Las Islas de Titicaca

Once we reached Puno, Sharon, Bernie, Mike, and I were anxious to visit a few of the islands on Lake Titicaca. So, one morning we worked our way down to the dock with the vague plan to hitch a boat to as many of the islands as we could. This proved a bit more difficult than we anticipated, so rather than hopping on some sort of tourist boat we more or less hired our own. We booked a private 2-day tour for the four of us. The tour included transportation, a home stay with a family on Amantani, and a total of 4 island visits. After purchasing plenty of water and snacks and a gift for our host family, we set off across the water.


A look back at Puno on the shore. All of the photos in this post are Sharon and Bernie's since ours are lost and they so graciously provided their pics for your viewing pleasure.


Sharon relaxes on the back of the boat. It was a beautiful sun-shiney day, but still a bit chilly given the altitude and the breeze.

Our first stop was one of the coolest and most unique places I have ever set foot. In fact, this was evident from the very first step I took onto the island. Lake Titicaca is home to the "floating islands" of Uros. An entire chain of islands near Puno is man-made from totora reeds. The 40-some-odd islands are home to 700 or so Uros people who originally left land in order to evade enemies hundreds of years ago. Not only are the islands themselves made of totora reeds, so are the inhabitants' houses, their boats, and many of their crafts. Stepping onto an Uros island is somewhat like stepping on a hay bale -- the ground is springy yet solid, made up of millions of reeds yet cohesive. The islands are tethered to keep them from floating on over into Bolivia, so they almost have the feel of an enormous raft rather than an island. Of course, many of the Uros islands are large enough to house schools, multiple family homes, and other common community buildings.

The first Uros island we stopped on was small-ish with only a half a dozen or so families living on it. It featured several homes, a watch tower, and a fishing hole (they just cut out part of the ground and breed fish right there).

We visited a second Uros island as well, though we only stopped for ten minutes. The second island offered several vendor stalls, a small restaurant, and a hotel of sorts. It would have been interesting to stay there for the night.


The locals on the first Uros island gave us a presentation (in Spanish) about how the islands are built and maintained, how the people live their lives, etc. Although I did understand most of the presentation, I can't remember much of it anymore.


The locals had their crafts on display for us. Sharon bought a neat mobile from one of the ladies. By the way, that is a solar panel on the right of the picture. These people have sustainability down pretty well. They build their homes out of fast-growing reeds, their boats rely on wind and man power, and they use solar power for their few energy needs. Rock on!


Whereas Sharon bought the mobile, I just couldn't resist this cute basket shaped like the Titicaca reed boats. We use it to put our fruit in at home.


Here's one of the real boats in action.


Here's one of the watch towers.


And here's Mike in another tower. Since the towers are built on the springy island reeds, the ladders are a bit scary to climb. I knew that if I fell I would be landing on a soft pile of reeds though, so I didn't worry about it too much. If I'm remembering correctly, I think the little teepee in the foreground is where the food gets cooked.

I just realized that I have a lot more to tell you about the islands than I thought. I'm a busy girl though, so I think this is where I will leave off for tonight. More for next time!

Journey to Lake Titicaca

Whenever I hear "Lake Titicaca" I can't help but run through the Animaniacs song about it in my head. So, I've included it for your viewing pleasure:



Now we can get down to business.

After Sharon and Bernie's solo trip to Macchu Picchu and our near-miss Ollantaytambo meet-up, the four of us headed back to Cusco. We only stayed one more night, though, because we caught a tourist bus heading to Puno the next morning.

This would probably be the best place for me to deliver some bad news: due to computer problems we lost several days' worth of photos. Although there's still a slim chance we may someday recover them, the pictures from our trip to Puno and our tour of Lake Titicaca are unavailable for now. Alas, we must carry on. I will do my best to supplement the next couple of posts with visuals from other Internet sources so that you can still get a sense of our travels. The pictures will appear again once our story brings us to Arequipa.

