4Globetrotters

By LineogJesper on July 28, 2024

We stopped by Puno on our way to Cusco to see the beautiful Titicaca Lake and maybe get a touch of the local culture at a 2D/1N homestay on one of the small islands. 

In Puno we stayed at Hostal Milagros Inn. We had seen the great reviews on Booking.com and we were not disappointed. The gentleman in charge spoke very good English and was about as sweet and helpful as you could ever wish for. The rooms were clean, cheap and in very good condition and he helped us arrange the homestay at a very competitive price (150 soles per person).

Only Line, Noah and Vitus had originally booked the tour as Jesper was still recovering. However, in the morning Jesper was feeling much better and our friendly host helped us book an additional ticket with short notice.

Floating islands

The first stop was one of the floating islands where 2-4 families still live together on a very small patch. It seems that they now live almost entirely on tourism but it was still interesting to learn how they live and the peculiar arrangements in such a very different way of life. If one family is not pulling their part of the load the others are e.g. free to simply cut their part of the island off and they drift away to make their way on their own. While interesting it was a VERY touristy experience and we might have preferred a 30 minute stop rather than the 1 hour and 30 minutes we spent there. 

Homestay at Amantani Island

Next stop was the Island of Amantani where we would spend the night with a local family. This last stretch was quite a bumpy ride as the wind had picked up but everybody made it to shore without too much seasickness. At the dock we were picked up by our host Blanca. Looking at some of the other hosts we found ourselves quite lucky as some of the others looked like they had their fair share of visiting tourists.

After a short walk we arrived at Blanca’s house and settled in. The rooms were fine but don’t expect a hotel. It was very basic with a simple kitchen, shared toilet in the courtyard, worn out beds, no shower and no running water. The family was very friendly, but since Line was the only one with the ability to speak a bit of Spanish we were unfortunately not able to connect with them in the same way we did when we stayed with a family in Fiji 2 years ago. 

Next point on the agenda was a trip to the top of the island to view the sunset at the temple of Pachamama (Mother Earth). A surprisingly hard climb in the thin air, but we were rewarded with some of the best views we have ever seen. That hike alone made the whole tour worthwhile. The pictures are beautiful but they do not even come close to capturing the real experience.

After dinner it was time to get dressed up and join the party in the middle of the village. Obviously for the sake of all the tourists but a very fun experience nonetheless. We did not feel like staying all night so after about 45 minutes we returned to Blanca’s house for a good night’s sleep.

Visit to Taquile island     

The next morning we said goodbye to our hosts and sailed to the nearby island of Taquile where we would hike and eat lunch. Vitus was not feeling well and we barely made it onto the boat before he threw up. At this point we were still hoping it was “just” sea sickness, but arriving at Taquile and a visit to the toilet unfortunately confirmed that he was going down with the same thing Jesper had had two days prior. Timing could not be worse as we had just been dropped off and the boat had already left for the dock on the other end of the island where we would be picked up after lunch. It was quickly apparent that Vitus could not walk so the only solution was for Jesper to carry him the 3-4 km and 250 vertical meters up to the Plaza. That took a long time as Titicaca is located almost 4000 meters above sea level. 

“Have kids they said, it will be fun they said :-)”

At the Plaza Vitus fell asleep and there was no way he would be able to continue the hike after the lunch break. We spoke to a very nice, young doctor from France, who was in the group, and she gave us advice and managed to reassure us regarding Vitus’ condition, as she had just had the same the day before! apparently it is some nasty but short virus going around in Peru at the moment. Instead of all walking with the group we arranged for Jesper and Vitus to go with a day-trip boat back to Puno from the dock close to the Plaza. We will spare you the details but in the end Vitus and Jesper made it down to the harbor and back to Puno and we all caught the overnight bus to Cusco as planned, as Vitus was feeling a bit better in the evening.

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