Puno feria

Puno feria – 

one man pedals a family

with his two strong legs

While we wait for Amaru to shop for food for our picnic at Lake Titicaca, I watch the parade of mototaxis and triciclos transporting people and goods to and from the feria. The passenger triciclos are cleverly designed with two seats in the front and room for purchases between the seats and the man pedaling from behind. Some of them have little awnings for shade and fancy mud flaps. Back at home I have a recumbent trike and it's all I can do to pedal myself, let alone three passengers with their big produce bags and five-gallon jugs. I would love to see this type of zero emission transportation become popular in every town in the world.

money from a wall

money from a wall

jeans and striped k'eperinas

baseball caps and braids

Jiron Lima, the wide pedestrian street in Puno, is filled with shops and restaurants, locals and tourists, modern and traditional styles, street vendors and money that slides out from a slot in a wall.

retrofit wiring

retrofit wiring

hangs from thick adobe on

a remote island

Isla Amantani in Titicaca Cocha is a four-hour boat ride from Puno. The islanders have recently installed solar panels that are able to generate a limited amount of electricity. At the hospedaje where we are staying, we have one light bulb hanging from the ceiling, but the wall socket is dead and the two toilets in the courtyard are lit at night by a single candle placed on the dividing wall. The wiring running along an adobe wall and hanging down from a nail may or may not be functional. It would certainly cause an electrician back home to shudder. Yet the sinuous black lines contrasting with the white box and the rough brown adobe with the smooth white plaster work well as modern art.

t'ikas on her braids

t'ikas on her braids

a vendor waits by her cart

of many colors

Punenos, the inhabitants of Puno, love bright colors, especially brilliant turquoise. Here it is seen in the tall shop-on-wheels and even the waste basket and plastic bag next to the cart. The large t'ikas on the ends of the vendor's long black braids are typical of southern Peru. She is standing in the narrow calle near our hotel, while her precious cart barely straddles the narrow sidewalk. Puno hugs the shore of Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in the world above 2,000 m. The founding of Puno dates back to the late seventeenth century after the discovery of silver mines in the area. Beautifully crafted silver jewelry is readily available in many shops, although prices are steadily rising as the supply of silver declines.

a ball in each hand

a ball in each hand

a street peddler balances

a pole hung with toys

One of the more ingenious street peddlers I've seen in Peru, this man is carrying a pole overflowing with inflatable plastic toys, including a can of Coca-Cola. In addition to the pole, he is wearing a bulging red backpack on his chest and holding a striped ball in each hand. He looks as cheerful as his wares as he strolls along Jiron Lima, the wide pedestrian-only street in Puno.

Puno woman passes

Puno woman passes

something nice for the traveler -- 

beyond the door, empty

This woman is wearing traditional Puno attire, a bowler hat perched and tilted forward on her braided hair, a colorful woven shawl for carrying everything, and a full, brightly colored skirt. The sign above the doors advertises in icons all the amenities available in the hotel: bed, television, shower (presumably with hot water), telephone, food, internet access and laundry. Munay Tambo in Quechua means "something nice for the traveler." However, beyond the doors all of these amenities have disappeared while the hotel is being completely reconstructed. The woman continues unchanged in her traditional ways while the modern hotel catering to passing tourists undergoes major changes.

on the Puno dock

on the Puno dock

a couple in black, white, red

apart, together

As we hurry to board a boat waiting to ferry us to Isla Amantani, this couple attracts my attention. From their attire they seem to be from Amantani or one of the other Quechua-speaking islands on Lake Titicaca. They appear to be together, yet separated by the black post. He leans against the post, head inclined toward her, while she leans on the railing on the other side, head slightly turned in his direction. I wonder what they might be murmuring to each other on this crowded dock, or perhaps they are communing in silence.

by the half-moon door

by the half-moon door

lemony angel's trumpet

spiraling outward

These beautiful flowers grow wild on small trees all over the Andes. This particular tree is growing in a small courtyard of a restaurant in Puno, just outside the toilet with its half-moon door. The pendulous flowers in all stages of opening are quite enchanting, plus they also give off a delicate, slightly lemony fragrance, especially in the evening. Lovely to look at but they can be deadly to ingest. All parts of the plant are extremely poisonous for both humans and animals. Merely touching eyes after touching the plant can cause pupil dilation. Amazonian shamans ritually consume Brugmansia for its powerful hallucinogenic effects, but since the toxicity is variable, this can prove to be fatal.

the young llama spits

 

the young llama spits

at strangers, returns a hug

with a gentle nuzzle

On the way from Cusco to Puno, we stop at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. While we wait for the cooks to prepare a buffet for our group, we are entertained by this friendly little boy and his pet llama. The llama, tied in a tangle of rope, spits at one of us. But when the his little friend runs up, the llama returns his hug with a loving nuzzle.

the blind musician

the blind musician

patiently plays his flute for

an empty white cup

This blind musician was sitting on a busy street in Puno with people rushing by, completely ignoring him. He was playing such soulful music, so I stopped to listen and put a coin in his white cup. He stopped playing to scoop up the coin and pocket it. I wanted to hear more, so with my limited Spanish I asked, "Musica, por favor." And he immediately began playing again.

cold night in Puno

cold night in Puno –

the beggar shares her blanket

with her two best friends

The sign propped up next to this woman sitting on the street on a cold night in Puno explained that she was handicapped and needed help. I thought the red band around her head meant she was blind and these were her seeing-eye dogs, or guard dogs, or both. The dogs seemed utterly content, one curled up against her, the other wrapped in their thin blanket. When I approached, she did not hold out her hand and only the dog on her lap lifted his head to gaze at me. I put three soles, about one dollar, in her white cup, one for each of them, hoping it would help a little with food.