On-the-Road Tales

Another day of classes. Even after more than a week, it is very unnatural to get used to not ingesting any water, even to the point of wetting your toothbrush, all agua must be bought or boiled. The shower at the host family has hot water, a welcome addition until I tried it out. The hot water is via a small electrical device attached to the shower head and there is one knob so you get scalding or frigid. No middle ground. Oh and if you touch the exposed wiring on the shower head with your wet hands, well yeah, you can die. Hmm think I prefer the cold shower.

We came in the other day from the rain and one girl was trying to download some photos with the USB and got a nasty shock. So more than just the showers are not grounded here. Once I find a safe USB port I may try and upload some photos!

Attended a fabulous presentation after class last night on Puno and Lake Titicaca. Puno is the folkloric capital of the country. The women were traditional costumes of 20 skirts which are supposed to represnet the colors and shapes of the Andes. I have read that they have found seashells in the banks of the Lake and the professor said it was true. It is believed that the highest navigable lake in the world, at upwards of 12000 feet was once at a sea level and shifting of the plates pushed it to its present location. The Incas believe the Isla in the middle of the lake was their birthplace. Some scientists in recent years using sonor techgnology to scan the lake bed have discovered, the remains of an ancient civilization once believed to be on the banks but now underwater. Sadly, this may be exposed once again for the wrong reasons as Peru is rapidly losing its glaciers at several feet per year dues to once again global warming.

The presentor talked alot about the spiritual and intellectual knowledge of the Incas and how their civilization existed in another dimension per se. ie they had a greater linking with their surroundings and the earth and our rational thinking these days does not allow us to fully comprehend the extent of their culture. He discussed the combination of Inca tradition and catholicism that exists )as introduced by the conquerers) and said how many people are reverting to their natural religion.

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 8:56 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.