The bus to Puno departed at eight in the morning. The morning bad weather, curling like a gray ribbon, turned into a road. Hiding from the bright rays of the sun, it slithered through the valley to the southeast. The mountains branch out here into three wide ridges. And behind the eastern slopes of the Andes, at the source of the Amazon, hides the highest lake in the world, Titicaca. It is almost ten hours of travel to get there. The road runs across a highland plain, called Altiplano by the local Indians. The Andes become steeper. The surface of the plateau is covered with a carpet of grass and flowers. The altitude is about four thousand meters. The landscapes around are picturesque.
We travel along an old railway. The bus is very comfortable, with flight attendants, refreshments, coffee, and pleasant music. This is not just a route from Cusco to Puno, but a special program for tourists with stops for photos and walks. In the Rakchi area, tourists visit the ruins of the Veracochas temple — a unique semi-circular structure of pre-Incan culture, as well as a bell tower church from the 16th century. The bus arrives in Puno in time for tourists to enjoy the view of the city and Lake Titicaca from the high pass in the bright rays of sunset.
From my diary. The tourist bus is a great idea and an example of rational program organization. Essentially, the section of the route from Cusco to Puno, spanning 805 km, is the most popular on the tourist route through Peru. Tour operators book seats in advance for their tourists. This is very convenient. Firstly, there is no need to spend money on renting separate transport. Secondly, there are comfortable conditions for tourists. Thirdly, it saves money on paying for a guide, which ultimately leads to a reduction in the overall cost of the program. For example, in Kyrgyzstan, on the route from Bishkek to Torugart (the checkpoint on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border), the tour operator uses separate transport regardless of the number of tourists. Whether there are two people or twenty, a separate vehicle is used in each case, the rental of which costs, say, 600 dollars. However, if a tourist bus is used, the cost of travel for one tourist will be only 30 dollars, regardless of the number of tourists.
Among those meeting the tourist bus is our guide Miguel. He speaks Russian quite well. By the way, he is the only Russian-speaking guide in all of Puno. He once came to the Soviet Union on a grant program to study. He graduated as a veterinarian but worked in his specialty for only a few years. Now he is a professional guide. He mainly accompanies tourist groups from Russia and the Commonwealth countries. In his opinion, more and more Russian tourists are arriving. It turned out that Irina, who worked with us in Cusco and in the Valley of the Incas, is his ex-wife, with whom he separated a few years ago.
Puno itself is a small town, with no tall buildings. Mostly two- and three-story houses under red tiled roofs. It is located in a basin on the slopes of the mountain, so the lake is constantly present in the panorama and life of the city. Titicaca is the main attraction. The authorities of Puno hold many different festivals and carnivals here, during which several hundred dance groups come to showcase not only their dances but also costumes and masks. The most grandiose celebration is the carnival with costumed parades all night long, which takes place on November 5, the day when the first Inca Manco Capac is said to have emerged from Lake Titicaca.
For the inhabitants of Puno and other coastal settlements, Titicaca is simultaneously a source of water, a provider of food, and a giant "heating pad," softening the climate of this generally cool region.