So, our tourist bus to Puno was a trip. Most of the buses Mike and I took up to this point we merely point A to point B buses, but this one was different. We figured we'd get the most out of our limited time with Sharon and Bernie if we hopped a bus that would take us to the neat touristy places on the way to Lake Titicaca. It was good to see some of the ruins and sights we saw, but I don't really recommend this mode of travel unless you're really strapped for time. We (Sharon and Bernie included) kind of felt like we'd fallen in with the geriatric crowd. These weren't your young, energetic, adventurous tourists. These were the type of tourists who wear fanny packs and worry out loud about dangerous locals. These were the type who move in huddled masses like sheep being herded from destination to destination. Generally we like to think of ourselves as a bit more free-wheeling. We just didn't feel like we had enough time to explore the sights and enjoy the fresh air before being pushed back on the bus. Nevertheless, we did get the opportunity to see the "Sistine Chapel of South America."

Which, by the way, is nowhere near as impressive as the actual Sistine Chapel. I know, I know, I sound like a total travel snob, but trust me -- the comparison was an extreme stretch. If you have to choose between visiting the Sistine Chapel in Italy and the "Sistine Chapel of South America," go with the former. I don't think this "Sistine Chapel" even makes my "Top 5" of churches we saw in South America. I'm sure it was gorgeous at one point, since apparently it used to be covered in gold leaf, but after many many robberies it just looks a little tacky. Tackiness isn't necessarily a unique feature of this church, though -- I find the wooden Jesus dolls with purple velvet robes and curly doll hair a bit tacky and creepy in any church setting.



The outside of the church at Andahuaylillas.



The inside of the "Sistine Chapel of South America." The ceiling is painted not with images of God and Adam but with a uniformly hideous "wallpaper effect" that looks like something more appropriate for a 70's shirt. Oh, and the remaining gold leaf that hasn't been stolen is almost blinding.

Our second stop of the trip was at an impressive Inca ruin, and therefore much more interesting. The site is known as Raqchi and was used as a stopover for pilgrimages to Cusco. It has impressively tall ruins of a temple and several smaller buildings that were likely used for grain storage and as hostels for pilgrims to Cusco.



The temple at Raqchi.

We also stopped at a touristy display of sorts just down the road from Raqchi. The place had several vendors selling jewelry, clothing, etc. It also showcased a "typical kitchen" complete with guinnea pigs, and a grassy area where we could get up close and personal with a few llamas and alpacas. A few people even bottle fed the babies. Awww...



They're even softer than they look!

Another stop lasted only a few minutes, but we were escorted off the bus at the highest point of our journey between the two cities. The point is known as La Raya, and is 4335 meters above sea level. Pretty darn high!

At one more stop before our arrival in Puno we went to a museum in Pukara. I don't really remember much about it other than the fact that there were a lot of stones and carved images. Don't ask me what they were depicting, though -- I can't remember what they looked like, but I do remember thinking the interpretation seemed a bit far-fetched.

After this interesting but exhausting day we finally arrived in Puno just as it was getting dark. We ended up being delayed by a rather vocal and mildly violent altercation between the bus driver and a police officer, but we were eventually allowed off the bus. Sharon, Bernie, Mike, and I made our way to a hotel to recover from our journey. Over the next few days we explored the city of Puno, Lake Titicaca, and some nearby ruins, but I'll be saving that for the next post. Ciao!

P.S. I forgot I even posted a trivia question... Here's the answer: I don't have any students from Japan this semester. The majority of my students are from China, and the rest are from South Korea, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and the UAE. So far the semester is going well.

Ollantaytambo

After several days of acclimating to the altitude and touring the sites in and around Cusco with us, Sharon and Bernie set off to do a little exploring on their own. You simply cannot come all the way to Peru without seeing Machu Picchu, and since Mike and I hadn't been patient enough to wait and see it with them they were forced to go it alone. We sent them on their merry way and made plans to pick them up in Cusco the next night.

When Sharon and Bernie got to Aguas Calientes, however, they were unable to buy return train tickets to Cusco. We emailed back and forth a few times and came up with an alternative plan: we would meet them in Ollantaytambo, another town on the train's route.

This seemed straightforward enough.

Mike and I figured we could take a bus to Ollantaytambo, book a hotel for the 4 of us, and meet Sharon and Bernie at the train station after their eventful day of M.P. sightseeing.

Easier said than done.

You see, Bernie told Mike that the train would get in to Ollantaytambo "around 11:00 pm," assuming that Mike would double-check the time for more specific information. Mike interpreted the statement to mean something more like "show up around 11:01 so that you can pick us up after we've exited the train and gathered our belongings."

