Well, hello again!
I can officially announce that Caroline and I survived Peru, the crazy overnight bus rides, the seat-less toilets, and the crazy-high altitudes. We are officially, as of 8AM this morning, in CHILE. Home Sweet Home. Although we LOVED Peru (the food, the people, the landscape, the culture), I, for one, am very excited (and relieved) to be home. Right now, we are spending our last day of vacation lying on the beach in Arica, Chile (just over the border from Peru). It is hot and we are lovin´ it.
But how did the rest of Peru go, you ask? Well, it was a success. Last time we talked, Caroline and I were struggling to digest guinea pig in the countryside. Afterwards, we relaxed in Cusco for a day or two more and actually got to meet up with the Emilys again, who had just finished their four day adventure trek through the Andean jungle up to Machu Picchu. After swapping stories, we said our official last goodbye as the Emilys were flying out of Peru to the States while Caroline and I were taking off for Lake Titicaca, which is where this blog post begins...
Lake Titicaca, located on the border between Peru and Bolivia, has its claim to fame in that it is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world (reference: Wikipedia, por supuesto). To get to Puno, on the coast of Lake Titicaca, is an eight hour journey, more or less, from Cusco. We had heard the scenery on the way was unbelievable, so we elected to take a tour bus, which stops in about five different places along the route. For example, we stopped in a tiny town, which is (supposedly) home to the ¨Sistine Chapel¨ of the Americas. It was impressive but not comparable to the real thing. We also took a pit-stop on the side of the road when we were at over 4000 meters to take pictures. (This was the only point in the trip when I had a headache from the altitude... rough stuff.) Eventually, we arrived in Puno, where we were caught in a terrential downpour of rain. As we were walking to dinner, our shoes were literally filled with water but luckily we found a cute little restaurant with a fire where we took off our shoes. (I`m not sure how they felt about gringas taking off their shoes in their restaurant, but I figured they had seen weirder things, right?) After an amazing bowl of soup, we took shelter in our cheap-as-could-be hotel with a private bathroom and everything. It even had a TV! So, of course, after a hot shower, we watched some House (in English) before going to bed at 9PM. (Don´t judge.)
Yup, 9PM because we were up before 5AM to get ready for our boat tour of Lake Titicaca. Our first stop on our tour? Uros Islands, which are actually man-made floating islands (yes, they float). On these islands live the pre-Inca Uru people. We stopped on one of the islands to walk around, meet some of the natives, and get a little 101-course on the history and culture of the Uru people as well as a How-To in terms of making floating islands. Pretty impressive, I´d say. A little sobering as well... Although these people hunt and farm etc. on their islands, they are almost entirely dependent on tourism. They live and eat by tourists coming to their islands to buy their tapestries, take rides on their reed boats etc. Not to mention many of the tour companies exploit them and don´t give them a fair percentage of what they themselves make. As we traveled through Peru, Caroline and I had numerous conversations about the inequity right before our eyes. Everywhere we went, Peruvians just trying to make their next sell to get by. Of course not all Peruvians are poor and dependent on tourism but so many are. After climbing Machu Picchu, Caroline and I wondered how many Peruvians had ever been to Machu Picchu... Not very many, that´s for sure. Yet they see thousands of tourists come through their country every year, paying the big bucks to see one of the seven wonders of the world while some of them (Peruvians) are barely making ends meet on a few soles each day. Very sobering. It definitely makes you think twice about buying a $4 Starbucks latte, right?
But I´ll digress... after the Uros Islands, we traveled about three hours on the boat to the largest island on Lake Titicaca - Taquile Island. Highest point on the lake at 4050 meters with absolutely breathtaking views of the lake. In 2005, the people of Taquile Island were honored by UNESCO for its textile work and art. Beautiful handwoven alpaca. On the island, we were treated to a wonderful lunch of trout from Lake Titicaca on the patio of Taquileño family. (Again, this family makes most of its living off the tourists who come through every day.) Afterwards, our guide gave us the run down of the island and its people. Very interesting. For instance, the men and women wear specific clothing (such as hats, shawls, and skirts) as a declaration of their marital status. The men wear specific hats to show if they are single or married. And if they are single, wearing their hat to one side or the other declares whether or not they are looking for a woman seriously or just trying to have some fun. (Don´t you think we should export this system to the US? I think it would eliminate a lot of confusion... Haha)
All in all, the tour of Lake Titicaca was a massive success. Once back in Puno on dry land, we packed up our things, ate a quick bite for dinner, and jumped on another overnight bus back to Tacna, while crossing our fingers that it would not be like the first one. Gracias a Dios, it wasn´t. There was at least a bathroom on this bus!!! Major improvement. Eight hours later, we were in Tacna and then a mere two hours later, we were home. After a wonderful Peruvian adventure, we are now headed for the beach for some R&R. I hope you all are enjoying the holidays and spending lots of time with family and friends. I miss you all so much. Please stay tuned for TONS of photos on Monday or Tuesday. :)
Besitos,
Sarita
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