We spent the weekend on Lake Titikaka. It was an absolutly wonderful retreat before the Inca Trail. The lake was stunningly beautiful, and the hotsal we stayed in was just perfect. We took two hikes up to an old pre-Inca ruin on a hill and watched the sunset, and that night we were all dressed up in traditional Peruvian clothing and danced and chatted around a little bonfire.
The next day I went swimming after our second hike. The water was cold, but no colder than in Maine, so I swam for almost half an hour in the clearest water I have ever swam in. Then we went back to Puno by boat for our last night with our Puno homestay families.
Today we arrived in Cusco after a 7 hour bus ride. Our hostal is just too cute. Theren is free internet and a place to watch movies, and there is a totally sweet dog. The city seems nice, though the places I walked seemed really touristy. Tomorrow, the group is going to walk around the city more, and then we are having a potluck dinner. I hope that I'll get to see some more ruins while I'm here. Jo says there are some really cool ones in the city itself as well as a bit outside.
OMG INCA TRAIL THURSDAY! I'll let you know how that went!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Puno, Peru
Despite being robbed at gunpoint 2 days after arriving in Peru, I am still very sad to be leaving Puno. I'mpretty sure mostof that has to do with our volunteer project at the local orphanage. We went to paint cartoons on the walls of the bedrooms, but I think what we were really there for was the children. These are kids who have been taken away from their homes, many times abused, and just want someone to play with. Someof the saddest stories were those of the littlest babies. There was one baby who was a month and a half who's mom had been raped. The mother was only 11. Fortunatly, the orphanage seemed to be a good place to be. There were lots of so-called substitute mothers and the kids are in houses that function like family units. But even so, there was only so much to go around.
I can't begin to explain how it felt to know that such a simple thing that we were doing made so much of a difference for these kids. By the endof our week there, the kids would run up and hug you, talking non-stop the whole time. They became family so quickly, and they just wanted to play. Two little girls, Maria and Adriana, were especially dear to me. One afternoon, the three of us played all afternoon. They put flowers in my hair,played tag with me and swung in swings with me. They couldn't have been more than 4 or 5, but I just wanted to take them home with me and give them a real family. Seeing how happy these kids were despite all of their disadvantages was really overwhelming.
It was super hard to leave today. We stayed lateso we could finish painting all the rooms, and when we came down to get on the bus all the kids and the moms were waiting for us. They sang us songs and gave us these adorable little pouches for our cameras and then we played games until our bus arrived. Then we spent maybe 10 minutes trying not to leave. All of the kids gave me a hug and I swear I almost cried.
If I ever visit Puno again, I'll be sure to visit.
I can't begin to explain how it felt to know that such a simple thing that we were doing made so much of a difference for these kids. By the endof our week there, the kids would run up and hug you, talking non-stop the whole time. They became family so quickly, and they just wanted to play. Two little girls, Maria and Adriana, were especially dear to me. One afternoon, the three of us played all afternoon. They put flowers in my hair,played tag with me and swung in swings with me. They couldn't have been more than 4 or 5, but I just wanted to take them home with me and give them a real family. Seeing how happy these kids were despite all of their disadvantages was really overwhelming.
It was super hard to leave today. We stayed lateso we could finish painting all the rooms, and when we came down to get on the bus all the kids and the moms were waiting for us. They sang us songs and gave us these adorable little pouches for our cameras and then we played games until our bus arrived. Then we spent maybe 10 minutes trying not to leave. All of the kids gave me a hug and I swear I almost cried.
If I ever visit Puno again, I'll be sure to visit.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Rainforest
After 4 days in the rainforest, I am feeling a little wiped. It was abslutly unreal, save for one night that I spent puking my guts up in the river. No one else got sick, so I didn´t know what caused it, but it meant I slept until 3pm once I felt better.
But onto the good stuff. That afternoon I got to swim with pink amazon river dolphins. And when I say swim, I mean it was letting us touch it, pet it and even sit on it. We swam with it for over an hour before it just got pissed off and started biting.
We also went hunting for alligator at night and saw a mother with her babies. There were at least 10 of them, though the guide said there could be as many as thirty. They were only a few inches long, and were all curled up in the roots of a tree. Only 6 or so of them would survive the next 30 days until they could live on thier own.
There were also tons of birds and monkies. We saw these cute little monkies called squirell monkies that were super unafraid and climed all over the boat, as well as howler monkies, which had a super loud cry and a spider monkey. There were too many birds to count, including one type of cormorant called a snake bird because it had a super long neck. There were all osrts of bugs and I got so chowed by mosquitoes one night that I woke up looking like I had small pox.
The heat was the one thing that really bothered me. It was super humid and I have been sweating non-stop since I got out of the plane. But tomorrow we go back to La Paz and cooler weather. Not to mention clean clothes.
