El Ombligo del Mundo

It's always been on my bucket list to visit Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world.  So while I'm in Peru, I couldn't pass up the chance to go.  And thank god I did, as it is truly one of the most culturally fascinating and beautiful places I have ever seen.  Anabel, Karina and I flew into Juliaca and then took a bus to Puno, which is the main city on the Peruvian side of the lake (the Eastern side belongs to Bolivia).  We spent Friday exploring the town and walked on down to the port where we went paddle boating in a big plastic duck! The best part of the day was probably waiting in the bank for 2 hours, as we had to pay the tour fee into a bank account.  Somehow when we showed up, it seemed like the entire town of Puno was waiting in line also.  Lucky us.  But, we got it all done, and headed back to the hostel for an early night in preparation for our full day of activities.  We decided to cook our own dinner...this consisted of boxed mac n' cheese (made me miss real wisco mac and cheese even more) and brownie batter (which we attempted to fry in a pan-this did not work). Desperation at it's finest.

As the sun rose, we were sailing across the lake to the floating islands of the Uros people.  It is a community of around fifty islands which are all hand made from reeds. Originally the islands were created as a defense against outside aggressors, but now they are considered the primary homes of the people.  Everything they make is out of reeds, their houses, the rafts themselves, their boats...they even eat part of the reeds! The islands are built by layering reeds on top of one another, and more reeds are added every month or so as they break down rapidly.  We stepped onto the islands and it felt like we were moon walking, you feet literally sink into the reeds and bounce back up.  Very weird feeling.  The little kids on the island kept tripping over because their legs aren't long enough so they sink in the reeds!  We got to play around with the Uros kids (Karina has an obsession with cute children), and meet some of the islanders who showed us how they make the islands.  We also got a little trip on one of their traditional boats! TRIP HIGHLIGHT.  I have a new obsession with these boats, i want one to sail on Lake Michigan.  I managed to refrain from buying all the souveneirs that they make by hand, although I was sorely tempted by an engraved gourd that was bigger than my head.  Anabel, my voice of reason, talked me out of it-a good thing because I have absolutely no room to take it home.  After visiting one of the smaller islands, we went to the main island where we got our passport stamped (awesomeness) and then it was on to the large (real) island of Taquile.  We hiked up to the top of the island where we ate a local lunch and watched a local dance performance.  Apparently the Taquile islanders are the best weavers in the world, and we got to see the meanings of all the different patterns, hats and belts that they make.  The kids start hand weaving textiles when they are six or seven! I then had a photoshoot with this gorgeous little girl (Karina's obsession was wearing off on me).  Very National Geographic of me.  Last but not least we were escorted to their main square where we got to admire the view (breathtaking) and buy more textiles (I'm officially broke).  Then sadly it was time to go, but we got to enjoy the most beautiful views on our walk back down to the boat and on our two hour boat ride back to Puno.

All in all, one of the best trips I've had.  Absolutely gorgeous.

Peruvian Piranas

Day 1:

Our last group excursion (sad face) was a trip to the one and only Amazon! We flew to Iquitos which is the in the Peruvian rainforest and its the largest city in the world that is only accessible by boat or by air...as in you can't drive to it. From there we took a watertaxi to our hotel-and by hotel i mean lodge over the river.  Definitely a jungle hideout.  We all wanted to go for a swim in the river, buttttt according to the guides, the water level in the river is super high right now, which means the number of snakes in the water has vastly increased.  So not only do we have to worry about flesh eating piranas, but we have to worry about anacondas and boa constrictors squeezing the life out of us.  So, we decided to stay above water, just in case.  With a quick turnaround we got back in the boats and headed over to watch some cultural dances with one of the local tribes.  Somehow we all ended up on the dance floor being pulled in circles by 8 year olds-who turned out to be better dancers then we were!  After that we got the opportunity to buy all sorts of local artesian goods, who would trust a bunch of college students with blowguns i have no idea.   Obviously we decided to have a blowgun competition at the lodge that night, many of us were walking around with little wooden spikes sticking out of our bums and legs.  But as darkness fell we all piled back into the boats and went to listen to the sounds of the rainforest while drifting in a secluded lagoon.  What they neglected to tell us was the very high possibility of snakes dangling from the trees-which you cannot see at night.  We sat in silence and listened to the frogs, the birds, the monkeys, and god only knows what else for about an hour or so, and then headed back to get some sleep before our early wake up call.
Day 2:
Rise and Shine, its Pirana Hunting Time!  We boated over to some lagoons that are apparently full of different kids of piranas-lucky us-and our guides handed us long wooden sticks fitted with a line of string and a hook.  We were then told to hold out our hands, and a glob of raw meat was smacked into them.  Lovely.  Then the waiting began.  For those of you who know me, I am not the most patient person, and I absolutely hate fishing.  Fishing in my opinion is what other people do while I lie on the dock tanning.  So here I am, standing in 90% humidity, waiting for a pirana to bite my hook.  Patience is not a virtue of mine, or of half the others in the group apparently as after 15 minutes or so of inactivity we all started wandering around the lagoon on our own, while the more competitive boys eagerly watched their lines for signs of movement.  I cannot begin to count how many times someone called "I've got one!!" only to pull up their pole with weeds/twigs/weird assortment of other things attached to the end.  Maybe piranas are smarter than we think.  All in all, two piranas were caught that morning, so we were more than ready to head over to the rum factory of the jungle.  Getting our drink on early.  We got to try jungle rum and honey and a weird mix of the two which they affectionately refer to as "The Panty Dropper."  Needless to say, a vast amount was purchased by our little group.
Day 3:
Today is the day we learned how to use the blowguns (properly).  We hiked over to a local tribe's village where their chief showed us his blow gun (which was like 6 feet long), and then proceeded to shoot a wooden doll with it at quite a range.  It looked so easy until we all got to try it.  We alternated between missing completely, getting the blow dart stuck within the gun, hitting the doll where no man should be hit (oops that was me), and almost hitting a runaway child who decided to sprint across our firing range.  We finally got the hang of it, with the chief aiming it for us, meaning all we had to do was blow the dart out.  All in all, a successful round I would say!
During our mid day rest, the girls and I decided to venture out on the kayaks during a rain storm.  We explored the river, keeping a look out for crocodiles and snakes of course, and found refuge in an abandoned house that had been flooded (yes, we kayaked into the house).
That afternoon we trekked up to a nearby village where we met a shaman who uses the jungle as his hospital who explained all about the medicinal properties of certain plants.  As typical college students, we had to ask if he would sell us ayahuasca-which is a brew containing MAO inhibiting harmala alkaloids and the powerful hallucinogenic alkaloid N,N-dimethyltryptamine.  Basically its a hallucinogen.  Our wise shaman chuckled (having clearly expected us to ask) and said that without having someone knowledgeable to "guide you through the experience" you are at risk of dying.  So that was that.  



















Day 4:
Our last day in the jungle, the heavens opened and we got to witness a real rain storm.  As this was the day we were to visit the mariposarium (butterfly farm) we weren't that excited.  Butterflies don't like rain.  But we went anyway and turns out the butterfly farm not only has butterflies, but monkeys, a jaguar, an oscelot, numerous parrots and macaws and some fun other animals.  We were told to carefully guard our bags as some of the monkeys had been picked up from the streets where local gangs had trained them as thieves.  The guide there explained to us about the large amount of illegal animal trafficking that goes on in Iquitos.  Apparently the Amazon rainforest supplies a vast amount of wildlife for the exotic pet trade, and while the police are supposed to be watching the markets, they either don't care enough or are paid to turn a blind eye.
Last but not least we went to a Manatee sanctuary! Where we got to hand feed the manatees which are one of the most important species for the maintenance of the ecosystem in the Amazon.

Nazca Lines and Motion Sickness

our little plane

So Anabel and I decided to do something a little crazy.  Actually a lot crazy.  We wanted to go fly over the Nazca lines which are ancient geoglyphs located in the southern deserts of Peru.  They were created around two thousand years ago and consist of hundreds of figures ranging from simple lines to ornate carved animals.  All sounds great right? Only downside was that to get to Nazca, we had to take two buses totally a seven and a half hour trip, just one way....so naturally we decided to do it all in one day.  Got on the bus at 330 in the morning, just to clarify, i'm not a morning person, and we had to be at the bus station an hour and a half early (although we just sat in the VIP waiting room the entire time so that was pointless).  Buses were awesome, super comfy and they even gave us snacks.  Only one problem, they decided to turn on a movie (who wants to watch a movie at 4am??) and cranked the volume up.  On top of this they had the radio on, also at full volume.  So we are all rolling down the road in this bumpin vehicle listening to the tv and the radio compete with each other over which one can destroy our hearing first.  Not exactly conducive to a sound sleep.  Seven unslept hours later (although I did see the sunrise over the desert which was gorgeous) we arrived in Nazca.  Immediately got taken to the airstrip and got loaded into a four seater plane.  As in this plane was the smallest thing I have ever seen.  My host family had warned me about the bumpyness of the plane and I had told them not to worry as I have an iron stomach and never throw up.  I was wrong.  Within five minutes of takeoff the combination of air rollercoaster, searching for lines in the ground, and trying to take photos, all at the same time, my stomach was in knots.  I managed to hold it together for the majority of the flight and then the puke bag came out.  Not a proud moment.  Upon landing I got whisked off to the doctor (yes there is a doctor on site) who told me not to worry as 8 people had already thrown up that morning...which made me feel a little better.  BUT, besides the extreme motion sickness, the lines were incredible to see from the air.  Definitely an experience I would recommend to all.  After I was released from the doctor we headed straight back to the bus terminal and bused seven hours home again.  All in a days work.

