23 November 2011
Rolling Mountains, Peruvian farmlands, small towns and
villages made of everything from clay bricks with thatched roofs to concrete
block with aluminum, cows, sheep, herds of llamas!, snowcapped mountains,
endless plains of “very high” altitude tundra, lots of cute children waving
from their homes or the streets, and well over 240 dogs (which only includes
what I have seen from my side of the train and from the point that I actually
started counting!).
On the train itself we feel like we have been transported
back to the 1920s….we have table cloths and waiters…definitely not the normal
European train experience Daniel and I are accustomed to. There was an alpaca scarf and hat fashion
show, multiple performances from a traditional Peruvian band, as well as a
three course meal, and a stop at the highest point on the route – a staggering
(and literally breathtaking 4, 319 meters (14, 172 feet) at La Raya where we
shopped at a little artisans market.
As we pulled into Juliaca I was quite horrified – the
outskirts of the town involved a stream that was horribly polluted and the
fringes of the city were disintegrated mud brick shanties for miles…and
graffiti on some of those walls that had been “covered up” but were skulls and
crossbones in several places and the word “massacre” in another. As we headed into the heart of the city, we were
given a true glimpse at the poverty and dilapidated nature of the city. There were markets full of every part needed
to rebuild cars, abandoned vehicles, food heaped in large bags that comprised local markets, you name
it. It really was a sobering sight.
We finally arrived in Puno – and as we neared it saw the sun
set on the port of Puno and the banks of Lake Titicaca. We
had made it! Of course it was raining –
and we braved the weather again as we found taxis and were delivered to a very
cute little hotel just around the corner of Puno’s Plaza de Armas. Now to meet up with Edgar Adventures and finalize
our plans for tomorrow!
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| Settling in on the train |
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| Stephanie had the loner seat...but nearly each person used at one point or another for a "time out" of sorts...and for some peace and quiet |
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| Ryan and Daniel in the dining car - the car behind it was the "Jurassic Park Car"...all glass so you could enjoy the views |
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| "Blazing" (okay steadily crawling) towards Puno as we cut our way through the Andes! |
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| Some of the views from the train |
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| Llamas are flocking this way! :) |
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| The market at La Raya |
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| Really really really really high up.... |
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| some of the mud-brick homes with thatched or metal roofs near La Raya |
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| the outskirts heading into Juliaca |
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| Ouskirts of Juliaca |
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| Outskirts of Juliaca |
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| Grandmother and child within the city |
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| This guy saw my camera - posed like this, and when I gave him a thumbs up, gave us an extra fist pump wave... |
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| All of this sidles right up to the tracks |
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| Within the main city of Juliaca |
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| Continuing onto Puno as the sunsets |
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| Sunset over the reedy banks of Lake Titicaca |
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