Eyeballs, claws, and teeth
I simply loved Cuzco and could have spent much more time there. Although it seems the city is there mostly for the tourists as it generally houses Cathedrals-museums-shops-and restaurants, simply admiring the view was pleasant and relaxing. I do feel I was able to see all I intended to and felt fulfilled and accomplished when I left.
My last morning in Cuzco Jessica and I were picked up for our 5 hour bus ride to Puno to visit Lake Titicaca. I had heard several travelers tell me they had awful yet eventful experiences on the bus rides from city to city. Mostly children vomiting in the isles and middle aged men doing dirty things with their hands down their pants. Our bus ride experience, uneventful. On the way to Puno we visited 3 more Inca Sites.
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After arriving in Puno Jessica and I enjoyed PIZZA! I ate pizza 3 times while I was in Peru but this was my favorite. I had black olives and Jessica experimented with Alpaca. It’s classic to see wood fire pizza ovens in many of the Peru restaurants; I guess they think that is what the tourists like to see. Following I of course was craving something sweet so I had a not sweet enough or big enough piece of apple pie. But it did the trick for the night.
The next morning we were picked up and taken to the port where we hopped on our boat. The tour was full of people from Spain, Taiwan, Scotland, Austria, America (Jessica and I and 2 girls from Main), and of course the Argentineans. We were blessed with great weather and the sun glistening off the water made the lake look crystal blue. Our first stop was to the legendary Uros Islands where we observed the lives of the Uros people who live on floating reed islands some only 20 meters in length. The people who live on these islands truly amaze me. Each little hut has a small bed, maybe a couch, some pictures on the wall, and a lucky few are equipped with a tv. After our visit we spent roughly 3 hours on the boat and headed to our destination for the evening, Amantani island. Here we met the local families we would be experiencing our home stay with. Following lunch we all met near a local mountain which we trekked to the top of (4150 mtrs) to see the Temples of the Pachamama and Pachatata. Ok, so Jessica, Amy, Jill and I chose not to as it was about to start hailing rain and none of us brought our ponchos. We walked around a bit, took some pictures, and surprisingly found this small market where we were able to bargain 6 soles for a 32 ounce bottle of beer. We said good-bye to Amy and Jill as they headed back to their home for the night. Before dinner Jessica and I tried to converse with young boy, Diego, son of the parents. He brought us a deck of cards and enjoyed looking at all of my pictures.
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‘Lunch and Dinner: Soup, rice, potato’s-no meat on this island. If I never see rice or potatoes again for 6 months I’ll be perfectly happy.
Our family was very nice but of course did not speak English. They never sat with us at the dinner table nor did they take us out that evening to experience the local dancing while getting to wear the local Peruvian dresses. A bit disappointed.
The next morning after yummy pancakes (pancakes are always served dry-no syrup) and plenty of bread and marmalade, we made the walk back to where the boat was, said good-bye to our families, and got on board. After about 1 hour on the boat we arrived at Taquile island. We spent roughly 45 minutes making our way uphill to the center of the town where we toured the city, met the local people, and had lunch. This island seems to be dominated by the men and women seem to have no say in anything. Sad that there are still areas that exist like this. But our flamingly gay Peruvian tour guide sure did love to tell us how awful women were and how great men were. Typical barbaric man; only gay.
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After several hours on the island and roughly 3 hours on the boat we arrived back in Puno. Jessica, Amy, Jill and I enjoyed dinner, a bottle of wine, and none other than ice-cream for dessert. Jill and Jessica experimented with the guinea pig for dinner, fully cooked with its eyeballs, claws, and teeth. Jill ate the eyeball; 5 minutes later she felt sick.
Puno is an unattractive city, small, dirty, and tourists only visit it to experience Lake Titicaca. But I found Lake Titicaca and the home stay to be one of my most favorite experiences of my entire trip. The lake was gorgeous and seeing how the people on the islands live is eye-opening. Most without electricity and hot water. They are perfectly content and happy with their outhouse, eating the corn and potatoes they grow in their own backyard, using their sheep to make warm clothing, playing with the homemade wooden flutes, walking everywhere, no stray dogs and no policemen. To us they have very little, yet they smile everyday and are grateful for what they have. Admirable.
To see the rest of Lake Titicaca photos click here.
Tags: Lake Titicaca
