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!

For weeks my Practica teacher Carmen has been raving about ¨Sexy Woman¨, a monument high in the hills of Cuzco.  We ventured there Friday morning, and I realized my interpretation of the location had been misinterpreted.  Behold, ¨Sexy Woman¨:

Boy was I wrong.

Saqsaywaman is a park that houses a group of ruins high above Cuzco.  Frames of giant stone complexes dot the landscape in the hills.  A more modern creation is a giant statue of Jesus that dominates the hillside, and is visible from downtown Cuzco.

Carmen and I meandered around the ruins for our two hour  class, reviewing vocabulary and holes in my conversational Spanish.  I had my grammar class immediately after my visit to Saqsaywaman, after which my other profesora, Nayut, helped me purchase a ticket to Arequipa for that same night.

I do not like night buses.  I find them to be unsafe and a terrible nights sleep, but  they are economical as you combine the cost of transport and the assumed cost of a hotel room into one easy package.  Nonetheless we all arrived safely into Arequipa at 5;00 in the morning.

Arequipa is a modern city with a beautiful downtown square.  Almost identical to the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco, the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa is a bit more polished, as is the city in general.  The city boasts a variety of touristical sights;  an ancient monastery that is a city unto itself, an Ice Queen museum featuring an ancient mummy, and countless others I did not visit.  I spent a day wandering through the clean streets and seeing the sights, then continued on to Puno the next day.

Puno is on the west bank of Lake Titikaka, the worlds highest navigable lake.  When I arrived at the block of hotels in downtown, it was raining so hard that I took the first one I looked at.  When the rain let up, I ventured into the streets looking for food.

Street food is always delicious, and always cheap.  The local specialties in Peru are beef or chicken shishkabob, with a whole potato.  What kind of potato I am not sure, there are over 5000 varieties in Peru.  On the hunt for local cuisine, I decided to follow the billows of smoke that escaped into the sky above the buildings.  A sure sign of street vendors. 

What I stumbled upon was a huge party.  The single billows of smoke I saw were actually at least a dozen; noble vendors cooking for hungry (and drunk) party go-ers. 

I ate my dinner, drank a beer, and danced with the locals.  I was thrown in the middle of every dance circle I entered, and paired with very traditionally dressed women from Puno.  When the rain began to pick up to the point of discomfort, most people filed out, though the band played on. 

This video is taken just outside the gates of  the official party, though obviously the fun could not be contained.  If I were to call it anything, this is the parade portion of the night.

Tomorrow morning I shall head to the dock at Lake Titikaka, and find a boat for Isla Taquile, where I shall spend the night.  From what I understand there are no hotels on the island, only homestays.   

The air is thin at this altitude, and it is nice to soak up.  After Taquile, I shall return to Cuzco where I will finish my last two days of spanish courses before flying to Lima and exploring the north of Peru.  The adventure continues… Ciao.