Gorilla dancing in the Festival de Candelaria parade

It´s show time. And, unfortunately, the show had to start for my team of dancing gorillas at 7AM…kind of rough after another night of feeling like my hotel bed was actually in the middle of the main street. But, it´s hard to stay salty when you walk into unbridled enthusiasm in costumes of every color […]

Day 3 of Candelaria: Lake Titicaca and Uros Islands

My first day in Puno ended with dancing and drinking until 3AM and sleeping in a shared dorm room at a hostel (my younger roommates actually outlasted me on Puno´s party circuit by a few hours. I was impressed and humbled). My second day began with a walk in a town already erupting with tuba […]

Day 1: Festival de Candelaria in Puno. Why go?

Two factors coincided this week to prompt me to make my first big excursion from Cusco in months: a friend is headed to Puno for the Festival de la Virgen de la Candelaria, a massive folkloric celebration (paying homage to, yes, the Virgin) with 9 days of dancing, and general partying in the Andean style. […]