博客何飛：Peru: Puno - Dream is the warmest color

If travelling is a way of searching for points of view that we had never thought before, one of ours was found at the top of a mountain in Alto Puno, a place which is 15-minute away from the city of Puno overlooking Lake Titicaca-the largest lake in South America and the world’s highest navigable body of water.

Indeed, it’s difficult to stay sane and non-sentimental touring around Puno and Lake Titicaca because everything we see, hear, taste, touch and smell is exotic and full of stories. And the myth about the lake from where the world was first created could be very convincing when we witnessed the sun making the already colorful place even more sharply vibrant and the proximate distance we were from the endless stars over the sky.

The time we arrived at Puno on that day right after leaving Cusco was 5 in the afternoon. The driver from the hotel was already there waiting for us. The journey to our hotel was cinematic-from passing through a bustling market where we saw stalls selling all kinds of fabric, food, herb, spice and other items to the scene we caught while driving along the way up to Alto Puno, seeing patches of dense but small houses standing side by side. Without the lights on at the time when the Sun was subtly leaving us, the city looked bleak. And, I was sitting in the car, imagining what our hotel would be like –since we chose the hotel because of its super high 9.0 rating and yet the moments of impression didn’t look that convincing to me.

After 10-minute drive, our car was reaching at the foot of a mountain. The journey of our way up was exhilarating. At every other turn while we were meandering up, I couldn’t wait but was hoping to catch a sight of our hotel-even from afar. But, to my surprise, I was never able to catch that scene until the moment when we actually reached the hotel. It’s mysterious-as if they wanted to orchestrate a prelude of some sort, before announcing the real deal for us.

As it turned out, ours is a grand prize. They arranged Room 1 for us where we got one of the best views of Lake Titicaca through our large window. It is also the room closest to the lobby area of the hotel–where it’s actually not really a lobby but a space where you could dine, relax and enjoy a moment of quietness next to the fireplace. At such a high altitude where temperature is down below zero at night, it’s the coziest spot for everyone. Alternatively, outside the hotel, there is also a big outdoor space where guests could sit and enjoy a spectacular view of Lake Titicaca and the different dimensions of the city from afar. If you put on enough clothes and bring a bottle of wine with you (or any hot drinks –as alcohol is not the option for staying at high altitude), that would be the highest point for romance.

That evening when we checked in, the owner of this hotel was there and I took the opportunity to chat with him about his story of the creation.

What is the reason for building a hotel in here?

Jorge: I had been working for the foreign ministry in Washington D.C teaching Diplomats Spanish. A lot of them, if they ever visited Puno, told me Puno was a very nice city but it lacked a nice hotel. So, the idea of running a hotel in Puno had been on my mind for a while and one time, when I came back to Puno, I decided to start building a hotel. We have a land on top of a mountain overlooking Lake Titicaca, and when I was a child, we always went up there and had BBQs. It’s a land full of memories but also a place that offers the best view of the city. You know, Puno is an interesting city. It looks more beautiful when you see it from afar. Our hotel location offers this beautiful perspective for our guests.

Who designed this hotel for you?

Jorge: At the beginning, we asked architects to give us the design options but they were not what we imagined this hotel would be like because they were suggesting building the hotel with straight-lined structure which looked odd as it didn’t really match the environment here. We wanted to fit the hotel into the environment. In the end, we designed and built the hotel by ourselves. (since my wife and the kids moved back to Puno first while I was still staying in the U.S. at that time, she’s the one who managed this). The shape of the hotel immerses into the environment to create harmony and the materials we used to build the hotel and serve our guests are from here. e.g. the stones, the blankets, the decors.

We hope to give an authentic experience to our guests with best view and comfort. We are continuing to re-shape the final version of the hotel and more rooms, extensions and facilities will be added to the current premise. In the end, we hope to create a boutique resort hotel here on top of a mountain in Puno.

Are we the first Chinese guests you received so far?

Jorge: No, actually we had guests from Taiwan before. Other guests are mainly from Europe for now.

What does Peruvian mean to you?

Jorge: Peruvian means diversity. My origin is Palestinian. Due to historical reason, during the late 19th century, there’s a significant number of immigrants moving to Peru and a lot of them settled in the South Andes after crossing the highlands in Northern Argentina and Bolivia. My father had settled in Puno at that time. Due to the unique geographical position of Puno, it is the gateway to Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. As a child, I was following my father (he’s doing trading) all the time. So, I had a strong impression that diversity of cultures is what Peru represents.

A candle-light dinner by a cozy fireplace, a drink under a bare sky of only endless stars and a story about reliving the childhood memories through a modern hotel concept, we have all the reasons to be sentimental being at this vantage point looking over Lake Titicaca-especially during the nights .

Mirador del Titikaka: https://www.miradordeltitikaka.com