I can´t believe that it´s only been two weeks. Part of me feels as though I´ve JUST arrived, however we´ve packed in SO much thus far that it feels as though I must´ve been here for longer than I actually have!
This past week has been wonderful. And if I had a word to sum it all up I would have to pick ´sacred´. The hiking, the holidays, the churches and events - it´s been rather magical.
Last I wrote, Helen and I were planning on going off dancing, which after a delightful homemade dinner of avacado and tomato salad on the rooftop terrace of our hostel we were both beat and so went to bed!
The next day was palm Sunday and we wandered soaking in the festive atmosphere. People everwhere selling beautiful palm leaf creations and flowers...just beautiful! Later, we boarded our bus to Puno excited by the prospect of another double decker with great seats. Ha! Yes, it was a double decker and yes it had a bathroom, but it also had no airconditioning, windows that were sealed shut, what seemed to be heat rising from the grates in the floor and it happened to be at 2pm with the sun STREAMING in. It felt about 50 degrees and within minutes we were both dripping with sweat. The heat and the altitude were just unbearable, but I somehow managed to pass out for a few hours to awake to a splitting headache, but amazingly overcast skies and a temperature that was almost bearable. Minus the incredibly stale, stinky air, the rest of the ride sailed by with little stress. We arrived in Puno shortly after 8pm where we luckily ran into someone who worked at the hostel we were going to and shared a taxi with her.
For a Sunday night Puno was really ´happening´. At least on the bizarre little pedestrian street that our hostel was on. We wandered for a while and eventually found ourselves in a cute little bar called ´Rock n Reggae´. It´s like the reggae version of Big Bad Johns in Victoria, BC for those of you who´ve been there; random notes and cigarette packs plastered all over the walls, super friendly staff and a great soundtrack ranging from the Specials to ACDC. We chatted with a couple of folks for a bit, one from Germany and one from Puno which was delightfully awkward as we tried to get by in our mixture of German, Spanish and English and called it a night shortly after.
The next day we headed to the floating islands. They´re islands. That are made out of reeds. And they float. There´s a huge history regarding why they exist, so if you´re interested you should look them up as I can´t be bothered to go into the detail right now! I visited them 9 years ago, but they´re still pretty spectacular. Although the tour groups that go to them feel a little exploitive it´s still very much worth the trip.
After the floating islands we found a beautiful little artisan co-op with a gorgeous little courtyard where we sat and journaled for a while. More wandering and exploring the crazy little town before heading to another bar for a quick drink before bed. They had Jenga(!). (For those of you who don´t know, very few things make me happier than Jenga and Boggle). We convinced Marks, our server that if we could get to a certain level that he´d give us a free beer and with some creative cheating on Helen´s end we did it! And although I´m 100% sure he knew we cheated, free beer we had. All in all, a very charming night.
We woke up 6 hours later to catch our bus to Copacabana and once again WHAT a bus ride! It was as cold as the other was hot and I was freeeezing! We actually passed snow! Who woulda thunk! We passed the Peruvian/Bolivian border with ease and shortly after arrived in Copacabana. And instantly fell in love with it! It´s built up a hill from Lake Titicaca, lots of cobble stone streets, puppies, markets and an amazingly ornate cathedral. Along the lake front were lots of little stalls and snack bars where I had the most incredible grilled trout for less than $3. Later in the day we walked a steep uphill climb to a religious site, with stations of the cross and the most incredible views. We were able to see where we THOUGHT our hike the next day was going and got quite excited as it didn´t look THAT far! We spent a fair bit of time just resting and reflecting at what was a very special and sacred place....
We walked back down as the sun was setting and the temperature just dropped. I´m still amazed at these high altitude areas - blazing hot sun in the day and then almost freezing at night. Brrr!
