The other two towns we visited either side of the trek ... Ollantayumbo and Machu Picchu town .... could be mistaken for Alpine towns .... enjoyable with the exhilaration of high altitude, but definitely focused on tourists with prices to match. Arequippa remains my favourite city in Peru.
The two youngest children at my home stay.
Lake Titicaca
Our travels in Peru finished with a visit to Lake Titicaca, a massive lake set at 3800ms above sea level, 180 kms long and 280 ms at its deepest point. We visited a floating island community of around 20 inhabitants and were shown how their islands are made and maintained; huge chunks of peat are strapped together and covered with reeds in a criss-cross pattern, a new layer being added every fortnight.
We also stayed with families in another rural community for a night. This home stay was much more comfortable than expected ... basic, but with en suites and prettily decorated rooms .... Peruvian rugs can really help make a room look warm and homely. We had lots of fun, took presents, were dressed up again much to our distress ...
... played volleyball and tried failingly to converse in Quechan, but I couldn't help feeling that it was all a bit staged. But then isn't tourism a good way for a country to develop?
Personally I would have preferred to visit this area when the inhabitants of the floating islands and our home stays did not want you to buy their "home-made alpaca" goods (that were definitely not alpaca and most likely came from China) and when fishing was the basis of their income. Nonetheless, they were alll charming folk and, as in the jungle in Ecuador, even the youngsters seemed to genuinely enjoy our company and maintain the type of graciousness that is not apparent in most developed countries today. Interesting to note that the teenagers wore traditional dress for the game of volleyball, which by the way they were remarkably good at, but went off to school in western clothing .... leggings and the like!
As we left Puno, our base at Lake Titicaca, and drove round the to the Bolivian side on our journey to La Paz, I did wonder whether or not I would have preferred to visit the lake and its islands from the southern, Bolivian end. Speaking to other tourists later on in my travels, the answer to this was probably yes; tourism is not so advanced in Bolivia, but for how long?
As we crossed the border, one question niggled. Why had I learned so little about Peru? A disappointing tour guide certainly did not help. He was a previous Inca trail guide, great at logistics and carrying my bags, but he knew precious little about politics, economics and culture. This is probably a reflection of the poor education in this country and the fact that I had been spoilt by superbly well educated guides in Cuba, Galapagos and Ecuador. I found myself looking up the facts on Wikipedia!
Peru has had a good couple of decades but is now floundering. I couldn't really get a straight answer regarding the popularity of the current administration but it seems to have done quite well. A lot of trade agreements have been made (yes, including with China) and roads are improving. Education and healthcare are apparently behind in development terms but a social security system has recently been introduced. Looking around there were not many beggars, the streets were clean despite the many dogs (almost all families have one), and most of the rural areas I saw seem to be working on building schools. The infrastructure in the cities was good too. All was marred though by the lasting effects of an archaic taxation law where taxes do not have to be paid on unfinished buildings. Virtually every business or home had unfinished construction somewhere .... most notable in the housing areas where many many houses still had a floor to complete.
Peru has a lot of minerals although surprisingly no-one mentioned oil which was so important in Ecuador, a country with similar geography. Fishing is big in the arid/"grey" coastal areas, and silver is pretty big too. The Peruvians even believe their silver is superior to British sterling silver - who would believe that!
That's about all I can tell you for the moment. Tourism is obviously on the up. Read Wikipedia if you want to know more!
My fellow travellers in Peru
Bolivia here I come!
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