SOUTH AMERICA 2024 : TRAIN FROM CUSCO TO PUNO : PERURAIL TITICACA

Sunday 28 January

 This was an amazing day. One of the best train journeys we've ever done! 

Up at 6am, at the station by 7.20am.

Train leaves on time just before 8am. The journey takes 10 hours. The train coach has a luxury brass and wood paneled dining-style design.There's a lounge, bar and open observation car at the back.

At 10am in the lounge we are served Chilchanos (pisco and ginger ale) and entertained with a live band and dancing. 

By noon it's aperitif time, followed by lunch.

At 3pm there's more entertainment in the lounge, tea and snacks are served at 4pm and the train rolls into Puno just after sunset. 

The scenery the whole way is just stunning,  with the Andes as a back drop all day. 

The highest point of the journey is 4320m above sea level.

  The train goes through some towns.

We see farming communities pretty much all along the valley.

In the city of Juliaca the train inches it's way through a few kilometres of market stalls. The tracks are used as a "mall" most of the time and people hardly move out of the way for the train.  

We are staying at Casa Andina on Lake Titicaca in Puno. Puno is 3800m above sea level and the altitude really affects me so it's lots of water and lots of sleep tonight.

SOUTH AMERICA 2024 : SACRED VALLEY AND CUSCO

Saturday 27 January 

We drove a gorgeous unpaved road up the mountain to the Inca site of Moray. 

Anthropologists think this site was used for agricultural research by the Incas.

I loved the wild plants and flowers growing up at nearly 4000m above sea level.

  Chef Virgilio Martinez from Central - remember that post from Monday - has a restaurant - Mil - and a small farm here where he researches and grows the Andean and Incan produce used in his recipes/ creations.

It was raining in the colonial town of Chinchero so we visited a weaving co-operative first. A bit touristy for us. 

Then lunch at Incagrill back in Cusco.

We drove south to Pikillaqta-a pre-Inca settlement. Restaurants or shops of the same type cluster together in the towns around Cusco : Panaderias for bread, Cuyerias for roasted guinea pig, Chicharronerias for pork, Pollerias for chicken. 

And then there are all the Autos Lavados advertising bikini car washes! Our driver says it's just a marketing thing. 

It's Saturday night so we walk to Plaza de Armas. It's teeming with locals and the few tourists are all in Paddy's or Molly Malone's, which does have live music and good pisco sours.

Sagrada has excellent pizza. Pisco Republic is the place to be seen on a Saturday night but we are flagging fast -from drinking at high altitude - so we have to leave as the band starts up. It's an early start again tomorrow.