I am finally getting around to the second update of my trip. Much has happened since Machu Picchu, so I will try and be brief...
After Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, Ryan and I hopped a bus to Puno. Puno is a small city on the western side of Lake Titicaca, an immense lake straddling the Peru-Bolivian border. "One of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world" at over 12,000 feet, it is a spectacular lake that stretches out beyond the horizon. We did a whirlwind tour of three of the most famous islands - Las Islas de Uros, Amantani and Taquile. The first group of islands, Uros, is actually a series of approximately 40 man-mad FLOATING islands made completely from reeds, roots and lake clay. Imagine a thatched roof, floating in the middle of a lake, with about 5-8 families living on each plot. Over 4000 people live in this manner. These people completely sustain themselves on their floating islands, domesticating guinea pigs and flamingos and farming fish for food. They make everything from the reeds - their boats, their homes, their mattresses, the ground the walk on. The ground is spongy underfoot and no one wears shoes. If you sit in just the right place, you can see the island undulate with the slow rolling of the water. We toured one of the islands and tasted some of the reeds (a great source of iodine) and even got a ride in one of the reed boats. The islands eventually erode and have to be replaced about every thirty years. It takes approximately a year to construct each island, with all the families working communally to create a place to call home. I never knew such a society existed, especially in the middle of one of the highest lakes in the world. It was incredible.
We spent that night on the second island, Amantani, with a local family. The daughter, who turned out to be exactly my age, cooked meals for us and showed us around the island. Her life couldn´t be more different than mine. She cooks for her entire family, three meals a day, every day of the year (sorry Mom and Dad for not living up to that...). They only have limited light at night powered by solar panels and all of their cooking is done over the fire in clay pots. All they eat is rice and potatoes, rice and veggies and potatoes, rice soup and potatoes, and the occasional guinea pig. We heard the guinea pigs making noises in a sack under the kitchen table...I was relieved that we didn´t get them served for dinner. Our host dressed us up in traditional Quechua outfits - I wore a skirt and an embroidered blouse (which looked absurd with my tennis shoes and Christmas themed socks) and Ryan and Peter (our roommate) wore giant llama wool ponchos and knit hats. I have to say, we looked absolutely ridiculous. Then we hiked up to the community hall and had a "dance." I felt like I was at my middle school dance all over again, but it was a blast. We danced the night away with the locals, and laughed at our gringo dance moves when we tried to dance like natives. Not too dissimilar from Hava Nagila!
Spending the night on the island was an eye opener. They have no running water, little to no electricity, are four hours by boat from the main land and their toilets are literally holes-in-the-ground. They work seven days a week, 365 days a year to sustain their lives. They eat the same thing every day, wear the same clothes and do the same work. Yet they seem to be very happy and content. It was an experience I will never forget.
Ryan and I made it down to La Paz, Bolivia, although we definitely did not have enough time to even begin to see the city. The metropolis is at a dizzying altitude of approx. 12,000 ft. Everything I did there, from walking around to picking up my bag to climbing the stairs to my hotel room, left me out of breath. They have the most incredible markets there, where you can buy anything from panty hose to Jesus stickers, toilet seats to dried dead llama fetuses (was tempted to get one for every member of my family for the holidays...wasn´t sure about carcass importation). Bolivia seems to be an incredible country, not to mention cheap. We spent $1 per person for our hotel in Copacabana, although I wouldn´t have minded splurging one more dollar to stay in a place without padlocks for door locks. EEee gads, sketchy!
Ryan and I are now hauling our tired travelers´ tushes up north to make it to Quito before Dec. 4th. This involves a plane flight and many many long bus rides. Just finished a 15-hour ride. We are going to meet up with my friend Tori from home who is going to spend the last two weeks traveling with us! Wahoo!
In other news, in typical Perlmutter fashion, I lost my passport. Not stolen, just lost. Like a typical idiot. Luckily, their idea of "Homeland Security" is lax enough to allow me to fly without an ID. They let Ryan check in for both of us. I lost my ID at a very convenient time, right before I was boarding a flight for Lima. When I got to the capital city, I was able to get a replacement at the US embassy, but not before a ton of paper work, a visit to the police station and jumping through many hoops (leave it to the US). AND a large fee. I have vowed to keep my passport under lock and key from now on, but I have also learned that my extra precautions before the trip were very useful. Every backup plan I prepared before leaving, I have used. Backup ID, copy of my passport, two sets of credit cards (I have had numerous troubles with ATMs). Lessons learned.
I am in Northern Peru in a city called Piura. I hope to make it up to Ecuador tomorrow and then eventually on to Colombia. I am starting to miss such things as hot showers and home cooked meals, but I know my time down here is limited so I am trying to look past the temporary discomforts. Thank you to everyone who wrote back, it was great to hear from you. I miss you all dearly and can´t wait to show you my pictures when I return. I hope everyone is doing well and has recovered from Thanksgiving feasts.
I almost forgot to tell you about my Thanksgiving! Ryan and I tried to cook at our hostel in Puno, which meant using their personal kitchen facilities. The Señora of the house was not too happy about this, but the Señor said "I am the man and it is no problem..." We spent an hour shopping at the market and after spending a whopping $10 total, we had the fixings for a great feast. Well, after failed attempts with a pressure cooker, a defunct oven and the most cramped kitchen I have EVER been in (even cramped by New York standards, which says a lot) our feast was an "interesting" combination of boiled chicken, soupy bland potatoes and weird Peruvian corn. Hmmm...wasn´t the glory of my other memorable Thanksgiving abroad in Italy. Oh well, we tried.
Alright, well I am going to wrap this up for now. Hope to hear from you soon and will write more when I get to Ecuador.
Much love,
Jennie
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