But onto the good stuff. That afternoon I got to swim with pink amazon river dolphins. And when I say swim, I mean it was letting us touch it, pet it and even sit on it. We swam with it for over an hour before it just got pissed off and started biting.
We also went hunting for alligator at night and saw a mother with her babies. There were at least 10 of them, though the guide said there could be as many as thirty. They were only a few inches long, and were all curled up in the roots of a tree. Only 6 or so of them would survive the next 30 days until they could live on thier own.
There were also tons of birds and monkies. We saw these cute little monkies called squirell monkies that were super unafraid and climed all over the boat, as well as howler monkies, which had a super loud cry and a spider monkey. There were too many birds to count, including one type of cormorant called a snake bird because it had a super long neck. There were all osrts of bugs and I got so chowed by mosquitoes one night that I woke up looking like I had small pox.
The heat was the one thing that really bothered me. It was super humid and I have been sweating non-stop since I got out of the plane. But tomorrow we go back to La Paz and cooler weather. Not to mention clean clothes.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Salt Flats and the Altiplano
Holy shit, these past 4 days were quite something. The first day was the Bolivian salt flats, the largest anywhere in the world. There was about an inch of water everywhere, and it turned everything into a reflecting pool. It made the whole thing look like a Salvador Dali painting. The mountains in the distance looked like they were floating because the reflections were so still and perfect. We got all sorts of really cool perspective photos including one where all of us were in a line and our reflections were perfectly still.
Then we had a lot of driving for the next while. The scenery was amazing, but we'd spend all day driving, with only a few breaks which was really rough. We did see some awesome stuff, including two lakes that were dramatic colors, and lots of interesting wildlife including llamas and flamingoes, but I got a wicked head cold and the bumpy roads made it impossible to do anything but stare out the window. That got super boring after maybe the 8th hour...
That bheing said, there was some really amazing stuff. The last thing we did was go to a train graveyard that had old steam trains up to modern ones. I spent over an hour just walking around and taking pictures. I really want to write a story set in a place like that. They were just left there in the middle of this windy desert. It was just an unreal experience and I think it was a perfect end to this trip.
The next phase is a 1 AM train ride to an afternoon flight and then we arrive in the Bolivian rainforest for a 3 day canoe trip. I'll be able to blog after that!
Then we had a lot of driving for the next while. The scenery was amazing, but we'd spend all day driving, with only a few breaks which was really rough. We did see some awesome stuff, including two lakes that were dramatic colors, and lots of interesting wildlife including llamas and flamingoes, but I got a wicked head cold and the bumpy roads made it impossible to do anything but stare out the window. That got super boring after maybe the 8th hour...
That bheing said, there was some really amazing stuff. The last thing we did was go to a train graveyard that had old steam trains up to modern ones. I spent over an hour just walking around and taking pictures. I really want to write a story set in a place like that. They were just left there in the middle of this windy desert. It was just an unreal experience and I think it was a perfect end to this trip.
The next phase is a 1 AM train ride to an afternoon flight and then we arrive in the Bolivian rainforest for a 3 day canoe trip. I'll be able to blog after that!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Surprisingly satisfying things- Malcorancho Edition
-Knowing your favorite clothes now smell more like soap than you
-Coming home to find your homestay experience has been drastcially upgraded thanks to a flushing toilet
-SHOWERS
Well, the past 4 days have gone by in a satisfied haze of exhaustion. the work has been really fun, even though its hard, and I love my host family. The Bolivian who I am working with is named Cresenzio, and he is an absolute riot. He is always smiling and laughing even when he doesn't understand what we're saying. It makes the stucco work go by really fast even though I'm super slow at it.
I had one really scary run in walking to work after a lunch break. There are tons of dogs justhanging around and one came out of the bushes and attacked me. It jumpd up on me and I got a huge scratch. Fortunatly, it had all of its shots and there was no rabies risk, but I had a huge panic attack and was really upset. I don't really remember much of what happened, so I guess that's a silver lining.
I'll be able to write after our trek on Saturday!
-Coming home to find your homestay experience has been drastcially upgraded thanks to a flushing toilet
-SHOWERS
Well, the past 4 days have gone by in a satisfied haze of exhaustion. the work has been really fun, even though its hard, and I love my host family. The Bolivian who I am working with is named Cresenzio, and he is an absolute riot. He is always smiling and laughing even when he doesn't understand what we're saying. It makes the stucco work go by really fast even though I'm super slow at it.
I had one really scary run in walking to work after a lunch break. There are tons of dogs justhanging around and one came out of the bushes and attacked me. It jumpd up on me and I got a huge scratch. Fortunatly, it had all of its shots and there was no rabies risk, but I had a huge panic attack and was really upset. I don't really remember much of what happened, so I guess that's a silver lining.
I'll be able to write after our trek on Saturday!
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