Took an economy Flores bus to Puno from Arequipa due to a recommendation on comfort and cost, though we regretted that choice later. Though a bathroom was on the bus, it was locked, and they made no planned stops along the 5 hour route. The only restroom breaks were when someone asked the driver to stop, and people got out along the side of the road. Though in this odd situation, we met some very sweet and considerate Peruvians on the bus that went to extremes to make us feel more comfortable.
Once in Puno, we made a call to our planned hotel, the wonderful Kusillos Posada, and the owner Genny came to the bus station to bring us back to her hotel in a taxi. This would be the first of many kind acts by Genny and her daughter Gevi. We can't say enough about Genny and Gevi, who greet you with hugs and kisses and do everything to make you feel at home and help you with anything that you might need.
Gevi recommended a restaurant nearby, International, that provides good traditional meals at very low prices – we returned more than once for some good eats. The next day we visited Sillustani, a nearby village with towers on the hillside dating back to the pre-Incan times. These towers are actually tombs for the royalty of past civilizations, where in the traditional fashion, they are buried in the fetal position with a doorway facing east to see the sun rise for the afterlife. They are buried wrapped in blankets, with ceramics containing foods, and other small gifts sometimes made of gold and silver. The scenery was beautiful, overlooking a grand lake high on a flat plateau.
The following day, rather than doing the standard touristy thing of visiting the Uros Islands (floating, man-made islands made of reeds) since we had heard it was very tourist oriented with the residents being very pushy with their hard sales, we decided to head south along the coast to the small village of Chuquito. Chuquito has two specific sites: an arched outlook with beautiful views of Lake Titicaca, and the Templo de Fertilidad (Fertility Temple). For such a small village, it was surprisingly difficult to find either of these two sites. We were dropped off in their town square, where we were obviously the only gringos around (and probably the only ones around for some time). And not one local seemed to know or had heard of either of the sites we came to see. We strolled around for a good hour or so before finally, with the help of two different stories on how to get there, and neither being exactly correct, we found the arched outlook.
After enjoying the scenery and tranquility for some time, we headed back to the main square for some lunch. Some music led us to a small restaurant down an alley on the north side of the square, where many locals were enjoying a set lunch. We dropped in and had some delicious trout – a standard for the surrounding Lake Titicaca villages.
Then we were off to search one last area of town for the Templo de Fertilidad, and at last, we had found it. It was very interesting, with its wide grassy enclosure looking much like a children's playground, some vendors selling typical touristy goods along one side, and a small, low stone-walled temple set back in the middle. In front of the temple are two short phalluses, and inside of the open air temple are about 20 or so more phalluses with one large one in the center. Though the temple is interesting enough, we had a much more entertaining time playing futbol (soccer) with a young toddler boy who caught us on our way out by kicking a ball at us. We played for a good hour just kicking the ball back and forth and getting a kick out of his giggles and mannerisms.
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