Peru: Spanish Intensive and Cultural Immersion

And so it began.  On Monday morning I made my way to the dock in Puno, scouting for any boat that would take me to the islands in the world´s highest navigable lake.  I jumped on board with a mix of tourists and locals, and we started our journey towards the horizon.   Lake Titikaka has recently been named to the ¨New 7 Natural Wonders of the World, a fact that was promenaded throughout posters on our boat.  The first island on our tour was Isla Flotante, literally meaning: The Floating Island.  Which is exactly what it is.The houses are made of the same thing the island is: incredibly buoyant reeds called turturo, which have been laid down in the lake to make the island float.  The reeds on the bottom continuously rot, so new reeds are applied often.  My fascination with alternative architecture (remember the yurt) was peaked at the innovation from these island dwellers.  From boats to houses to kindling to toys, the turturo reeds are utilized  for everything.We continued on for the three hour journey to Isla Amantani, where we would all be spending the night.  As we neared the harbor, The Captain of our humble ship came and sat down next to me, inquiring if I had a family to stay with for the night.  I replied I did not, and The Captain invited me to stay with his family, all meals included, for around $8.  Honored, I obliged.Three other travelers were staying with The Captain as well, all of us almost exactly the same age.  A  couple (Chilean and French), a German girl, and me.  Once off the boat we all loaded our packs and followed The Captain´s wife through the cobblestone paths to her house.  Isla Amantani is a giant garden dotted with homes.  There are no cars, only well constructed cobblestone paths throughout the entire island.  Most, if not all, the food is grown on the island, and it makes for quite the landscape.When we settled into the house, we were served a delicous lunch of soup, fresh fish, potatoes, and rice.  Shortly after we began our hike to the ruins.The cobblestone was easily followed as it meandered up the hill out of the center of town.  Esteban (from Chile) continuously asked locals for directions in any case just to make conversation.  An incredibly nice guy, he even helped a woman carry a large bag full of clothes that she was walking to sell at the ruins.  (Picture below)We marveled at the view at the top of the hill for about an hour, and then the afternoon air began to get very cold.  A series of vendors had lined up along the path by then, and in my frenzied state of cold, I bought a ridiculous Alpaca sweater.  A bit flashy, it kept me incredibly warm, and afforded me multiple compliments from passing tourists.  Sadly, I do not have a picture.  The view from the top of the ruins: (one view, at least)

After the hike was another delicious dinner, and shortly after dinner was a party in town.  All the other tourists´came dressed up in local attire, and the four of us had the only family who didn´t insist we come to the party dressed up.  I was a bit relieved, most of them were out of costume by the end of the night.  The clothes did seem a bit difficult to dance in.

It was raining heavily once the party wrapped up, and the four of us walked a hurried pace back to The Captain´s house, getting lost a few times on the way (most of the houses didn´t have electricity, and the path was incredibly dark).

The next day included a trip to another island, Isla Taquile.  The Island did not look like much from the dock, but alas, it was even more beautiful than Amantani, which was hard to beat.  Unfortunately, do to this fact, I did not bring my camera, but imagine the pictures above with better weather and a more vibrant shade of blue from Lake Titikaka.  I encourage you to scout the internet for photos of this island, it is incredibly beautiful.

In any case, I am back on the mainland, in the port city of Puno.  My bus back to Cuzco leaves at 6am tomorrow, and tomorrow evening I have my third Clase de Cocinar at Fairplay, which is always a blast, something I cannot miss.  John has told me this specific class is special, where the teachers each cook a three course meal, competing against one another.

Thursday and Friday shall be my last days of spanish classes at Fairplay.  I do plan to play volleyball on Saturday as a kind of last hurrah, it is very sad and hard to leave the community at the school.

Monday I plan to fly to Lima and then explore the North of Peru, all the while compiling my portfolio for this course.

All is very well, more to come! Ciao!

When I returned to my homestay after Machu Picchu, Manchi, the grandmother of the house, seemed outside her usual jovial self, and preoccupied with things outside the family home, and even outside of Cuzco.  It is my understanding that her uncle became ill, and has now passed.  While she has still been lively and easy to joke with the last few days, there has been a look in her eyes that I had not seen before.  Today marked two weeks living with her family, and it seemed appropriate to move on to another location to allow for time to be devoted to other causes.

Classes continue, I have had two this week and have five more days left.  I have moved near the center of Cuzco, within walking distance of Fairplay.  This weekend I plan to travel to Lake Titikaka, and finish my time at spanish school sometime next week.  This is the update, Ciao.