Lake Titticacca

We went out on a trip around Lake Titticaca today. It is fairly spectacular - nearly 4000 metres above sea level and stretching off beyond the horizon. We went out to two sets of islands - one which was home to a culture apparently completely dominated by weaving, knitting, dancing, and combinations thereof, and the other... well, the other was the Floating Isles of Uros. These are artificial islands created in the middle of the lake thousands of years ago and constantly replenished, constructed entirely of local reeds. The islands are made of reeds, the houses are made of reeds, the people eat the reeds and burn them for warmth and cooking. It is an astonishing way of life and apparently remnants of a culture which predates the incas by centuries. Anyway, some pics.

We leave for Bolivia on the morrow.

adios Cuzco

We left Cuzco today, and arrived in Puno on Lake Titticaca. We had a place to stay here recommended to us by the last place we were at, which we were prepared to track down, but somehow or other we were met by a representative of theirs at the bus station and before we knew it we were checked in ad even had a tour booked of the lake! We suspect that our Cuzco place rang ahead to let them know we were coming - Pachamama really is looking out for us here. Anyway just thought I´d let you know about our movements, we´ll check in again tomorrow, hopefully with some photos from the worlds highest navigable lake.

It really kicks the Llama's Ass.

We promised you Llama molestation.

We have delivered.

P.S. in Spanish, 'Molest' simply means 'annoy', without the unpleasant... other... connotations.

Machu Pichu

To use the word 'awesome' to describe Machu Pichu and the Inca trail is to lessen the actually awe experienced seeing the sun rise over the cloud wreathed ruins. The whole trek was fantastic though wearying - I don´t think anybody quite realises how hard it is to climb nearly a vertical kilometre in a morning until they have done it. Apart from sore muscles though we are happy and healthy. we'll post pictures and so forth when we get to our hostel - at the moment I'm just killing time in Aguas Calientes, the tourist town at the base of Machu Pichu, waiting for our train back to Cuzco.
Chao
-Robert

P.S: There are Llamas on top of Machu Pichu. They were stalked and molested (in a friendly way). We also have pictures of that.

In Peru, attraction tourists you!

Greetings gentle readers.

I am reporting to you live from Cuzco, Peru, an extraordinarily beautiful city (forgive me if I ramble a little, we had a drink or two last night and the altitude increased its effectiveness about ten-fold... so we´re all four a little groggy this morning). That´s right, we four - I believe Luke mentioned briefly our new friend Nalani (is it ok to reference something from brackets in the main part of the text? I´m gonna go ahead and... continue...anyway). She has been with us since the bus trip up from Tacna and is just great to have around. Apart from just being alot of fun she is from Costa Rica (though a resident of California) so is fluent in Spanish. Having a personal translator go with us on our explorations has simplified what could have been some tricky negotiations - and having that translator be young and attractive I´m sure has increased the friendliness of some otherwise potentially recalcitrant taxi and collectivo drivers! Sadly we have to part ways tomorrow as we three embark on the Inca Trek to Machu Pichu and she returns to Costa Rica for christmas.

But yeah, Cuzco is fascinating. It´s possibly to see the history of the place in the very walls - many buildings, from cathedrals to cafes are built on solid Inca foundations, with shoddy Colonial Spanish walls and many more recent additions. The from our hostel room window it is possible to see most of the city, with its heart - The Plaza de Armas - right below us and the streets and outer plazas climbing up the hills away from it. The streets are rarely more than one lane wide, in most places there being just enough room for a taxi to pass a pedestrian between buildings if the pedestrian breathes in.

Additionally, the Scared Valley around Cuzco is spectacular. One of us can hopefully come and right a more complete report about our adventurings here but for now my time runs short. Perhaps I´ll just let the pictures do the talking - I´ve added a few more to the current album.

Adios

P.S. In a couple of places, some Peruvians forget themselves and wanted to take photos of us. Was very odd. Most odd was when a professional film company stopped us and asked us to let them film us walking along. No idea where that footage will end up, or in what context.

Into Peru

We arrived in Peru yesterday without incident. The flight from Santiago to Arica in northern Chile was fine, and we were greeted at the airport by an eager taxi driver who took us across the border, helping us through customs etc very swiftly. Despite his apparent urging, we went to a hostel in Tacna, Peru, of our choosing, not his - a bare place, but cheap, central and clean. We saw a bit of the town but there isnt much to see. The cathedral was designed by Gustav Eiffel {the tower guy} but for all that was not overly exciting.
We were very frugal for lunch but splurged a bit for dinner - but thats what happebns when you go to a restaurent and say ´´give us what is good´´ - or at least thats what we think we said when surrounded by a flock of friendly but incomprehensible and pressuring waitstaff! The other interesting thing was a Gay Rights March that went past our window - almost the last thing we expected to see, and hilarious because of that.
We leave for Cuzco by bus shortly.
Adios!
-Robert