Skip to main content

Motoventure Day 16: Putara to Puno

(written 11/5 @ 7PM)  Okay this needs to be a quick one because we have a 7:30PM meeting to figure out the status of the paperwork.  The nutshell is that NO ONE has been able to leave Peru yet, meaning some of the teams who left early have simply been stuck in Puno for the same amount of time we were stuck in Huancayo.  This is pretty poor business, and I expect a lot of people will be unhappy.  I am determined to continue on and see the salar de uyuni though…

P1040976

So today we woke up in Putara quite early and simply hit the road to Puno.  Basically a nice 100km jaunt through the mountains, with Lloyd & Mark having a bit of fun.  We arrived around noon and wandered the town trying to figure out where people were, only to realize it was bigger than expected.  Instead we stopped at an internet cafe, found out where the paperwork was supposed to be, and followed haphazard directions around until we found it.  Found a nearby hotel, checked in, and went back to hear the news…

P1040979

P1040980 Apparently we won't actually hear any news until 7:30PM.  So instead we did the tourist thing and hit the floating reed beds on Lake Titicaca.  I'm not sure what to say about these – I haven't sorted the pictures yet, will need to post them later (just got back), but let's just say it felt vaguely exploitative.  And a little bizarre – but quite beautiful.

P1040977

So, that's it…   we find out tonight if we can leave Puno tomorrow or if we have to stay until Monday.  Apparently a LARGE number of teams have now officially dropped out due to the delay…  overall it's again quite poor.  I still haven't changed my ticket, but am planning on sorting that tomorrow.

 

So, until then…  enjoy the lack of spam on this blog!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gear Review: Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks

In the past couple months on the road I think I’ve spent more time riding my scooter through rain than I have in the dry – this is clearly reflected in the fact that as time has gone by I’ve invested more and more money in things to keep my stuff dry, since wet gear sucks. One of my favorite purchases for this trip is the pair of Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks I picked up just before leaving, in 13L and 20L sizes. They cost me around $20 each and are one of the best pieces of gear I’ve purchased in years – extremely durable, effective, and simple to use.

5 Things that Suck about Traveling Solo

I find it telling that it seems a majority of the interesting travel blogs I run across are written by solo travelers, most often women. I think there’s a reason why we write more than people who travel with friends or in groups and that it’s pretty self evident: it’s an outlet for our loneliness. In the last year and a half, the vast majority of my time has been spent away from home, alone. As I write this, it’s been over a month since I’ve conversed with anyone in my native language, and I can remember every single conversation in English for the month before that. The truth is, I don’t think I could have done this without the internet – without a blog to share my thoughts, without Facebook to see what my friends are up to, without the occasional e-mail to provide a façade of normalcy… without these things I’d likely have driven myself insane with my internal dialogue. Now, I grant, there’s a reason I travel alone and I do love it, but lately it seems all I run across in the blogosp

Jury Duty: Not Like TV (or: Longest Post EVER)

Prepare yourself for by far the longest blog post ever – if you’re at all curious about real life jury duty or enjoy all those cop & lawyer shows then give it a go - this recount of the trial and details given for evidence will blow your mind, make you think twice about the effectiveness of our police officers and the impartiality of our juries… Shortly before leaving on my trip in January, I was summoned for DC Grand Jury Duty .  I was able to have it rescheduled to begin on June 7 and made it back to the US only a few days before it was due to start.  After thinking about it I really felt that I would not be comfortable spending 27 days of 8:30AM to 5PM in an “office” for $30 a day, especially with the changes to the economy going on right now – I’d rather enjoy that time. Upon arriving at the courtroom for Grand Jury Duty, I quickly noted that there were over 40 people in the room, considerably more than the number required for the Grand Jury.  Once we were checked in, the c