the hummingbird

can you see the spider-middle of right side

Sandboarding

Overnight tripped it to Ica this past weekend which is about 5 hours south of Lima by bus.  Ica is in a desert and about 20 minutes away are these ridiculously high sand dunes that stretch for miles with an oasis called Huacachina right splat dab in the middle of them.  As soon as we arrived we were loaded into two sand buggies and before we had even buckled our seat belts, our drivers decided to let loose and take us on the equivalent of a sand rollercoaster.  I feel bad for all the people who got motion sick on that trip, but for those of us who don't mind vertical drops it was awesome.  Sand was flying everywhere, we all had sand lining our teeth! To add to the excitement, our guides whipped out a bunch of sandboards....which looks like snowboards except they have rudimentary velcro straps, are chipped all over the place, and look like something out of the Back To the Future franchise.  You lie down on your stomach and lift your legs up, and before you know it you are flying across burning hot sand at about 40 miles an hour.  Sounds safe right? Well a friend and I decided to up it to the next level and try it "parada" style, or standing up (aka how you would ride a snowboard).  I can now officially say that it is wayyy harder to sandboard, then it is to snowboard.  Pretty much no control at all, you basically have to just point your board down and try and stay standing.  We stopped overlooking the oasis to take some pictures, and then headed back because the heat was getting to all of us.  After a big lunch on the lake of Huacachina, we headed to our hotel Las Dunas for the night where we had actual water pressure for our showers...i forgot to mention that in Lima, there is little to no water pressure, so its more of a water drip out of the shower head.  Needless to say, we were so excited to have a real shower again.  We had planned on doing a bar crawl called the "Shitfaced Tour" but opted out of it as it was kind of far away.  But instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour, about seven of us decided to hike up the dune overlooking the hotel at midnight in our pyjamas with some cheap wine and a six pack of beer.  Took us about forty five minutes but the view was spectacular, overlooking all the city lights while sitting on top of a sand ridge.

Early the next morning we headed out on the bus to Paracas and Islas Ballestas, aka the Gallapegos Islands of Peru where we boarded a boat to tour the area.  The islands are formed from natural rock formations which are in the shape of natural arches and are inhabited by penguins and sea lions.  Having taken about a thousands pictures of both of these in Ushuaia, I tried to refrain from being too trigger happy.  While on this happy little boat ride, the entire left side of the boat got pooped on by the condors circling overhead.  The right side of the boat (including me) thought this was hilarious, while the left side's reactions alternated between mild irritation, laughter, and full on angry.  We joked that this was the real "Shitfaced Tour," which they didn't think was very funny.  Ironically, in the 1850's Peru got itself out of major financial issues by exporting thousands of tonnes of bird poop as a natural fertilizer to the US, England, and other places....so I guess it can't be all bad! Disembarking, we headed over to a seaside resaturant where we dined on pulpo (octopus), calamari, and ceviche (raw fish marinated in a lemon citrus juice and served with onions).  All of it so good!

Can't believe I only have 32 days left in South America, where did all this time go?!

Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley

cusco

Trip Highlight: Machu Picchu! The entire spring program in Lima flew to Cusco, the capital of the Incan Empire, in the the Andes.  The city rests at an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet which can cause some nasty altitude sickness for travelers which can be avoided (or at least reduced) by chewing coca leaves (same plant that cocaine comes from).  First time we emerged from the hotel we were greeted by three women in traditional dress with a llama being pulled along behind them.  Imagine our excitement! So we all took turns snapping photos only to be accosted for money as we were attempting to leave.  The women wanted 10 soles per person, for 6 of us, so 60 soles...thats like $30.  Highway robbery! We learned quickly not to take pictures of the locals in traditional dress because they only present themselves that way so they can make money off tourists snapping photos.  It's sad, because many women bring their children out to the streets with them because they know that tourists would rather take pictures of little kids playing with baby llamas.
We visited the ruins of Sacsayhuamán which are on the northern edge of the city which was added as a UNESCO World Heritage site, along with the Cusco proper.  The stones are so precisely fit together that you cannot fit a single piece of paper between two.  Now the city is used as a site to celebrate Inti Raymi, or the winter solstice (summer for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere).  Immediately after we had a brief tour of Cusco and all it had to offer and then we were set loose on the city.  Us girls spent a vast majority of the day shopping in the beautiful markets which were filled with exquisite scarves, gloves, bags and so much more all made out of Alpaca wool which is some of the finest in the world.  Not gonna lie, we went a little crazy.  Word for the wise, never unleash a pack of girls in an Incan market without supervision, although I'm sure all the shopkeepers were very happy that day.
Next stop on our tour was Ollantaytambo, which was the royal estate of Pachacuti, emperor of the Incan empire.  We hiked up all the terraces built so that the Incans could take advantage of the different climates at different heights to take in the beautiful view from the top through the Sacred Valley.
Nelly's House was our next stop where we learned how the women of the region prepare Alpaca wool and got a demonstration in cleaning, dyeing, and weaving the wool.  They use all natural soaps and fruits to dye the wool.  She showed us how to differentiate between baby Alpaca, Alpaca and sheep wool, baby Alpaca being the softest and sheep being the most coarse.  Also on display for us ladies were natural lip dyes, which according to Nelly are "kiss proof" which she demonstrated on the boys! They walked around the rest of the day with big red lips on their cheeks which they couldn't scrub off!

From Ollantaytambo we took a two hour train ride to the base camp for Machu Picchu.  Anabel, Bryan, Karina and I spent the entire duration of the trip playing Spades, which got very competitive.  When our train came to a stop we looked out the window to find that we were in the center of the town, as in the railway was in the center of the street.  Kind of a novelty, but we didn't take time to appreciate it as it was off to bed for our 5am wake up call the next morning.

in the sacred valley

ollantaytambo

pretty much stairs the whole way up

made it to the top of machu picchu mountain!

our group

To get to Machu Picchu you have to take a 20 minute bus ride from the town, winding up through the mountains until you feel like you are on top of the world.  It was so surreal to finally be at this location that I have heard so much about and seen in so many pictures.  A couple of us hiked up Machu Picchu mountain while the rest of the group climbed Huayna Picchu.  I'll just say this, it was like a two hour session on the stairmaster.  My buns got a serious workout.  But the view from the top, words cannot explain it, so I'll let my pictures do the talking.

Familia

A few things about Lima:
It never rains in Lima, ever.
Limenian food is top ten in the world, specialties include Cuy (guinea pig) and ceviche (raw fish)
Pisco (the local liquor) is Peruvian, no matter what the Chileans say.
They take pride in keeping their city clean, and you will find street crews sweeping the streets daily.
Lima is like Las Vegas, Casinos on every street corner.
Theres a fountain in the city center that they fill with Pisco on their Independence Day and turn it into a giant free bar!

My host family here consists of Amalia (Mami!) and her three children who are all older, Amalia, Ana, Carlos and her grandson Willy who is my age and just spent a couple months in Colorado as he is training to be a chef.  Absolutely love them all.  Mami is super up on all her health food, so we get fresh fruit juices every day and low fat soups, etc which are soooo good.  We also tried Anticucho which is cow heart, glad no one told me what it was before I tasted it, don't think I would have been able to stomach it knowing what it was, but, having said that, it was really good! There is also an abundance of fruits that I have never even heard of before, Granadilla, Guanabana, Lucuma, and a bright orange fruit that no one seems to know the name of.  They also have Passion Fruit everywhere which I eat at every opportunity! However, this sugar addict is currently missing all her cakes, cookies, and brownie batter.  I'm being spoiled rotten, if I lift a finger to help clear plates Mami comes running over and tells me to leave it all, I told her that my own mother is not going to like the person she is turning me into! We spend hours sitting around chatting, my spanish, I am happy to announce is markedly improving.

Guanabana

Granadilla

The first two days in Lima we spent on full day walking tours of the city, getting to know the area we are living in and the center of the city!  I am living in a barrio called Lince and am only about 8 blocks from the Pacifica University where we are studying.  

New Beginnings

On March 31st, the Multi-Country program participants sadly departed Buenos Aires and flew on to Lima Peru.  Some of the things I won't miss in Argentina. 1) desert which consists of a slab of cheese covered in a slab of sweet potato jelly. gross. 2) platform birkenstocks, a hot trend right now 3) the nightmare dog living in our apartment.  Things I'm super excited for in Lima 1) Machu Picchu 2) Finally having a class in English again! 3) trekking through the Amazon!