October 11: Cusco to Puno

It was my goal in visiting Peru to see as much of the country and the special sights as possible, rather than focus, as many do, just on Machu Picchu. So today I took a long train ride on PeruRail from Cusco to Puno, the entrance to Lake Titicaca.

The train left at 7:50AM, and my van pick up was at 6:45 — the check in process doesn’t take long, but it is thorough. I had a train car and seat assigned but when I visited the desk I was given a table number and told I would have it to myself, which sounded lovely. Nothing prepared me for how lovely. The car was carpeted and the seats were like wing chairs, and white tablecloths and little lamps were on the tables. I was in the next to last car, and the one behind me held the bar and the open air observation area. There were menus offering full breakfasts (for a charge), and descriptions of the included lunch and afternoon tea. The announcements, in Spanish, English and French also talked about a fashion show, music and dancing entertainment and a lesson on how to make a Pisco Sour. Clearly since it was a 10 1/2 hour trip with only one stop for 15 minutes, the crew and company was focussed on customer service. And the food was delicious. And I’ve never seen as nice a bathroom on any train.

So I watched the landscape go by and change along the way, and read a book, and watched a bit of the entertainment. Really quite a delightful day, and quite a change from the hiking and exploring I’ve been engaged in for the last couple weeks. The only stop we made was at the highest point in the journey, at La Raya, which the conductor said was 14,319 ft. There was a small artisan market set up where the train stopped, and a couple women who brought their alpacas down for photos. Most of the items were things I’d seen in other markets, but there was the addition of some furry hats and slippers — the altitude making it a colder climate.

The only other place that struck me was as we crawled slowly through the city center of Juliaca, about 38 km away and where I will fly from in a couple days. There was a market of sorts right up against the train tracks. And the market seemed to have sections — lots of hardware items for sale in several booths, then home goods, then various herbs and quinoa in big bags, and finally a row of fortune tellers or shaman. The booths opened up on both sides — onto the train track and onto a narrow sidewalk, and they were on both sides of the track. The nearness to the train was such that some of the corrugated tin roofs seem to almost reach the train as it went by. It is a larger town, but seemed to be one where people were scraping out a living. Not much tourism.

We arrived in Puno after sunset, and the porters offloaded the luggage before the passengers, so the bags were waiting for us when we disembarked. I had arranged for taxi to pick me up at the station, and my female driver was right there, and the hotel about 15 minutes away, not in the city center. I have a tour on the lake tomorrow, so it will be an early start once again.

Quite a unique experience today — very enjoyable.

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