South America – Lake Titicaca, Puno, Peru (22 Dec 2012)

Day 11

We arrived early in the morning at Puno Bus Terminal at 0500. We purchased our bus tickets and headed for Tayka Hostel (which is the place where I am typing this blog post at the moment). One night costs 12 USD per person which is actually on the high side, given that we had cheaper and better accomodation in Cusco at Hostel Recoleta.

Lake Titicaca

The tour costs 25 USD per person and lasts from 0700 to 1700. Great value for money right? NOT

Don´t waste your time there. Puno is a shit hole and so is Lake Titicaca. We spent two thirds of the time in the bus or in a boat. Uros island was kind of cool as it was floating with reeds but there was some smelly sulphuric smell. The villagers were also pushy and kept harassing us to buy their goods. Max and Justin wasted 5 soles each on some wrist band.

The rain also made it really very difficult for me to enjoy myself during our time on Uros (30 min). When we were heading back into the boat, some guy fell into the water and everyone started laughing at him. I would usually laugh along too, but my mood was greatly dampened by the rain and I was feeling annoyed.

Next we had a 2.5 hour ride to the next island of Taquile. It was also a waste of time. The island was boring. A few of the passengers puked so they stayed on the boat. On the other hand, we had to hike for around 40 min to get to the Restaurant.

In conclusion, Lake Titicaca is a waste of time and money. I would rate it below the Estansia Tour and Tango Show that we did in Argentina. Spend your money and time better elsewhere.