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ACCOMMODATIONS:
Mosoq Inn in
Puno. A
friendly welcome was followed by a tray of coca tea brought to
our room. The rooms were clean and spacious
with large windows overlooking the street. Street noise
was not a concern through the night and made for
interesting viewing the few times we used the room during
the day. Puno can get very cold at night and the multiple
blankets on the beds kept us toasty warm. The staff were
outstanding in their willingness to make our time in Puno a
positive experience from William at the door to Ibeth and
Rebelhino who manned the front desk, supplied local information
and oversaw breakfast. We spent two nights
at Mosoq Inn prior to going to Bolivia and one night on our return.
Pleased to recommend.
Floating island accommodations:
On the second island visited, we met a young Australian woman
who had just negotiated to stay in one of the huts for that
night ... very inexpensive. We had thought, prior to beginning
this trip, that we would like to stay on one of the islands
overnight; but differing reports made us question the option.
As conditions (moisture, mildew and rebuilding) of the reed islands are always changing, we thought she had
done it the right way; she went prepared to stay but did not
make her decision until she saw the accommodation herself.
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ARRANGEMENTS:
Hotel: Made reservation directly with
Mosoq Inn
through email. Contact persons were Ibeth and Rebelhino. All went well.
Tours: At the wharf in Puno we negotiated a price for
a group of four to join others on a boat going out to the
floating reed islands. There was no need to involve a
travel agent.
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OUR TOUR:
We were transported to one of the floating reed islands,
where the residents spoke of their history, demonstrated (in
Spanish) how the totora reed is used to build and maintain the
islands and then invited us into their island homes where some
were encouraged to dress in native garments for photo
opportunities. The fabric arts were offered for sale along
with off-island trinkets.
For a dollar we were given the option of riding in a totoro reed
boat and paddled to another island. On that island there
were more buying opportunities and a shop in which to purchased
over-priced beer and soft drinks and a cafe for those wishing to
eat. It was here that we met the young woman who was staying
on the island overnight (see above under "floating island
accommodations").
Our motorized boat, with the passengers who did not want to ride
on the reed boat, met us.
The whole excursion took approximately five hours.
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