The next morning we grocery shopped and then headed out to Yampupata. Most folks in Copacabana who are heading to Isla del Sol just take a boat straight, but we had heard about a 3-5 hour hike to Yampupata where we could hire a boat ourselves. And so that´s what we did. And was it ever worth it! In total it did take us about 5 hours as we took many breaks and a few detours, but wow. More farm land full of people working, more donkeys and pigs and llamas, crazy little forested areas and breathtaking views. I really can´t get over the animals here. I think Helen´s getting a little sick of me pointing our every single pig, sheep or cow we pass by - but they´re just so darling!
Once in Yampupata we found a lovely old man with a rickety motor boat and an hour later, slightly high off the gas fumes we arrived on Isla del Sol.
I love Isla del Sol. After Cabanaconde, this was another place that I could spend weeks. So peaceful, so simple, so stunning! We stayed at Alfonso´s (a place recommended to us by some fellow travellers) and it was perfect! Once again we found ourselves in a little bungalow, and outside our door we looked down onto the tiny little town, the lake and the snow capped mountains in the distance.
After dumping our packs we were starved and so went to cook dinner. The kitchen was a walled off area with an open fire, shared by the incredibly kind family that ran the place. We cooked up a delicious meal of chickpeas and veggies and ate under one of the starriest skies I have ever seen (being at such a high elevation, on an island with VERY sparse electricity definitely had it´s benefits!). Bonito!
We awoke relatively early the next morning to explore the island. We figured we´d take it easy and go for a few hours and then lounge in the sun the rest of the day and soak in the views. Well, after getting lost a few times and clambering up and down hills, getting chased off properties by loud, angry dogs, we ended up walking in the unforgiving sun for a good six hours! Phew! It´s a good thing we´re getting used to the altitude!
But what a walk - we had lunch in beautiful incan ruins, walked along sandy beaches, looked over almost carribean blue waters, and walked along an old, rocky, incan path that went up and down and up and down...
Eventually we found the path that we assumed would take us back around, although it was a little faint looking...it took us through quite possibly the loveliest village we´d seen to date - obviousely not one that many travellers walk through. And I saw my first hummingbird here! Uphill again where we came across a terrifying little dog with teeth bared, growling and barking, so we made haste and scrambled down the first hill we could find...ending up on another beach with no path in sight! But, we made it back finally, had a wee power nap and cooked another fabulous meal of quinoa and veggies.
We met a great group of folks from Argentina at the hostel, and spent hours talking to them under the stars and the almost full moon, sharing mate (a beautiful tea drinking tradition) and savouring the moment...le sigh. As I said, I could´ve stayed there for weeks.
But the next day we boarded a boat back to Copacabana as we wanted to be back for the Good Friday procession. Apparently, Copacabana is THE place to be for Easter weekend, and it certainly was. The place was PACKED solid. The tranquil little beach where I´d eaten trout a few days early was jampacked with people and tents and cars and vendours selling everything from sandwhiches, to chocolate covered marshmallows on sticks, to ballons and religious ornaments. Crazy! We settled back in, had dinner and then wandered the streets finding the procession ending at the cathedral near our hostel. There were hoards of people following a procession of what strangely looked like 12 KKK members (in white and purple robes) chanting and carrying a casket remeniscent of the glass one from Snow White into the church. Very strange, but beautiful (minus the whole KKK thing). We followed the crowd into the church and stayed for a portion of the service, in awe of the ornate art inside and just the whole setting....we then made our way to the side of the building where people were packed like sardines in a long, cave like hall; walls covered in wax, deep tables full of lit candles, and prayers floating to the sky...the whole expereince left me feeling very thoughtful and I went to bed quite at peace.
The next day as we grocery shopped (I LOVE the markets here!) we passed by the Benediciones de Movilidades - the blessing of automobiles outside the cathedral. Amazing! Grid locked streets, cars covered in flowers and priests everywhere blessing the vehicles. Apparently this happens every day!
There´s still tons to write, particularily about the ride to LaPaz and our night and day here, but we´ve got dinner to have and a flight to Buenos Aires at 2am, so I´ll sign off for now.
Photos hopefully to come once we get to Argentina!
Muchos love,
Evi xoxo
