Lake Titicaca

July 7, 2011
Lake Titicaca

We were picked up from Hernan's at 7:45 and headed to the dock. Our first stop were the floating islands, Los Uros. They speak Aymara there and we learned to say 'Camisaraki?' 'Hauliki!' as a greeting. The islands were a little cheesey, feeling like they were set up for tourists but it was still cool to see everything made of straw.

Welcome sign to Los Uros

Boat made of reids

View from the house

Then we headed towards Amantani Island on a 3 hour boat ride. On Amantani, there are about 5,000 inhabitants that speak Quechua and some Spanish. When we got off the boat, we had to walk up a few flights of stairs. I caroused up them as if it were no big deal, quickly realizing I was at 12,600 feet above sea level. I was so out of breath it was embarrassing. We were paired 4 to a house with Me, Anna, David and Michael a couple from Colombia and we all stayed at Estér's house. The walk to the house, though mainly flat was nonetheless very tiring. The house was made of mud and had a beautiful garden and view of the lake.

Door of the temple of Pachatata

 Surprisingly, the mud kept the rooms very insulated and warm inside. The family had prepared a humble but delicious lunch of quinoa soup, cheese and potato. We then went to meet the rest of the group for our 'hike' up to the temple of Pachatata, father earth. We met by the stadium and began the climb. The hill was fairly small but at that altitude everything felt like a mountain. We arrived at the temple dedicated to Pachatata, who fertilizes the earth and is symbolized by the sun. The other hill on the island had a temple dedicated to Pachamama, mother earth, the protector symbolized by the moon. On the full moon, no one on the island works and once a year there is a festival in the temple to praise Pachatata and Pachamama.

 

Sunset from Amantani

 We arrived at the temple and walked around it 3 times, once for each love, money and health. Then I placed several small rocks in the wall making a wish each time. I then sat down in the strong winds and watched the sunset from Amantani before scaling down the hill, not following the path.

We went back to the house for dinner then Estér took us to the party with the other host families and tourists. We wore traditional clothing, learned the dances and listened to traditional music.








The next morning we had pancakes for breakfast then said bye to our host families before taking another boat ride to Taquile Island. Taquile is a bit smaller island with 3,000 people. We took a nice 40 minute hike to the plaza and enjoyed the sun on the island. We had some trout for lunch and were taught about the traditional clothing on Taquile, mainly the hats. Different colors and patterns determine the marital status of the men, and the position of the hat represent if they are looking to date seriously, casually or not at all. It's a very interesting culture, similar to the idea of a wedding band but holds a lot more information to be determined in just one glance. We then got on a boat back to Puno, where Anna and I headed to the bus station to buy tickets to Cusco. We went back to Hernan's for the evening and spent our last night with our friends playing card games and enjoying the company.

I fell asleep excited for the part of my adventure but satisfied with my first experience on Lake Titicaca.

Getting used to traveling,
Lauren Adele

Beginning of the End

I'm determined to update the blog about my 6 weeks in Peru and Bolivia before I head to Costa Rica. This is a daunting challenge for me; a large amount of reading, writing and organizing, but also an emotional challenge to look back at what has been a truly wonderful experience and give it justice in words. Here goes nothing...

Itinerary:
La Paz, Bolivia
Puno, Peru
Lake Titicaca, Peru
Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu, Peru
Cusco, Peru
Paucaurtambo, Peru
Arequipa, Peru
Colca Canyon, Peru Cusco, Peru
La Paz, Bolivia
Potosi, Bolivia
Uyuni, Bolivia
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Santiago, Chile 

July 4, 2011
La Paz, Bolivia
I arrived in La Paz, Bolivia for a night and settled into a cold hostel. My plan was to wake up early and catch a bus to Peru, to return to La Paz at a later date and that's exactly what I did. The bus ride from La Paz to Copacabana to Puno was breathtaking.

View from bus.

July 5, 2011
Puno, Peru

View from my room

I arrived in Puno, anxious and excited and headed straight to the couch surfer's house where I'd be staying. Anna was to arrive later than me, so I hung out at Hernan's house and chatted. It turns out his "house" is actually a bed and breakfast that he allows couch surfers to stay in for free. I had my own large room with a key and all!

I set out to roam the small town alone during the day and made it out to the pier and the market. It was a perfect way to start my adventure, roaming the town alone a little terrified but plenty excited. It was my first glimpse at Lake Titicaca, a name I've heard in school since I was a kid and the highest lake in the world. I walked out on the pier and turned back proudly to see this view:

View of Puno, Peru from pier

I was heading back to Hernan's when I noticeable group of foreigners kept looking back at me. Finally, they approached me and asked if I was a couchsurfer staying at Hernan's. Turns out Robin had recognized my stone necklace from my picture. I walked back to Hernan's with Robin, Anna and Julien, all from France. They were walking back from shopping for dinner so when we got back, I helped Anna in the kitchen and we made meatballs, rice, bread and more. Hernan's whole family was there, wife, daughter and father. We had a wonderful time eating and chatting (and no one there knew English!). I felt very welcomed.

Peruvian Ceviche.

Anna arrived early the next day, exhausted. I let her rest and explored some more of the town. We came back for lunch, which Hernan and his family prepared. It was Peruvian Ceviche, one of the most amazing lunches I've ever had! I've explained ceviche before on this blog, but this time was a little different, more authentically prepared by Peruvians.


After lunch, Anna and I set out to book a tour for some islands on Lake Titicaca only to come back to a house full of our French friends preparing chocolate fondu for dinner! And what a dinner it was.

I have to say, Puno was a cute town and all, but the peopleI met there (and the food) really made the difference. We made a tight community while we were there and it was the first of many great experiences I had on my trip around South America.

With wide eyes,
Lauren Adele