Walking Tour of Puno

On my second day in Puno I went on a walking tour of the town. My guide was a student from the University working on her degree in tourism. We spent much of our time speaking Spanglish, discussing the modern customs of today's Puno.

My tour guide

Our walk started up the hill of the Condor. There were many stairs...many stairs. The weather was beautiful, but the sun was very strong. We took our time as we climbed the stairs. My guide described to me the many uses of the cuy(guinea pig). The shaman use the cuy to diagnose illness of the common people who prefer not to trust modern medicine. They pass the cuy over the body of the ill person for up to 5 hrs. or more. Then, they kill the cuy and examine the body to observe how the cuy's body reflects the illness of the person. Interesting, I thought.

I made it to the top to join the condor!

The City of Puno and Lake Titicaca

We visited the churches and main squares. It was wedding season when I visited, so I bore witness to the procession of a couple getting married in one of the grand old churches. We toured the museum and observed some interesting artifacts including ceremonial vases, Spanish silver , and several mummies recovered from Sillustani.

This is the old gateway into the city. But Puno grew and so did the transit system, so they built new roads to accommodate 2 way traffic and larger vehicles. The gateway concluded the tour, and I believe that we were both quite tired after 5 hrs. of touring the city. We made our way back to the hostel. Upon my return, we discovered a party was going to be held.

They were doing some renovations at the time I was there which I got to see the end result of. It was great! I played pool in their new game room with this adorable European guy. My only regret was not learning his name before rushing off to catch a late night bus back to Cusco that night.