So, the next night as Mike and I are sitting in our hotel room (about 10 blocks down the same street as the train station) at 10:45 I notice a lot of street noise. I look out the window to see several taxis and a few tourists with backpacks or wheel-y suitcases rumble by. Hmmm.... "Mike, what time did you say the train gets in?"

We decided it was about time for us to walk on down to the train station, so we set off a few minutes later. By the time we got to the station, it was pitch dark...and locked. Hmmm.... We sort of stood there not knowing what to do for a moment, and then I started my worried tirade:

"Oh no! We've missed them! What do you think happened? Shit, shit, shit. They probably thought we'd abandoned them. How could they think that? Of course we'd come get them. Shit. They probably waited for, like, 5 minutes and gave up on us. Do you think they would have gotten a taxi? I think I might have seen your Dad through the window of that last one that went by. Wouldn't they have seen us? Shit! So you s'pose they would just try to find their own hotel for tonight? How will we ever find them again? What a mess! I mean, I guess we could meet them back at our Cusco hotel, but do you think they would be able to make it back there? Their Spanish isn't the greatest. Shit! They must have been freaking out, getting off the train and not being able to find us. What do you think they would do? How will we contact them? Now what?"

(There may have been even more expletives in my actual speech, but I think it's best to leave out all the gritty details.)

So after about 5 minutes of standing outside the locked train station freaking out, I noticed a security guard walking our way. "Buscan sus padres?" (Are you looking for your parents?) How did he know? Turns out he knew because he managed to piece together the near-frantic older couple who'd gotten off the train with the near-frantic younger couple outside the locked gates. Genius. He unlocked the gates and led us to where Sharon and Bernie were trying their best to communicate their predicament to some locals.

Ah, relief.

By now I'm sure you've figured out that the "around 11:00 pm" train actually arrived quite a bit earlier. Sharon and Bernie got off at the stop and patiently waited for Mike and I to collect them. Slowly, all of the other passengers trickled out of the station, with no sign of Mike and me. The remaining taxi drivers tried to shuffle Sharon and Bernie into their cabs, explaining that there would be no more cabs that night. They wisely resisted. Once the station was completely abandoned, Sharon and Bernie busted out their English-Spanish dictionary and tried to ask for help/advice. I think they were pretty frustrated and worried, especially since very little progress was being made with the language barrier. I'm pretty sure all 4 of us were quite relieved when we were finally reunited.

Luckily, we had a pretty swanky place for the night, so we all slept well after that escapade.

The next day we explored Ollantaytambo -- the town and the ruins. There really isn't a whole lot to say about them (you've already seen so many photos of ruins), so I'll just go ahead and post some pictures:



Look! Torritos on an actual Peruvian house. (Do you remember the photo of the bulls we put up on the archway of our house in Mesa?)



Another set-up.



Translating is hard!







Corn drying on a rooftop.







The Ollantaytambo firemen were out hosing down the streets for some reason or another.

After our day in Ollantaytambo we returned to Cusco, stayed another night, and finally set off for Lake Titicaca -- but more on that in the next post...

On a side note, I encourage you to watch this week's episode of MTV's Exiled. It takes place in Ollantaytambo, Peru -- or at least the countryside near there. Exiled is a show in which bratty, spoiled, rich kids are sent to live with a family in some third-world country for a week. It should be at least mildly entertaining, and you might get a better idea of what we saw and experienced when we were in Peru. The show airs on Monday nights, so check your local listings for the time!

"Sexy Woman" and Other Lesser-Known Ruins

I've taken quite the hiatus from blogging, but there's still so much to tell about our adventures in Peru. Even though I'm extremely super-busy this semester, hopefully I'll find the time to blog more regularly until you're all caught up on our travels.

After we left the Pisac market, Sharon, Bernie, Mike, and I visited the Pisac ruins that dot the hills above the town.



The taxi driver who drove us up to the ruins handed us a map and told us he'd pick us up and take us back to town in an hour and a half.



Although the ruins aren't quite as grand or as famous as those at Macchu Picchu, they still feature some very nice terracing and some spectacular views.



Of course, the locals take advantage of the spot to sell belts, purses and knick-knacks to tourists.



Sharon and Bernie pose for a picture on a walk-through cave path.



Sharon tipped some young boys who were playing music for the tourists. They were abysmal. Maybe they can use the money for lessons. Or better yet, they could put their tips toward a decent education so that they don't have to play horrible music at tourist attractions.

