So this was the last week of our 'traveller' status before reaffirming ourselves as holidaymakers / sight see'ers.
The first week of our trip (we all agreed) took an eternity to pass largely as we crammed so much in. The last two weeks however have flown by and none of us could believe that last night in La Paz was our last night together.
Having had a few days rest in Cusco, Monday saw us embark on a seven hour bus ride to Lake Titicaca, the last big venue of our G Adventures trip. Claire, Ray, Hen and I thought we'd won a watch with the spacious front seat top deck seats which afforded us panoramic views of our trip. Unfortunately it wasn't as glamorous as we'd hoped - the air con (the little that there was) stopped a couple of rows before our seats and with surround windows it made for a very hot breathless seven hours. That plus the panoramic views brought with it way too much clarity about why horns were being beeped, swerves made and brakes slammed.
By Monday night we were in Puno and on Tuesday and Wednesday we embarked on a final adventure on Lake Titicaca. This is a phenomenal natural wonder. The biggest lake above 2,000m altitude and at times you would swear it is the sea it is that vast. 60% belongs to Peru and 40% to Bolivia. We had a great day on Tuesday. Our transportation to the boat was on a wee two person seat thing on the front of a pushbike - an exhilarating and somewhat fear engendering experience in rush hour.
We had a boat to ourselves which took us initially to visit one of the floating islands on the lake. These are man made islands made from totara reeds that naturally grow in the lake. The islands are put together with humus of soil at the bottom bound together with sticks and ropes. On top of that they lay two metres of reeds which are ten replaced as they rot. The tiny island we visited housed four separate families who live in reed houses on their reed island sailing their reed boats. It really is something to behold. We spent some time learning about their way of life (albeit the solar panel, motor boat, satellite dish and TV were visible). Most the kids leave and go to university and seek a better life for themselves in the cities so it isn't clear how long this way of life will continue but whilst it does it is a thing to marvel at).
We then moved on to another island two hours boat ride away where they have a very distinct culture. The men of the island are the knitters and will be betrothed based on the skill of their handiwork. Quite bizarre. We also learned all about the traditional dress they wear and the significance of the hats the men wear - are they married? Single? Single-ish? So on and so forth.
Then came the interesting part of the day. We went to Liquita Island where we were staying in the homes of the locals that night. When we arrived we were welcomed by the villagers and taken to the high school where we were introduced to the family we would be spending the evening, night and following morning with. There was no security in numbers as we were to be in pairs only. And the added complication? The locals do not speak Spanish as their first language but a local language of Aymara which bears no resemblance to spanish (cod clearly Claire and I are fluent in that by now!!).
Having been introduced to Gavino our host for the evening and introduced ourselves ("Kamisaraki, Nayana sutijaja Gillian. nayaja Scotland tatua") our host disappeared for a while. In the meantime we had to take on the locals at a game of football - no surprises who won that especially as we were the only side predominantly made up of girls and competing at 3800m above sea level.
On completion of the football match (it wasn't a complete a disaster of a score) it was time for us all to be dressed in the local traditional costumes and partake in the local equivalent of a ceilidh. The pictures speak for themselves. I was partnered with our CEO Raul and I have to say we had those moves down!!!
With all the fun and frolics completed it was time to go home with our hosts. Needless to say ours and Lucy and Oli's hosts lived at the very top of the village; an altitude climb made all the harder by still being dressed in the local costumes. Finally huffing and puffing we reached our accomodation and were pleasantly surprised we had a unit with beds and a bathroom in it all to ourselves. Thank goodness.
On arrival there was a bit of an electricity issue so we were introduced to the confident kids in the family in the dark but immediately forced to play hide and seek amongst other games. There was Elvis aged 5, Evelyn aged 8 and Luciana aged 11 months. Electricity sorted we were invited up to the kitchen for dinner. Armed with our phrasebook (useless given they all spoke very little Spanish) we headed off to dine with Gavino, the kids and Gavinos daughter Janette who had made us the local speciality of quinoa soup followed by rice and vegetables and a cup of tea. It was a particularly awkward experience as none of us could speak with each other and to be fair the kids came to the rescue - always willing to play, use sign language and not let language be a barrier.
Needless to say we were in bed by 8:40 (apparently about an hour or so after everyone else).
The next morning Evelyn came to announce it was time to go to the kitchen for breakfast and yanapamama (help around the house). We'd been told we'd be doing some farming but Gavino disappeared early and we were left with Janette. Job number one - the dishes in some dubious looking water. Job number two out the sheep out to graze (attaching them by foot and rope to tent pins). job number three prep the veg for soup for lunch. After that we extracted ourselves for an hour or so to ease the embarrassing silences. It was then back in time for our 11am lunch of quinoa soup, rice, potatoes and fried cheese!! Then escorted back to the boat for the hour and a half sail back to Puno - interrupted with a few of the team taking a jump into Lake Titicaca (temp c. 10 degrees).
We both really enjoyed the communal activities and socialising with the families to an extent but would prefer to have made that the feature of Tuesday and gone back to Puno that night as some of the silences were pretty excruciating. All in all though it was great to spend time on the floating islands and with the community of Liquiti.
After a final night out in Peru (Puno is home to over two hundred costumed dances some of which were on show for us at dinner) we headed to La Paz, Bolivia the next day. A somewhat bizarre experience.
During our briefing the night before we were told we would be taken to the Peru / Bolivia border on the public bus. At that point we'd need to get off the bus and exit Peru then walk through no-mans land to Bolivia where we would clear immigration before getting back on the bus and driving to Copacabana. Here our bus would be changed and we'd spend an hour before continuing on the bus for 40 mins to a "ferry" to cross lake Titicaca (us on a wee fishing boat whilst our bus went on something we all questioned would make it to the other side). We'd then continue by bus to La Paz.
If that all didn't sound dodgy enough we couldn't acknowledge our guide Raul until he had passed through into Bolivia. Indeed we had to employ the services of a Bolivian guide for the day as it was dubious as to whether Raul would be allowed in.
It was a very long day (starting at 6am and finishing at 6pm). We had time for one last meeting and to say our thanks to Raul before he took us out to dinner (Thai and Indian - bizarre for your last night in Bolivia).
Friday am saw us trying to pack in some form of sightseeing around La Paz. It is a massive city that is definitely still "developing". Gridlock and grime everywhere but also a certain energy to the place. Neither of us fell in love with it but then we had limited time in which we went up the cable car, visited the colonial style streets, the main square and the witches market. With more time in La Paz we may have felt differently about the city and with more time in Bolivia outside of La Paz it may also have been the same - to be honest for those of us moving on / leaving the trip I'm not sure there was any need to leave Peru.
And so that was part one of the trip concluded. Three weeks with a very mixed but balanced group. We have been very lucky in that everyone has got on with each other and we've experienced a lot of very different things in a very short space of time. It truly has been action packed (though more about being on the move crossing the country than necessarily being stretched physically).
I am writing this blog from La Paz airport awaiting our flight to Santiago and the start of the next, hopefully more relaxed leg of our trip. Gareth is by now in the hotel awaiting our arrival and over the course of the next week we will explore Santiago, Chile as well as Mendoza and Buenes Aires. So until that update. Have a great week.
Whilst exploring Lake Titicaca we...
...HUNG OUT AT...altitude... We've now spent two weeks at altitude and it never fails to amaze us how out of breath you get climbing a set of stairs (especially after a meal). For some reason (though it is no higher than Peru) we've all been suffering more from breathlessness since arriving in La Paz yesterday. It's amazing how it impacts your sleep as your heart beats harder during the night and you sometimes struggle to get enough air into your lungs...
...WINED ON...a bottle or two of local Peruvian wine and of course the last of the Pisco Sours from the home of Pisco Sours, Peru and was introduced to Huari (pronounced wari not hoorae) beer
...
...DINED ON...amazing fish chowder (Claire), chicken with apple and pepper sauce and rainbow trout kebabs with a Cointreau sauce - all exceptionally beautiful.
So until next week - have a good one.
G
No comments:
Post a Comment