Beautiful Weekend on Lake Titicaca

Sorry I have been delinquent in writing lately. We were out of town until Tuesday morning and things have been busy since we got back. So we left on Friday evening after having a very successful "chocolatada" in the morning at the clinic. Will and Jessica were not feeling well so poor Ben got stuck with the four of us ladies. So our group was me, Keri, Hallie, Michelle and Ben. Michelle had gone to Cusco earlier in the day to buy our bus tickets and we met up with her around 6:30 for dinner at an Australian owned restaurant called Jack´s. It was amazing. I think we all agree that any meal without rice and potatoes is amazing! After Jack´s we killed time with a beer at this fun Irish pub on the Plaza de Armas called Paddy´s (very original name, huh?). They were advertising for an English speaking bartender and I was very tempted to enquire about the job. I think you could make good money there.

Anyway, we made it to the bus station and changed into comfy clothes for the overnight bus ride. We left at 10pm and arrived in Puno at 5am. The bus was a semi-cama which means the seats do not go down to a full bed (cama) but nearly all the way down so it actually is pretty comfortable. The only problem was that it was freezing for most of the night so Keri and I cuddled together as bed we could under our jackets and stuff. When we arrived in Puno, we were beseiged by tour operators for Lake Titicaca. It is a little much to deal with at 5am. We would ask for 5 minutes to talk things over and the operators would be like, okay, and then literally just stand right next to you until it looked like you were ready to be beseiged again!

We decided to do a two day, one night tour of the floating islands, Isla Amananti, and Isla Tequile. It cost about $20 and included food and accomodation with a family on Isla Amananti. However, since we all live with families in Ollanta, we opted to pay extra and stay in the only hotel/lodge on the island so we could have running water in the bathrooms and such other comforts. We went down to the port and got on our little boat. I think there were probably 20 people on this tour. The first stop was Uros, the floating islands. The islands themselves are really cool in that they are man-made with reeds and dirt. When you are walking on them, it is like walking on a water bed. The bad thing about these islands is that they are way too touristy. You are greeted by a group of women who all shout "good morning, welcome and how are you?" in the native language and then they sit you down for a short presentation and then you have free time to basically walk around the little island and look at the crafts and weavings of the people as they beg you to buy something. You can take a ride in a reed boat for 10 soles. We did not do that!

After the floating islands, we got on the boat for the 3 hour journey across the Lake to Isla Amananti. The journey is 3 hours because the boat goes EXTREMELY slow. However, we did not mind because the weather was absolutely gorgeous -- sunny and warm. We all sat up on the top of the boat and read, listened to music and enjoyed the view. Lake Titicaca is beautiful and huge. It is the highest navigable lake in the world. The elevation is somewhere around 14,000 feet. As we were driving to the island, you can look to your right and see Bolivia in the distance. That is the closest I will come on this trip as I don´t want to fork over the $130 visa fee.

We got to the island and walked over to the lodge. It was really cute with beautiful lake views. The lake is so big that it seems like an ocean. After lunch, we met up with the group and walked around the plaza and learned about the island. Then we broke off from the group, hijacked an American traveling alone named Josh, bought some bottles of wine and sat down on the pier to talk and watch the sunset. It was beautiful. There was a huge rainstorm way in the distance but it really just looked so cool.

We went back for dinner and then (in my opinion this is strictly so that the locals can laugh at the tourists) we got dressed up in local clothes and went to a "fiesta" to dance. I think we lasted about 20 minutes. The women´s clothes are tied so tight around your middle that they are like a corset. Trying to walk up the mountain-side in that altitude with a corset on makes you feel like you are going to pass out. We did some star gazing and then went to bed.

In the morning, we got on the boat for an hour ride to Isla Tequile. This island was just as beautiful. We had free time to wander around and then we ate lunch and walked down 585 steps to the port. I got some really great pictures. Again, the day was sunny and warm. We all camped out on the top of the boat again for the ride back to Puno. I think my favorite part about being on the Lake was sitting up on top of the boat in the sunshine just gazing out at the beautiful islands and the blue-green color of the lake. I don´t know what I would have thought about this trip if the weather hadn´t been so beautiful.

We killed time in Puno until our bus left at 9:30pm. Puno itself is an ugly town. The main street that leads to the Plaza de Armas is nice as is the Plaza, but everything else is dirty and run down. We did hang out in the cathedral for awhile and I do admit that the cathedral was one of the prettiest I have been in here in Peru.

The bus home was bumpy but we arrived safely in Cusco at 5am on Monday morning. Unfortunately nothing is open in Cusco until 7-7:30am. We killed an hour watching high school boys and girls practice a dance for some festival and then at 6, we walked over to the huge market to get some fresh juice from one of the juice ladies. You get two huge glasses of fresh squeezed juice for $1.25. I got orange/pineapple. I love it. By then we walked to a breakfast place but it wasn´t open so we headed to the nice hotel we like and luckily they allowed us to check in early. We all crashed for a few hours, showered and rallied to go out to lunch. We really just hung out most of the day. Keri and I traipsed around to all the airline offices and some travel agencies pricing flights and bus tickets. We also ended up getting our tattoos so we are psyched about that. They look great (although they are in the scabbing phase right now). I will post photos when I remember to bring my camera to the internet place. We ate dinner and then happily went back to the room to watch some English television. It is amazing how deprived you feel sometimes. It is the little things that make you happy!

We enjoyed the delicious breakfast buffet at the hotel and then trudged through the rain to the combi/taxi area for Ollanta and we were off home. Keri and I had to rush to meet some others to go check out another health clinic in a town called Yanahuara. It is only about 15 minutes from Ollanta on the way to Urubamba. Again, this clinic, like Patacancha, was so much better organized and so clean. It is staffed by one nurse, an obstetrics nurse and a med tech. The nurse, Marleni, was so nice and accommodating. We are going out to help her on Saturday morning because the children from two surrounding mountain communities are coming down for their check-ups and vaccines and such. I worked on my public health class posters in the afternoon and then headed to a meeting with a visiting doctor and acupunturist. We ate at the best restaurant in town which only just reopened. It was divine! I think the guacamole there was better than most places I eat in the States. We had our pub quiz (which unfortunately after three straight wins, I am now on a losing streak). We talked with Porfi, the bar owner about getting some Irish beers or cider for St. Patrick´s Day. He is going to do what he can. Then it was home to bed!

So that brings me to Wednesday. I will start a new post as I am sure you all are tired of reading this novel!