After getting our fill of Pisac (market and ruins), we hopped a bus to another ruin called Tambomachay.



Again, the locals were on hand to pose for photos in exchange for tips. This is far more common in areas near Cusco than anywhere else in the country. These ladies were in the process of spinning wool. Even in non-touristy settings it's common to see women walking around with a bag of fluff on one hip and a spinning bob in their hands, though they might be in less ostentatious clothing.



We found ourselves at Tambomachay at a time of day when the lighting was really pretty on the mountains and the ruins.



The site featured some nice waterways.

With the light fading fast, we finally made it back to Cusco. That wasn't the end of our tour de ruinas, however. We later went to visit a site just minutes from our hotel in Cusco. It overlooks the city and is known as Saqsaywaman, or "Sexy Woman." Just to be clear, that is not a translation -- only a phonetic approximation. This site more than likely served as some sort of fort because it has excellent views and is heavily fortified.



"Sexy Woman" sign.



The stones, like those at M.P., are carefully fitted together.



Here, Bernie's sitting in a "throne" on the opposite side of the parade grounds at Saqsaywaman.



One of the most impressive things about Saqsaywaman is the size of her *ahem* boulders.... Archaeologists still wonder how the Incans were able to position such massive stones.



Llama butts.

We were able to visit many of these sites because we purchased boletos turisticos, or tourist tickets. Our tickets also gained us entry to a dance and music presentation in Cusco. Costumed dancers performed various cultural numbers to live music. Although I'm not quite sure they were the best of the best, the dancers were at least entertaining.



Peruvian cowboy dance?



Same dance.



This freaky masked-man is performing a dance number in which the men actually whip each other. We could hear the whips whistling through the air and then cracking against the men's legs. Very sado-masochistic.

Okay, that's it for now -- I hope you enjoyed your tour. If I do not post another blog in the next week or so, feel free to send me harrassing emails. I will be more likely to blog if people bug me about it.

Where's Waldo on RAGBRAI XXXVI??

Okay, this post is going to need a bit of explaining for those of you who have never witnessed or participated in RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI is the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. It occurs the last full week of July each year. Approximately 20,000 cyclists participate. The route changes every year, with an average of about 500 miles covered. This year's ride was shorter (471 miles) but hillier (22,000 feet of climb) than most years'. Certain towns are designated as overnight host communities, and all 20,000 cyclists set up camp on every bit of open grass available unless they are lucky enough to score a host family willing to lend them a bed or some air-conditioned floor space. This is a catch-all type of bike ride because it is not a race. You see serious cyclists and serious beer drinkers; 8 year-olds and 88 year-olds; teams consisting of hundreds of riders and loners in a sea of 20,000 other riders; Iowans galore and people from every other state and many other countries; unicycles, bicycles, tricycles, hand-cranked cycles, tandems, even rogue roller-bladers. RAGBRAI is the oldest and largest state ride. RAGBRAI week is pretty much the best week to be in Iowa -- ever.



The 2008 RAGBRAI route and logo.



You're never the first, you're never the last, and you'll never get lost. There are always bikers as far ahead of you and behind you as you can see.



The towns get pretty crowded, too.



Iowa's not flat, but it's not the Andes, either. Most of the hills were negligible, though Day 2 was the 11th hilliest day in 36 years of RAGBRAI.



A unicyclist. I think that's Mike's challenge for the next time we do RAGBRAI.



A lot of families ride together like this. I saw one train of 5 this year. I also saw a kid and a dad pair, and the kid's sign said "does all the work," but he was asleep with his hands on the handlebars, his feet on the pedals, and his helmet resting on the crossbar in front of him. Aww...

The teams are a fun aspect of the ride. Some, like ours, consist of a small group of family members or friends. Others are associated with geographic locations or clubs. There are even some very large operations that recruit from around the country and only really come together for this one week. A lot of the teams have "pimped out" buses, and most have t-shirts or jerseys with funny slogans and clever names. Some teams get really into the crazy RAGBRAI spirit and choose to dress up.



I'm not sure if this is team "Dairy Air" or another cow team, but they get really into it. Their bikes, their bike shorts, and even their hair-dos are cow-spotted.



