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| There are a lot of men and women that cycle these wagons around the streets with whatever they are selling. |
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| This is the "nicer" bus, so much better than the last we took, They even brought to us water and soda to drink. |
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| This was the group of backpacking girl's semester abroad group that rode on the bus with us. They actually get credit for backpacking all over South America. |
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| We were able to get the front seats on top and had the best view of this beautiful country ever. |
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| Soda crackers covered in Chocolate, yummy. |
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| You can also take a luxury train to Puno, it is a little slower but you can get up and walk around. The bus is eight hours the train maybe ten hours. |
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| It is harvest time here. That is their crops standing in the field. |
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| On the way to work. Notice how the whole family goes to work together. The other workers are Government Street repairmen. |
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| On the way to market on top of a van. |
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| Herding catttle |
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| Older lady carrying sticks. |
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| Young boy carrying a heavy load. |
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| Llamas drinking from a small fresh water pond. |
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| There are very few cars on this road, we are in rural Peru. |
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| The nice bus makes a rest stop and the restrooms are clean, but in Peru toilet seats are optional. |
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| Designer washstands, but they are outside. These are for the more expensive bus with passengers from all over the world. |
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| There are motorcycle tours of this country. Wouldn't that be fun. |
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| Typical small town main street. I took the pictures from the bus, sorry about the reflections. |
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| I love these mountain views on the Altiplano. |
Oh, you touch our hearts with these photos and your descriptions. "Fast bus" to Puno is the way to travel, and the seats on the top level in front provide a magnificent view of the countryside. The only annoying things are the darn speed bumps about every 5KM, and their choice of movies they play - at the usual extra-loud volume. If this bus ran from Salt Lake to St. George, we would take it rather than drive. The climb and descent over Abra Malaga (a pass more than 14,500ft elevation) doesn't seem all that high, but the views of the mountains reaching so higher are magnificent. I feel sorry for the vendors who set up there in the cold and wind, they don't really seem to sell much, as most of the tourists won't even get out of the bus. You didn't mention the "bomb chute" toilet on the bus - yes, it drops directly onto the road.
ReplyDeleteThe crops, mostly corn, were just planted as we were leaving - how the seasons change so quickly. Their farming is so different: instead of figuring out which fields they can efficiently get a tractor in to cultivate, it's wherever they can stick a hoe or shovel into the ground. These people surely have adapted to their conditions, and make the most of it. The abundance of food in Peru is one thing that we always felt good about it, though it is almost all raised with backbreaking labor, unchanged for centuries.
We got to Puno a couple of times, but never made it out onto the lake or floating island, you should do that if you're there when the weather is pleasant. We did go down to the shore, and had lunch at one of the 20+ little cafes that line the street to the pier, where the hawkers are all trying to get you to come into their cafe - very lively and part of the fun experience.
Hope by now you have convinced yourselves that you're living the dream, because you surely will think of it that way when you return.