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.