Day 8 - Inka Bus Tour, Cusco to Puno

Puno, Peru

Alrighty then, after a week in and around Cusco, it was time to be on the move to another city.

I had a pickup at 6:20am so I was up around 5:30 to get ready and to pack up everything.

This time I remembered to grab my envelope of US Cash from my locker unlike the other day.

It was a brick 3C this morning but I also knew that temperatures would climb to 22C by the afternoon.

Just part of the beauty of traveling around the higher elevations of Peru, the dramatic change in temperature.

Like clockwork, a taxi was waiting for me to take me to the bus station about 20 minutes away.

Early morning bus

Puno is about 400km south of Cusco and there a few ways to get there.

The most popular way is probably by taking an overnight bus but I’ve never been a fan of those.

I mean, you can’t really sleep on the bus and then you arrive in the wee hours of the morning and can’t usually checkin to your hostel til mid-day.

The other option is to take a bus during the day which takes about 7 or 8 hours.

Or you could do what I did.

I signed up for an Inka Bus Valley of the Sun tour which basically is the same as taking a bus down during the day but with a handful of stops to break up the trip.

Sure the bus ride takes longer at 10 hours but it also gives you a chance to see some cool stuff along the way to Puno rather than just sitting on your ass for 8 hours.

There were about a dozen of us at the bus station as well as a big group of 15 people on a tour from Bulgaria.

Throughout the day they pretty much separated us into two groups. The Bulgarians all went to the top level of the bus while the rest of us were on the bottom part.

Hey, it worked out because not only did I get a seat all to myself, the two seats on the row across the aisle were also empty so I could layout my bag and other stuff in the empty seats.

As you might surmise with a double decker, this bus was more of a luxury bus compared to the 16 seater minibuses I had taken previously this week.

I spent most of the time on the bus catching up on all the TV shows and YouTube videos I had downloaded throughout the week but never had a chance to watch.

And, of course, I wrote yesterday’s blog on the bus too.

Andahuaylillas Sistine Chapel

At 8am we arrived at the Andahuaylillas Sistine Chapel for 45 minutes.

It’s crazy to think about how many churches I’ve visited on my travels throughout the years and especially so when you consider I’m not really a religious guy.

I just really enjoy the architecture and the symbolism and imagery.

I also love to see how other people who do have faith worship and immerse themselves in their religion.

Raqchi Archaeological Complex

A couple hours later we arrived at our next stop, the Raqchi Archaeological Complex.

The ruins here were amazing.

Across the land there were the remnants of dozens of stone houses that were built in the 6th century.

You can actually imagine how people lived there up until the mid 16th century.

Truly a stunning collection of ruins and we walked around the area for a good hour.

Lunch Buffet

A half hour later at the nearby town of Sicuani we sat down at a restaurant for a buffet lunch.

Again, the Bulgarians were seated at two long tables while the rest of us were shown to a bunch of normal 2 and 4 seater tables nearby.

I can honestly say that I never met a single one of the Bulgarians on this trip today which is sad because I was literally in Bulgaria just last year.

I sat at a table with Shawn, a fellow Canadian hailing from Toronto.

The conversation flowed as we talked about traveling. It’s funny how easy it is to have a conversation with people when you’re traveling because there’s just so much to talk about and learn from each other.

By 12:45 we were back on the road.

La Raya Pass

The next stop was billed as the highest point of this route.

At 4335m, the Raya Pass is indeed high up there but, if I’m being perfectly honest, the stop was kind of meh.

I mean, yeah, you got out of the bus and took the obligatory photo of the big blue sign showing the elevation, but there wasn’t really anything else around.

Just mountains and a half dozen locals with their little stalls setup on the side of the road trying to sell their wares.

After a quick 5 minute stop there to take photos, we were back on the bus heading towards our next stop.

Lithic Museum of Pukara

An hour and a half later we arrived at the Lithic Museum of Pukara.

It’s a tiny museum with displays of Incan life and the different tools they had and how they lived.

Me being not much of a museum guy just kind of glanced through the different displays and took some photos.

Honestly, I was pretty tired by this point.

It had been a long few days and I just wanted to get to Puno.

Snoozing

Alright, all that was left was another two hour ride down to the city of Puno.

Traveling from Cusco to Puno this way was definitely the correct decision as it was nice to break up the trip into several pieces rather than just making a straight shot down there.

It was now mid afternoon and I just closed my eyes and tried to snooze as the daylight hours left and the sun set.

Hola Puno!

At 5:45 we finally arrived in Puno.

Puno is on the edge of Lake Titicaca which is split between Peru and Bolivia.

I only planned to spend just this evening here and not opting to spend a day here tomorrow to go on the Uros Floating Islands tour which some say is a great way to see an ancient culture but others say is the most touristy thing they’ve ever seen.

I was really torn on whether to spend an extra day here especially since I knew I had another long bus journey tomorrow but, in the end, I opted for just a few hours here.

After checking in to my hostel, doing some unpacking, and setting up some things, I headed out the door to explore as much as I could with the limited time I had.

I walked towards the center of the town, snapped some photos of some of the attractions in the area and that was about it.

Time for dinner…

An amazing dinner

When I was looking up places to eat here in Puno, the restaurant that was at the top of the list was Mojsa.

The food looked good and the reviews were good but there was one little problem.

Alot of the reviews said that a reservation is a must and, sure enough, when I walked up to the restaurant, there was a big sign on the door that said they were full and that it was reservations only.

Now, most people would shrug their shoulders at this point, give up, and just move on to another restaurant.

But I decided, what the hell, let me walk up the stairs and ask.

I just simply acknowledged that I saw the sign but wondered, if maybe just maybe, they had room for just little ol me.

And wouldn’t you know it, they did!

The food was amazing.

I actually teared up a little as I bit into the succulent bbq pork ribs. The meat was so juicy and fell right off the bone.

To say I thoroughly enjoyed my experience would be a huge understatement.

Yup, food for me, when I travel is one of the top things on the list.