Okay. Let’s get the Titicaca jokes out of the way before I get there. As an 11 year old primary school kid, this was probably the most famous lake in the world. Who would have thought that one day I would be riding a motorbike there. And if I had known way back then that the city of Puno was on Lake Titicaca it would have been even funnier. So here I am, over fifty years later, leaving Colca Canyon to ride the 300kms to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

But first I had to ride nearly halfway back to Arequipa to get to the main road. So, this time I dressed more appropriately for the high pass that I knew I was going to cross. Including my Antarctic thermals. I had said to myself that I didn’t need to stop and take any more photos of the road or scenery as I had enough already, and the photos don’t actually show any dimension or awe. But that lasted 5 minutes.

I thought I would show a couple of things along the way that are a constant reminder to me to stay safe. I don’t think I actually saw one guardrail in the whole country that was not damaged in some way. There are not a lot of them but the ones they have are usually in appropriate locations and so have been doing their job. While only about 20% more populated than Australia, Peru had 4,400 road deaths last year compared to our 1,200. That’s still a lot of people when you think about it.

And when you see these little roadside memorials everywhere it’s also a good reminder to be careful. I see so many of them, but I just took a couple of pictures of some that morning that are typical of what I see every day.

Except for this guy below. He’s a one off. I have no idea why he was on the side of the road. Maybe just a nicer way than dumping your rubbish in a pile. And some more llamary things on the road. And a truck having a little sleep in the gutter.

On the way to the canyon I had seen a turn off on the main road to some old rock art and so this time I decided to take a look. The sign said only 3kms and it was a pretty ordinary gravel rutted road. After 4kms I decided I’d just do one more bend and then turn back. But then I could see a bridge and a sign, so I rode to that. It was just a sign pointing back to the highway. So, I took it. The road was pretty crappy, so I tried standing up and riding and found it to be very successful. I felt much safer, and it was much easier than sitting down. It was the first time I had ever felt comfortable doing that. New skill.

The road ended up back on the highway a bit further along with another sign about the prehistoric art. But it said only 1.5kms away on the road I had just ridden on. Liars. There had been only one other road back down near the bridge, so I decided not to give up and went back down again and took that road. After a couple of 1.5kms I eventually came across a closed gate and a little town. I tooted my horn but no one seemed to be around. So I climbed the gate and went for a wander. It was sort of a ghost town. There was a sign saying to ring the bell and wait half an hour. I was in the middle of nowhere. It seemed ridiculous but I rang it anyway. Great bell made from a truck drum and a piece of railway line. Very loud.

I wandered around a bit and then I heard a train whistle. Surely they didn’t send a train because I rang the bell. I sort of lurked in the shadows as the train went by. It didn’t stop and no one got off. It was all getting a bit weird, and I was in the middle of nowhere and no one knew where I was so I decided it was time to get out of Dodge. And I got to practice my new riding skill again on the way out.

The main road was good with some nice lakes, and I stopped to admire some pretty flamingos on the side of a bridge. I decided to take a couple of backroads through the countryside. That’s a lie. I missed a turnoff. But it’s not hard over here, hardly any signs and some of the turnoffs look like gravel tracks and unless you are lucky enough to see a big truck or a bus head down one or appear from one then you don’t know they are there. But it turned out to be a nice little diversion and didn’t take much longer.

As I neared Lake Titicaca, I was actually getting a little excited. Each time I mounted a crest I kept hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed about how small the lake was. I suddenly only had 5 kms to go and I still hadn’t seen it and the outskirts of town were approaching. Eventually I got a glimpse but it was between hills and buildings and not exciting at all. I was sure I would find a lookout somewhere. I had booked a couple of nights at Marlons House in downtown Puno. I was blindly following google maps and trying to get a glimpse of the lake when I turned left into a street which was suddenly the steepest street I have ever ridden down. Actually, the steepest street I have ever seen. I had no option but to continue down in first gear using my engine and both bakes to slow me down. I came back later to take a photo. That was a waste of time. It just looks like a sloped street.

The room at Marlons was fine. Nothing special with a matching breakfast. The location was good and my bike got to hang out in the foyer with the reed boat couch and the coffee machine and a couple of bikes. But I did have a great bathroom with a big window and was a great place to do my washing and get it lovely and dry by the morning. It also had a nice view of the lake. Or a small part of the lake.

Puno is pretty weird. Strong statement but I don’t know how else to describe it. I had a quick talk to my mate Chatty and he/she/it said it was a vibrant mix of cultures, communities and customs. I was going to delete this photo of a band playing outside the church in the square and then I noticed it sort of showed the different types of people that the town has. And also the photo of the paddle boats on the lake says a lot.

Once I had checked in, I had to walk down to the lake and check it out. I could see on the map that Puno is sort of in a bay and so it wasn’t possible to see the whole lake from the city. It was still kind of cool. On my walk back it started to rain. The first I had seen for months. I dived into a bar to stay dry and have a feed. Another guy who looked a clone of me came in wet and I asked him to join me. At first he probably thought I was weird, which I possibly am but then It turned out we had a great chat over dinner. He was the same age and English and his wife had died a couple of years ago and so he was off exploring the world. I had the alpaca steak with the rum sauce. I was talking too much to remember what it was like.

He had to leave to meet his tour group and I decided the rain wasn’t going to stop so I headed home sheltering under verandas and dodging in and out of the oncoming street parade who kept performing despite the gentle rain. I had several interesting meals in Puno. Nothing of significance but all really cheap and in interesting places or interactions.

Like the people and the food, the architecture was also a mix of everything. Here. Have some random building and street photos. And the steep street which almost looks flat.

On my last night, a young Canadian guy on a bigger bike than mine rocked up. He was heading in the same direction as me and so we went out for a beer and Pizza. Turns out his was rushing this part of his trip as he had to get back to the US because he’d just scored a new job and needed to do a lot of stuff for it. His new job was working on a research station in Antarctica. Well, he ran into the right person then.

He left early next morning and I was working a much more leisurely time schedule. It was my last morning in Peru and I was heading to Bolivia. Only a couple of hours down the road. I was on the road by 9:30 and not long after, I started getting my views of the real Lake Titicaca. It is the largest lake in South America and is the highest navigable lake in the world at 3812m. It’s about 8400sq.kilometres at an average of about 140m deep and almost 300m in its deepest part.

It is filled by rainfall, runoff, rivers, streams, snow, glacial melt and underground springs. And it does rise and fall a little depending on the seasons. I did toy with the idea of riding around the whole lake which is about 300kms, but half the lake is in Bolivia and the other half is in Peru and it all seemed too hard with visas and borders and motorbike paperwork. So I just rode to the border at Yunguyo. I did try and check out some Inca ruins on the way but they were closed. The incans must have been having a day off. And I’m not sure about the deal with these heads on a road cutting but they looked cool and I needed to stop for a pee.

So. Here I am at the border with a rare border photo (because I don’t want to get in trouble), and ready to cross into a new country and the nearby town of Copacabana. As long as they let me in.

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