Lazy day
It was great to be in Puno (पुनो) – a small dusty town and very Peruvian. I slept in because the bed was so soft, it was crispy cold outside, I had the whole room to myself and thus I finally recovered my sleep backlog! I woke up and felt a slight buzz in my head. Puno at an altitude of 3860 m (12,420 ft) is located on highlands and altitude sickness is not unknown here. But, there is a miraculous solution – Coca leaves.
Mate de Coca (Coca tea)
Coca tea, also called Mate de Coca (माटे दे कोका) , is a herbal tea made using the leaves of the coca plant (कोका च्या पानांपासुन बनवलेला गवती चहा). The tea originates from the Andes mountain range, particularly Peru. Coca tea consumption is common in many South American countries. Many indigenous tribes of the Andes mountain range also use the tea for medicinal and religious purposes. The consumption of Coca tea, as well as chewing the leaves, increases the absorption of oxygen in blood, which helps combat altitude sickness, and has a marked digestive and carminative action. Owing to the presence of the stimulant alkaloids, the coca tea provides a source of energy similar to coffee!
Note that this is “Coca”, not “Cocoa” (easy to get confused!) 🙂
The hotel I was staying in offered free Coca tea and since फुकट ते पौष्टीक् (Marathi slang that means – “if it’s free, it’s healthy”), I helped myself with generous portions. It was soo good and my headache was gone in no time.
Puno's central square
Fruits in the morning, post-lunchtime breakfast (bread-eggs-bacon-coffee-cheesecake) at a German bakery, then had fried Alpaca (remember the Peruvian lamb?) sandwich with an Israeli guy, and finally at night I had a vegetarian meal at Govinda. It was a nice day.
About Puno
The city was established in 1668 by the Spanish victors. Today, Puno is an important agricultural and livestock region, however, as you can see in the pictures, many home in Puno are half-finished – this is done to save the taxes. The city is close to the Bolivian border and this leads to, as I was told, import of cheap goods from the neighboring country and a black market resulting thereof.
Puno has a couple of hills, and since the last time I hiked a mountain was over 36 hours ago, I was craving for more. Toronto, where I am living since Jan’07, is like a dot at the center of a carom board – there are practically no mountains around and therefore it was natural to die for some action.
Tourism
The only reason tourists arrive at Puno is to go into the Lake Titicaca and see the strikingly different lifestyle of the locals there. I booked a tour for the next one-night-two-days at the islands. I don’t know if this will be useful for anyone, but do not pay more than S/. 55 for this duration. This includes ferry transport, 2 meals and overnight stay at one of the villages. The agent informed me that for another S/. 30, he could show me to nearby town Chukoito – duration 3 hours.
30 soles? Nah, I decided to go there by myself and indeed it cost me only 2.5 soles.
What’s special about Chucuito? You will be surprised.
Hey
Priyank, looks like you are still trvelling, and having fun, and it is good to have lazy days. I have been reading your stuff, but everytime I leave comment my internet crushes. Hope this one will go through, btw thanks for the recent message on my blog. anna 🙂
Oh it worked :))))))) So to continue, thanks for nice images, makes me want to travel, but I guess I will not for a while. Anna 🙂
U have the cleanest and neatest pairs of socks !
I agree with prax here.
I carry about six pairs & more than that, wherever & whenever possible do the washing.
” since the last time I hiked a mountain was over 36 hours ago, I was craving for more. ” ROTFL.
BTW, once again I say, you are a good story teller.
It’s interesting to learn about the medicinal properties of cocoa leaves and also about homes left partially constructed in order to save on payment of property tax. Thanks.
Are you gonna write more on Lake Titicaca?
Anna:
It was a problem with a javascript and I’ve fixed it (finally) ! Thanks for your comments, I am back to Toronto, but still posting from my diaries. Have a enjoyable busy time!
prax
hahaha, basskya!
Cuckoo
Thankyou verymuch! Thats sweet of you, I’m trying to do a honest job 🙂
Celine:
Hey, wait. this is not Cocoa, its Coca. “It’s different”. I did think that people will get confused, so I am making it clear in the post 🙂
Yes I will have a whole post for Titicaca, I was there for 2 days!
Oh, the Coca, the Andean stimulant. Gotcha.;)
Thank you. 🙂
I always carry socks..its one of my must haves…and the coco tea sounds like a good thing for my headaches as well
Lovely pictures Priyank, the German bakery picture is so colorful!
Celine
Cheers!
Lakshmi
Socks, yes they make or break my day. Almost as important as taking a shower.
Mridula
Thnaks 🙂 The breakfast was good too.
[…] Me ← Andean Explorations – 8: Trekking in Colca Canyon : Older post Newer post : Andean Explorations – 10: Puno […]
[…] Me ← Andean Explorations – 10: Puno : Older post Newer post : Andean Explorations – 12: Food […]
[…] deities that keep away evil forces.After a day of relaxation and minor hiking around the hills of Puno (blogged over a month back!), I set out on a two day excursion to lake Titicaca. It was with a […]