The only way to really experience a ride to Puno, is on an overnight bus. I was set to depart at 10pm on Friday and embark on a 6.5 hour ride to Puno, which sits higher than Cusco above sea level, and therefore meant that we would have to traverse some mountains to get there. The bus station, as any station in a developing nation I’m sure, was filled with vendors, and noisemakers. By noisemakers, I of course mean those people whose job it is to compete with the next person and yell out bus numbers, ticket numbers, departure times and door numbers – resulting in a cacophony of noise that does not get you any closer to knowing where you need to be. After somehow managing to get to the right bus, I was shocked to see that you need to identify your seat with a fingerprint on a chart. I felt like I had just voted in Afghanistan as I climbed on to the bus, with an index finger covered in blue. Once on the bus, we then had to subject our faces to a video camera, recording where each of us sat. I was told this was for security reasons on all night buses. But, after experiencing merely one hour of riding on the bus, I realized the fingerprints and videos were more likely for identification of the victims of a crash than for security! The buses itself, I must say, were quite comfortable recliner buses, that allowed you to somehow have a decent night of rest despite the horrible driving conditions. But, as I fell asleep, I felt us climbing up hill, only to wake up in fear for my life because we were now going downhill at ridiculous speeds and making extremely sharp turns. And then I realized why I was recommended a night bus, because you can’t fear what you can’t see!!!
It was soon dawn though, and we reached Puno safe and sound, got 2 hours of rest in a hotel, and prepped ourselves for 4 hours on a boat to the floating islands. Getting on that lake was so worth the frightening night ride in the end.
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