in the morning. Puno is a misreable enough spot. Smelly and rundown. The attraction with this gaff are the man made floating islands out on the Peruvian side of lake Titikaka. There some sight, everything there is made of reaths, the island itself, the houses, the shops, restraunts, the boats they use, the whole shebang and the people actually live on them with their dogs, chickens, pigs you name it. It was no harm not to be staying the night in Puno though, it`s a bit of a kip. Had a walk around for a few hours but there wasn`t much to do. The place was full of what they call tuk-tuks which was a novelty.
Arequipa is a world apart from Puno. It`s richer cleaner and overall a much much more attractive city
+353 68 36139
+353 68 36139
. It`s very warm here too because the altitude is less than 2,500m. Nearly had to break out the shorts again. The plan when we arrived here was to check into the hostel at 4 in the morning, get up next day, check out the city and also book a tour to Colca canyon. This canyon is renowned for checking out the condor birds which have a wingspan of about 2.5m to 3m, there no wrens. Unfortunately we found that the tour took two days and one night because of the crap roads or one day where you`d have to get up in the morning at 1am and set off. No thank you, too much effort to see a few feathered friends at this stage. We just decided to bite the bullett and give it a miss! There`s a pretty cool convent well worth visiting in Arequipa, Santa Catherine, where all the nuns do their partying and what not. There`s some interesting places to eat on a street called Puente Bolognese where there roasting the arces off wocks by the edge of the footpath cooking up a storm for half nothing. The hostel we stayed in was Casa de Avila, a three star hostel with a television in our room. My first impressions of Peru are sweet but I got the feeling that there not just. Off to Cusco from here on a night bus Gona climb the big one.(Bus company is Cruz del Sur, there the safest company to travel with in Peru).
Arequipa hotels Slideshow

Use this image in your site

Copy and paste this html: