Lake Titicaca Day 2

After a solid eleven hour sleep under four heavy wool blankets, we awoke to yet another beautiful day. Life on this island is so amazingly peaceful, without any of the modern conveniences. There was no noise, no light, and no distractions, which can so easily interfere with healthy sleep. The only thing we heard all night was the braying of the burro at 4:30, but he had the good manners to only bray once, and we went right back to sleep.

A new experience for Marianne, and one that I hadn't experienced since I was a litle girl visiting relatives on the prairies, was using the potty in the middle of the night. Although it wasn't exectly elegant, it sure beat traipsing across the field to the flush outhouse in the middle of the night!

One of the things that most impressed me about the island was seeing the mothers carrying their babies up to four years old on their backs. This is especially amazing, as these mothers often have to walk very long ways on fairly steep mountain paths.

The other thing that I found interesting was the way in which the women never walked empty handed. Since they do so much walking it makes sense to take advantage of the time by spinning or knitting as they walk, seldom looking to check their work!

Saying "good-bye" to our host mama with her house in the background

After breakfast,we boarded the boat for our voyage to Tranquille Island, another island that lacks all the modern conveniences, including roads. We got off at one end of the island, and hiked to the other. UP, UP, UP, then down, down, down! We should be in great shape by the time we get home!

Tranquille Island from the boat

Along the way, we saw breathtaking views, interesting sculptures, people in ethnic clothing, and, surprise, surprise, people selling handicrafts! Each little village was defined by these little archways. The sculptures on top are meant to keep the village safe.

Too cute!

The streets in the town are very narrow, as there is no motor transportation.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely mountaintop restaurant with amazing views of the lake. We enjoyed delicious quinua soup. I am definitely going to have to explore different ways of making quinua when I get home.

The view from the restaurant

Passion fruit growing at the restaurant

We were treated to fascinating demonstrations at the restaurant, including the traditional way of making soap from the chujo plant. The leaves are ground down using a grinding stone, put into a cloth that is closed, then squeezed out into the water. This made an amazing amount of suds, and did a great job of cleaning a piece of natural sheep's wool.

We were also shown how the people weave their clothes, and an explanation of the different clothing. At the previous island, the shawls that the women wore on their heads were embroidered with family patterns, on Tranquille Island they are not. The single women decorate each corner of their shawl with huge, colourful pompons worn in front, while the married women decorate theirs with small plain pompoms, tucked behind their backs.

The men wear embroidered cumberbunds, which are of two layers; one that is very firm and stiff, with the decorated layer over top. The stiff under layer acts as a back brace, as it is the tradition on this island to not have the animals carry heavy loads. Somehow, it is seen as more humane to have the men carry them instead!

The fuschia flower, the national flower of Peru, grows wild on the islands.

We arrived back in Puno around 3:30 and had some time to explore the town. We went to an arts cooperative and bought some presents for our loved ones, including ourselves. We were delighted to find a cute little restaurant in the coperative that served some healthy salads, as we were ready for a break from quinua and potatoes! We were excited to be able to shower and get comfortable in our hotel, with all the comforts of home!

 

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Lake Titicaca

Yeah! We got to sleep in until 6:45. This felt like such luxury, as we had dropped into bed exhausted after so many early mornings. We are still recovering from our hike, and Marianne is still not feeling well, so we were in bed by 8:00. We set off for our boat tour of Lake Titicaca in a cabin cruiser, so are much happier today. We had heard that the boat would be very cold, but it is actually very comfortable.

Puno from the boat

Lake Titicaca means Puma stone in the Quechua language. It is the highest lake in the world at 3809 meters;it is 8560 square kilometers large, and 280 meters deep. Sixty percent of the lake is located in Peru and fortypercent in Bolivia. Trout have been introduced to the lake from Canada, and Kingfish from Argentina.

We were greeted at the first Uros island by a group of local women.

The Uros people came to the lake during Inca times to escape the Incas. They stay because they like the fish and the way of life. There are sixty lloating islands with 1900 inhabitants. They have a primary school, but children have to go to the mainland for secondary. They now have solar power.

The boats used to last for only six months, but now last for two and a half years, because they now use nylon rope to bind the reeds together rather than reed binding. They also use plastic drink bottles in the hull to add extra flotation. (Pretty clever recycling if you ask me!)

The reeds can also be eaten. Peel the outside off, and the inside has iodine and other medicinal qualities, good for many things including rheumatism. Rheumatism is a big problem for the islanders, as they are walking on wet reeds during the rainy season.

The islands are created by taking the roots of the reeds, which come up naturally when they collect the reeds, then driving a eucalyptus stake into the roots, so that they can tie the clumps of roots together. They drive a long stake into the lake bed to anchor the island, using a minimum of 8 anchors. These have to be replaced every 3 weeks.

Demonstration of how they make the islands.

The people are lovely and welcoming. This little girl was very shy, but we managed to get a picture of her.

We stayed overnight on Amantani island, the largest island on the Peruvian side. There are 5000 people living here, speaking Quechua and Spanish. People living here are vegetarian, at least we weren't expected to eat guinea pig or alpaca.

After meeting our host mother, Martha, we set off for the long one kilometer trek up the hill to our homestay. There are no cars on the island, so people walk everywhere. Unfortunately, I overpacked, and am still feeling the exhaustion from the trek, so we had to stop several times for a rest on the way up.

Our new home!

The view from our new home!

Our new home is like an attic room with a private entrance right off the upstairs balcony....very cozy! The kitchen is in a separate building. Our hosts, Christina and Martha cooked a lovely meal over a clay stove. The propane stove was just used to boil water.

Our host family

After a lunch of quinua soup and fresh vegetables (with potatoes of course), we set off on a hike up Pachamama mountain to view the sunset. We are still not recovered from our trek, so we found this very difficult, as it was about 2 kilometers straight up. It was worth it, though!

Our quaint little home isn't heated, and it is 37 degrees fahrenheit, so we wore all our clothes to bed.

 

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Off to Lake Titicaca

We called the front desk last night to ask for a wake up call at 5:45. Unfortunately, they must not have understood our english very well, as they called at 4:45. We were dressed and fully awake before we realized it, so decided to enjoy a relaxed morning getting ready. Sigh, it looks like we are going to have to wait until we get home to get a rest.

We were picked up at our hotel and taken to the bus station where we caught a luxury tour bus for our 12 hour drive to Puno, with 5 stops at points of interest along the way. Our tour guide, Elio did a great job of explaining what we were seeing. We made a quick stop at Oropesa to buy a giant circle of Oropesa sweet bread for sharing. This bread is very popular in Cusco, and can only be bought here. Delicious!

Our next stop was Andahualillas to the Sistine Chapel of the Andes. This was a most beautiful church, with every wall covered in a mural, and wonderful gold plate framed pictures and altar. Some people think that it is garish, bit I found it to be absolutely breathtaking! Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the church, but notice the murals on the outside.

Our next stop was at San Pedro to see the ruins of Wiracocha, the male God of the heavens. Pachamama is the female god of the earth. This was one of the early ruins built, in the 12th or 13th century. Our tour guide explained that because so much volcanic stone was used, it is possible that this ruin was built to honour the volcano.

This was an interesting structure. If you look at the photo of what they believe the original structure to havebeen, you can see the original walls and columns in which the bases are still standing, with the main wall in the middle still intact.

We stopped for lunch in a lovely area in which the main activity is breeding alpacas and llamas. We had lots of fun watching the baby lllama playing.

Two llamas and an alpaca

Picayuna

La Raya is the highest point along this route, at 4313 meters, and the border between the area of Cuzco and that of Puno. We stopped for a quick picture of the beautiful snow covered Andes (and of course the ubiquitous tourist stands), and jumped back on the bus.

Our last stop was in Picara where the bulls that the Incas place on top of their houses are made. We visited a museum that showed the broken pottery that had been dug up from pre Incan times. Our guide told us that this town is where the Incan culture began.

We finally arrived in Pino, and caught a glimpse of Lake Titcaca from the bus. Puna is not an especially attractive city, so we are grateful to be leaving early in the morning for our two day trip to the floating islands, with an overnight stay with a local family.

 

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Oops, We Have a Tour!

Ahh, it felt so good to have a nice leisurely morning to take it easy. We thought that we would get ourselves organized and do a bit of shopping in the afternoon. Suddenly, the phone rang to tell us that the tour guide would be coming to pick us up in half an hour. Yikes! We scrambled to get ready, and managed to get to the lobby just in time.

We headed off to Moray Maras to see another ruin. On our way, we drove through some beautiful farms. The main crops in this area are wheat and barley grown together for feed for the animals and potatoes. It was almost time to cut the wheat/barley combination. The land is individually owned, but the farmers work together. The government has supplied them with a combine for all the farmers to share. This reminded me of how farmers used to help each other back home before farms became huge commercial enterprises.

Marianne noticed that there were only bulls in the fields, and no cows. Our tour guide Christian explained that Peru does not raise cows for milk production, as it takes too much land. The bulls are mostly used for work on the farm.

We reached Moray, which is the oldest ruins in the area, built before the Incas. This is a fascinating ruins, built in a valley rather than high up in the mountains like the other ruins that we have seen. It is also the only one built in concentric circles. It is thought that this was a research center for agriculture, with each level of the terraces offering a different micro-climate for growing. What was learned was then used in the surrounding areas to decide what would be the most successful crops.

Near Moray are Salt mines that have been made possible by an underground saltwater river. This was built by local farmers, who mine the individual plots, allowing the water to flow in, and then damming it until the water evaporates leaving the salt. This done a number of times until there is enough salt to collect, the plot is completely cleaned, and the process begun again. Each cycle takes about three weeks. Since it was a Saturday, we saw entire families working on their plots. So interesting! There were lots of stairs at both sites, which was difficult since we were still recovering from the trek. We had to keep stopping, panting like a couple of old ladies. "Wait," you may say, "you ARE a couple of old ladies!" Hmmm, well, today I sure felt like it!

My favorite stop was at the quaint little town of Moray, where they were having a fair, showing their farm products and handwork. There was an announcer calling out who was first place in each category, just like the fair back home!

Quinua

Different types of corn

We got back to our hotel around 3:00, completely exhausted, but had to get packed, as we would be leaving early the next day. Since most of our clothes were at the laundry, having the Inca Trail stink washed off them, and we had literally thrown everything in our packs from the trek onto the floor so that we could fall into bed right after the trek, there was a lot to do! We got organized and treated ourselves to supper at a fancy restaurant for our last night in Cuzco.

 

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Tips for Hiking the Inca Trail

You cannot be too well trained for this hike. The better trained you are, the more you will enjoy it. The altitude is an issue for most people, and some are hit harder than others. We were the oldest people on the hike, but there were a few younger people who also struggled. I would recommend daily hill walking for at least two months before going, as well as weekly hikes or better yet, two days in a row of hiking on challenging mountain trails, carrying day packs that are about 10 pounds.

Packing tips: there were many websites that offered tips on what to bring. We especially found the following helpful: travelfashiongirl.com

The most important thing that we found was to be prepared for very cold nights, as we were high in the Andes in the Peruvian winter, and we woke up to frost on the second night. The first night was almost as cold. If you use a metal water bottle, like those sold in most dollar stores, you can ask the guides to put boiling water in them for a hot water bottle. These will last most of the night, and can be used as drinking water the following day. Take a wool hat that is comfortable to sleep in and a fleece with a hood to keep your neck warm while you sleep. I wore two pairs of winter running tights and a pair of heavy wool socks to sleep in, kept a separate "sleep shirt" that I hadn't already sweated in, and put on my long sleeved shirt and fleece jacket. We put our clothes for the morning at the bottom of our sleeping bag so that they would be warm in the morning. I had zip off hiking pants, but wore lycra running shorts under them during the day for extra warmth. Most people just wore their long pants all day, but if you get uncomfortable hiking in the warmth, you will want to have shorts and tank top. WARM gloves are essential, as both Marianne and I found the light ones we had were not adequate. Those who had heavy North Face gloves were happy. You might also want a light pair for moderately cold marnings. We did not bring hotshots for those early morning hikes, but wished that we had.

YOU WILL SWEAT......A LOT on this hike, so we recommend bringing a short sleeved t-shirt for each day (the fresh one can be your sleep shirt). I found that the all in one bra-tank top to be a good alternative to t-shirts, as I get warm very quickly, and prefer to take off as many clothes as possible when warm. Marianne, on the other hand, was quite comfortable wearing a short sleeved t-shirt through the warmer parts of the day. A t-shirt also offers greater protection from sun and bugs.

YOUR FEET WILL GET STINKY hiking all day and sweating in your hiking boots. I would suggest three changes of socks, one for each day, plus one extra warm pair for sleeping in.

Hygiene: this was the hardest part. Although Alpaca Adventures was fantastic about providing a bowl of hot water and a cloth for washing every day, you might want to bring your own facecloth and small towel. In addition, bring plenty of handi wipes so that you can clean such body parts as stinky feet each night. Personal hygiene wipes are also a good idea to help keep clean.

Suggestions from fellow hikers: bring dryer sheets to put in both clean and dirty clothes bags to keep them sweet smelling. (Think about those socks!) One woman brought a "Johnny" so that she could go to the bathroom without needing to squat, and a "Freshette" so that she could avoid the dreaded march to the porta potty in the middle of the night. These are both available on Amazon.com

Ask the tour company for an air mattress and walking sticks. They may charge extra for these, but they are well worth it. Bring a scarf for warmth, and also to use for a pillow. You may want to invest in a little camp pillow for additional comfort. (These are also great for bus and plane travel)

There are some porters who are using terrible footwear such as very worn sandals with no socks to do the hike at double the time that we were doing. If you have good walking/running shoes or hiking boots to donate, bring them with you. They will be appreciated. This is also true for warm gloves and clothes.

BE PREPARED TO GET SICK! Apparently this is very common on the Inca trail, as the tough hiking, lack of sleep and cold weather may depress your immune system. Bring cold medication, antibiotics, something for upset stomache and traveller's diarrhea, as well as something for altitude sickness. If you have done the trail and have any additional suggestions, please let me know and I will add them to the list.

 

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Woohoo, Day 4 Machu Pichu

Being awoken at 3:30 am in order to get to the Sun Gate for Sunrise, we bundled up, donned our headlamp flashlights, quickly packed, ate another delicious breakfast, and were off by 4:30. The best part of breakfast was the quinua, oatmeal and applesauce porridge. Yum!

Once on the trail, it really didn't seem to matter what time it was, as we were awake pretty quickly in the fresh early morning air, and full of excitement in anticipation of arriving at our hard won destination. We had to wait at the checkpoint for 45 minutes, as the staff didn't open it until 5:30. However, we were glad to be at the front of the line, as there were several hundred people who arrived after us.

Finally, it opened and we were on pur way, most of us in a joyous mood, the fatigue of the last few days slipping away in anticipation. Unfortunately, Marianne's cold seemed to be at its worst, and she was terribly congested. We still had quite a few climbs to do, so it was pretty hard for her. As you can see by the pictures, she did her best to keep smiling in spite of her struggles.

As the finish line approached, Marianne and I started to talk about the amazing team that we have come to know through this experience. This has definitely been one of our favorite parts of the trip, as every person was a fascinating, accomplished person in their own right. We started to reflect on how much we would miss them, as our little family would soon be coming to an end. Exchanging emails, we promised to stay in touch, and to hopefully see each other again. We wish everyone of them the very richest of God's blessings in the future.

Today's trek felt like a bit of a horse race as we quick stepped toward the Sun Gate in order to catch the sun rising over Machu Pichu. We arrived in good time, and found ourselves a comfortable perch to sit upon and reflect on our journey. I felt such emotion well up inside as I looked down on the ruins that I had dreamed of seeing for so many years, and had worked so hard to get to. There are many people that I know who are not able to do this trek for a variety of reasons. I think of a special person that I love whose physical limitations prevent him from taking on hard physical challenges, but remains my greatest cheerleader and encourager. I think of our friend Susan who had to cancel at the last minute, even though she was probably the member of our group who wanted this trip the most. As the sun slowly climbed over the mountain, inching toward Machu Pichu, I closed my eyes and said a prayer of gratitude that I am so richly blessed to be in this wondrous place.

The Sun Gate

Machu Pichu esconced in full sunlight was quite wonderful, and we could see that there were already a lot of people exploring the ruins. "Rock and Roll", Reuben said for the 100th time on our trip, and we were on our way once more. After about 20 minutes, we finally arrived! I choked back the tears of exhaustion and happiness as we posed for our last group picture, and took some time to just gaze and enjoy.

We had to leave the ruins in order to take a bathroom break and to buy some much needed junk food. Some members of the group bought themselves a beer, but Marianne and I enjoyed a nice chocolate dish of ice cream. Ahhhh! Back into the ruins, we enjoyed a guided tour in which Reuben explained more about the site, and what historians believe to have been its function. Given that there was no recorded history of the Incas, they believe that this was a type of Inca university where people came to learn from the elders. There are homes for the Emperor of the time, as well as homes for the students who lived there. It is also thought that this site housed virgin young women, who were chosen for their beauty to become sacrifices to the Gods.

Machu Pichu

Marianne and I took a break from the group in order to honour Susan's greatest desire, which was to sit in a quiet place in the ruins, in order to pray and meditate. Although the ruins were very busy, we found the perfect place, a large rock outcropping, said a prayer of gratitude for making it to the ruins, as well as for Susan and her friend who has been enduring some challenging medical issues.

After finishing exploring the ruins, we took the bus to Agua Caliente, where we had a couple hours to explore the cute little mountain town with great character. We took the bus from there to Ollantayyambo, then caught our tour bus back home to our hotel in Cuzco. A shower and clean clothes were absolutely heavenly. After a quick supper, trip to the laundry with our filthy camp clothes, and calls to our loved ones back home, we were soon off to a delicious sleep.

 

 

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Woohoo, Day 4 Machu Pichu

Being awoken at 3:30 am in order to get to the Sun Gate for Sunrise, we bundled up, donned our headlamp flashlights, quickly packed, ate another delicious breakfast, and were off by 4:30. The best part of breakfast was the quinua, oatmeal and applesauce porridge. Yum!

Once on the trail, it really didn't seem to matter what time it was, as we were awake pretty quickly in the fresh early morning air, and full of excitement in anticipation of arriving at our hard won destination. We had to wait at the checkpoint for 45 minutes, as the staff didn't open it until 5:30. However, we were glad to be at the front of the line, as there were several hundred people who arrived after us.

Finally, it opened and we were on pur way, most of us in a joyous mood, the fatigue of the last few days slipping away in anticipation. Unfortunately, Marianne's cold seemed to be at its worst, and she was terribly congested. We still had quite a few climbs to do, so it was pretty hard for her. As you can see by the pictures, she did her best to keep smiling in spite of her struggles.

As the finish line approached, Marianne and I started to talk about the amazing team that we have come to know through this experience. This has definitely been one of our favorite parts of the trip, as every person was a fascinating, accomplished person in their own right. We started to reflect on how much we would miss them, as our little family would soon be coming to an end. Exchanging emails, we promised to stay in touch, and to hopefully see each other again. We wish everyone of them the very richest of God's blessings in the future.

Today's trek felt like a bit of a horse race as we quick stepped toward the Sun Gate in order to catch the sun rising over Machu Pichu. We arrived in good time, and found ourselves a comfortable perch to sit upon and reflect on our journey. I felt such emotion well up inside as I looked down on the ruins that I had dreamed of seeing for so many years, and had worked so hard to get to. There are many people that I know who are not able to do this trek for a variety of reasons. I think of a special person that I love whose physical limitations prevent him from taking on hard physical challenges, but remains my greatest cheerleader and encourager. I think of our friend Susan who had to cancel at the last minute, even though she was probably the member of our group who wanted this trip the most. As the sun slowly climbed over the mountain, inching toward Machu Pichu, I closed my eyes and said a prayer of gratitude that I am so richly blessed to be in this wondrous place.

The Sun Gate

Machu Pichu esconced in full sunlight was quite wonderful, and we could see that there were already a lot of people exploring the ruins. "Rock and Roll", Reuben said for the 100th time on our trip, and we were on our way once more. After about 20 minutes, we finally arrived! I choked back the tears of exhaustion and happiness as we posed for our last group picture, and took some time to just gaze and enjoy.

We had to leave the ruins in order to take a bathroom break and to buy some much needed junk food. Some members of the group bought themselves a beer, but Marianne and I enjoyed a nice chocolate dish of ice cream. Ahhhh! Back into the ruins, we enjoyed a guided tour in which Reuben explained more about the site, and what historians believe to have been its function. Given that there was no recorded history of the Incas, they believe that this was a type of Inca university where people came to learn from the elders. There are homes for the Emperor of the time, as well as homes for the students who lived there. It is also thought that this site housed virgin young women, who were chosen for their beauty to become sacrifices to the Gods.

Machu Pichu

Marianne and I took a break from the group in order to honour Susan's greatest desire, which was to sit in a quiet place in the ruins, in order to pray and meditate. Although the ruins were very busy, we found the perfect place, a large rock outcropping, said a prayer of gratitude for making it to the ruins, as well as for Susan and her friend who has been enduring some challenging medical issues.

After finishing exploring the ruins, we took the bus to Agua Caliente, where we had a couple hours to explore the cute little mountain town with great character. We took the bus from there to Ollantayyambo, then caught our tour bus back home to our hotel in Cuzco. A shower and clean clothes were absolutely heavenly. After a quick supper, trip to the laundry with our filthy camp clothes, and calls to our loved ones back home, we were soon off to a delicious sleep.

 

 

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