I did not know the Uros Islands were part of the Epcot Center

What a disaster in Arequipa. We had arranged a motorcycle tour for the Colca Canyon with what seemed like a very reputable operator, Felipe. We had setup to get the two 250cc bikes on Monday morning, but we were unable to contact him, so we pushed it back a day. Monday night he came over to the hostel saying that everything was ready. But there was a catch. The back tire on one of the bikes was not in good condition so I would have to be careful to not hit any rocks. I immediately said that there was no way I would head out on a 250km drive over gravel roads under that type of condition. Don’t hit a rock? They’re old gravel roads, come on.

So, then there was a lot of discussion about whether he could change the tire before tomorrow, how we could get the bikes, and all sorts of fun logistical details. We thought it would be all set, but noooo. He called about 30 minutes later to say he couldn’t find a tire store that was open. This, by the way, is a complete lie. We’re in Peru, where if you want to buy something and have the money, you can simply call or knock on a door and some grandma will be happy to wake up to sell you something. Our host, Pichin, said that he probably didn’t even try, which is particularly confusing considering that he spent almost an hour ironing out everything. But, tah-dah! To the rescue, Pichin calls another man he knows in the motorcycle rental business. He comes over around 9pm to fix everything for us, but we couldn’t agree on a price. So we scratched the whole motorcycle idea, which was really disappointing given how much fun riding around a huge canyon would have been. Oh well. Sadly, this blew all motivation to even see the canyon itself. I doubt the fact that I saw it years ago helped. So we left for Puno.

We arrived yesterday after a beautiful 6hr alpine busride, watching vicuñas, alpacas and llamas graze the highlands, flamingos feeding in desolate lakes and coming into Lake Titicaca. First things first, we sat and cheers our arrival into a new city. Then, we set out to figure out what we were going to do here. We decided to check out the floating Uros Islands and skip the Isla Taquile and Amantaní (we’re doing some other Lake Titicaca islands in Bolivia). So that was today!

I had warned Erin that the tour would be incredibly touristy, but even I wasn’t prepared for it. It started first with the bus. It was half Americans plus two Brazilians and two Dutch. As I found out very quickly, this was going to be an older-style tour. Except for the Dutch, everyone was over 65, one with a four-legged walking cane. I quickly found out that the couple from Sacramento owned a antique/folk artifacts store back home, but that they closed it for a few days every month to join the Airstream club on their regular trips. They had a 1966 Airstream Globetrotter. If that sounds like a lot of information to share on the bus ride from your hotel to a dock less than 1/2 mile away, you would be correct.

When I was in Puno last time with my dad for Christmas 2001, nearly 8 years ago. I remember the trip as being interesting, but quite pushy sellers. That was then, this is now. They’ve turned the entire event into a slick, well-oiled experience. I half expected to walk off the boat and find myself in Epcot Center, Disneyworld, ready to check out China, Italy, and then Australia. The interaction between the guide and the local Uros president was insanely funny. The guide would be talking about the various islands of the lake, so the president would grab a reed from the ground, hand it to the guide, then hold up the map for him to point at. Then, when talking about the history of the people, the president would go into a back room and pull out a tiny boat representation of the historical boat. Then when describing how they made the islands from floating clumps of reed roots, he mimicked cutting of the dirt, then the laying of reeds, then laying smaller reeds, before putting a tiny house on top, then a tiny hut next to it, then a tiny canoe, a tiny stove, and, of course, two tiny people dressed in traditional garb. It was hilarious. Educational, but hilarious. I felt like I was back in second grade watching Bill Nye the Science Guy pour liquid nitrogen on an apple. I challenge anyone to build a better diarama.

After the educational talk, we walked around the small island for a bit, poking around at things, taking pictures, resisting their pleas for us to buy some textiles from them. Then it was time to board the boat. I took the opportunity to do my best SI swimsuit pose, then hopped on to enjoy the ride across the river. The second island was having a Catholic festival for the Miraculous Virgin, which was interesting, then it was back to Puno.

Here, we bought our tickets to Copacabana, Bolivia for tomorrow at 7:30am. Tonight we’re treating ourselves to a nice Peruvian dinner of guinea pig and alpaca. Can’t wait!