Here's a duo from team "Pie Hunters," in which every member sports a representation of their favorite kind of pie on their helmet. Little old ladies along the RAGBRAI route make the best pie. My favorite this year was a strawberry/rhubarb a la mode!



"Team Bad Boy" is a bit insane. They probably carry more gear than anyone else on the ride, but it's hardly bike-related gear. This rider has a bar on the back of his bike. Another team member had a generator and another had a grill. Ouch!



"Team Tutu" has been around a long time.



An Iowa City team.

I've always liked to play dress-up, so of course we needed a team name that would justify some fun costumes. [By the way, "we" are Mike and I, my sister Kristen and her husband Josh, my brother Nick, my Dad, my Mom (our support driver), and my Aunt Jan (for the last two days).] Josh came up with a clever team name that we almost went with: The Cherry-Poppin' Brady's. You see, newbies on RAGBRAI are commonly referred to as virgins. Since my entire family has done RAGBRAI before, our only virgins were Mike and Josh. We popped their cherries. Although this was a fun team name we ended up going with Team Where's Waldo? instead. Everyday a different person on our team dressed up as Waldo and got lost in the sea of bikers. Everyone else dressed up according to our theme of the day. Over the course of the week, Waldo went to the beach, the office, the pirate's cove, Hollywood, the rodeo, the rock concert, and the jungle. Everyone on the team had a "license plate" attached to his or her bike so that other riders would know to look for Waldo. It was a kind of fun game and we got a lot of people to play along. On the day my Dad was Waldo he was interviewed by a journalist. The following day we got a headline in the Register. Check out the article.



My license plate the day I was Waldo.



Team Where's Waldo ready to set out on day one: Where's Waldo at the beach?



Rodeo day, with Aunt Jan as Waldo.

I think I've given you a decent amount of background info, so I'll now focus on giving you a few more photos from the week.



Iowa has a lot of barns.



A lot of pigs, too.



But I bet they hope not to end up here. Mr. Porkchop is a RAGBRAI legend...not that I've ever even eaten there...



Beekman's is a RAGBRAI staple, too. They make the best ice cream!



I probably don't even need to mention that there's a lot of corn in Iowa -- that should go without saying. I think Mike and I each ate an average of 2 cobs a day.



Whoa...



Sweet paint job!



Booooo! Pussies!



A two-headed cow preserved through taxidermy.



"I feel pretty, oh so pretty."



Dad, Kristen, and Josh participate in a frozen T-shirt contest.



Unfortunately, RAGBRAI is not without its accidents. I didn't hear of any fatalities this year, though, and the ambulances are always quick to arrive on the scene.



A fun roadside decoration.



Iowa scenery.



More Iowa scenery.



One town originally populated by Danish immigrants served up some kind of pancake ball for breakfast.



The same town had a pretty neat windmill.



More bars in more places....



Mom and Dad at the ISU botanical gardens.



A butterfly took a ride on Mom's shoe at the botanical gardens.



The headliner for entertainment in Ames was Styx. Apparently we missed a Lance Armstrong speech on the same stage a bit earlier in the evening. Lance rode one of the days this year, but team Livestrong had 100+ members riding.



This is Kathy, and her dog Miss Joey. Kathy and Miss Joey have been doing RAGBRAI for years, but I never realized before that she was riding a Bike Friday (you know, like the folding bikes Mike and I own). Mike and I met Kathy and talked to her for some time this year. She's eccentric and interesting, and Miss Joey is quite the award-winning pooch. Joey even has her own web site.



The chiquita banana tricycle was pretty cool -- especially when it was shooting down a hill.



Believe it or not, every single port-a-potty I went into over the course of the week was surprisingly clean and fully stocked with toliet paper. Once, though, the guy in the unit next door was playing "Guess where I am" with the person at the other end of his walkie-talkie. He proceeded to make some rather disgusting noises, so I bet the other person figured it out.



A RAGBRAI-style watering hole.



After biking 471 miles successfully, my bike decided to get a flat tire while we were awaiting instructions for where to meet Mom to head home. *Sigh*

My Dad, Mike, and I finished the entire ride (Mike and I having done it self-supported), and everyone else put in a respectable amount of miles. This was my 7th RAGBRAI, and perhaps one of my favorites. Although I'm sure I won't make it back for the ride every year, I'm hooked and I know I will complete many more RAGBRAIs in years to come. You're welcome to join us next time!



The finish line.