House mom Alicia insists to make me breakfast this morning, even though I must leave so early. She even tries to get me a cab too, but we can't find one in the quiet residential street. So I just give her a hug, put the backpack on my shoulders, and walk to the main street to find myself a taxi. Get to the bus station around 7:00am, I am one of first few to arrive. I find that my seat is an aisle seat, right in the middle of the vehicle, next to the exit door and where the drinks are. It is my fault probably, since I ask the ticket girl to give me the "best" seat on the vehicle. I guess everyone has a different standard what the best seat is. I did say I want a window seat though. So, I don't know. Maybe she mistakened me. Anyway, I ask the Señor at the station whether I can switch to a window seat if available. At the end, they put me to the end row, where the guide and the service lady sits. It is actually not a bad seat at all, I have the side windows and also the back windows, so I have taken a lot of pictures on the 9 hour bus journey.
The bus company is Inka Express. It's a good ride, I would say. Not too tiring, since we stop every 45 to 90 mins for visiting some sites along the way, the ticket also includes beverages, lunch buffet, and a tour guide. Apparently there are two types of tickets: one includes all the entrance fees for all the sightseeing points, one does not. If you want to visit the sites we stop at, you must pay some 21 Soles extra. I paid US$40 for this ride, and it is including all the fees. I think the price is reasonable, since it does have some interesting tours, such as the Raqchi ruins.
A brief rundown of the tours: We first visited Andahuaylillas village, where there is a 400 years old church, which is worth a visit, although I already visited there on another tour 2 weeks ago. The 2nd stop is Raqchi ruin, which is excellent, beautiful ruins and there is a very picturesque church. We have a lunch buffet at Sicuani, which is ok, nothing's too special. La Raya at 4335 meters, the highest point of the journey. There are some beautiful landscapes, we stop there for a few minutes to take pictures. The next stop is Pukara, where we visited an archaeological museum, which is ok. I haven't paid much attention to it. We also pass by some alpaca farms, some half dry river with flamingos. Arrive at Puno by 5:00pm.
Take a taxi to my hostel - Julio Cesar Hoteles, which is quite centrally located, it has cable TV, wi-fi, private bathroom with hot shower, and American breakfast. In my room, there is an extra bed too. I did ask for a student discount, even though they haven't checked my ID when I check in. I wonder if anyone can do that too. It costs 50 Soles (US$16.5) a night. Not the cheapest, but I am more than happy about this choice.
Quickly go to a travel agent All Ways Travel (recommended by Lonely Planet) and book my trips for the next few days, I am going to visit Sillustani, and 2 days islands tour on Lake Titicaca, will stay overnight on Isla Amantani too. Book the bus to Arequipa for coming Saturday. Then I go for dinner, which is kind of scary, because in the middle of the dinner, literally I just put a small piece pizza in my mouth, the whole street's lights go out all in a sudden. There is a blackout on my first night in Puno. I freak a little bit, and hold on to my backpack tight. In my head, I am thinking what I should do, how can I get back to the hotel in the dark. The waiters light up some candles and put on each table. I finish my pizza. I have another order of a garlic bread, I am ready to have it takeout and see what outside is like. But maybe about 10 mins later, the light comes back. Thanks god.
Photos here: Day 29 (Andahuaylillas y Raqchi), Day 29 (La Raya y Pukara)
Footnote: Another bus option is Turismo Mer
