The Magical Mysteries of the Ancient Potato Flower: Bolivia for the Weekend

Since Puno is right next to the Bolivian boarder (and because there is absolutely nothing to do in Puno) we made the three hour trek across the boarder to Copacabana. There was equally little to do in the city of Copacabana. Our tour guide (who did not care how we took our pictures or how many objects we included in them) ushered us quickly down to the port where boarded a catamaran and set out for the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun).

Arriving on the island we were immediately greeted by an ancient Incan replica boat and two nice Bolivian men dressed in ancient Incan garb. I will call the boat ride "Cultural Experience No. 1." While on board the ancient Incan boat (with a motor) all the tourists were given the opportunity to row the boat (that did not need to be rowed). I was also given ancient Incan garb, hat and all, and promptly almost dropped the paddle overboard. The nice Bolivian helped me "dip" my paddle a few times. Then I turned it over to a much stronger Brit who had more of an affinity for paddling than I.

A quick note of "Cultural Experiences." I do not actually believe that "Cultural Experiences" involve experiencing any part of the South American culture. In fact there is not a single South American, that I have met, that traditionally rides around in ancient Incan boats or wears ancient Incan clothing. In fact, the Incans probably did not even wear the ancient Incan clothing we see today. On a given tour or while eating at a particularly touristy restaurant, one is almost guaranteed some type of musical or dancing enlightenment. Our trip to Bolivia was not short on such experiences.

"Cultural Experience No 2" involved our boat being met by a small band and "traditionally dressed" women who placed a lei of flowers around our necks (attractive, huh?). We then danced through the town following the band to "Cultural Experience No 3" which was an ancient sacrifice of brightly colored sweets and llama sweat. The people who actually lived on the island stood around and laughed at us. (They don´t generally do this type of thing)

It was after the ancient Incan ceremony and before the ancient Incan musical festival that I had a brilliant idea. Since the Island of the Sun is situated on Lake Titicaca and since Lake Titicaca has sail boats and since I know how to sail- I asked to opt out of "Cultural Experience No 4" and try my hand at Bolivian sailing.

Bolivian sailing was a bit of a disaster to say the least. I assured the man (whose boat I was borrowing) that I knew how to sail, that I could sail "anything." That was cocky. This attitude rarely has good results.

The boat I was on was a bit different, to say the least. It was missing what were, in my opinion, very essential parts of sail boats and had one rope that was tied to a rock. I never managed to figure out the purpose of the rock or the rope. I almost lost the rock. I also never actually managed to raise the sail without extreme disasters. Said disasters included getting caught in a large fishing net, dropping the sail on my head, dropping the sail in the water, almost hitting rocks, hitting rocks, almost hitting other boats, washing up on the beach, etc (you get the idea). The poor fisherman was standing on the shore holding his hat with worry. I was standing on the boat, looking for my hat, worrying as well. Finally the sail was raised and we realized there was absolutely no wind. We then accepted our fate, put down our sail and (you guessed it) paddled into shore.
That evening, over dinner, we were lucky enough to have our fifth (and final) "Cultural Experience." This was a musical concert of flutes which included the infamous tune "The Ancient Potato Flower" (undoubtedly Incan). This tune was repeated over and over again as we all danced. In fact, I am of the firm belief that the "Ancient Potato Flower" is the only song that group could play. I am also of the belief that the Incans did not have a song called the "Ancient Potato Flower." Unfortunate...I know.

"Más Alla": Welcome to Puno

Well I made it to Puno. There is not a heck of a lot to do in Puno. In fact, my travel guide to Perú says that one should not plan to stay into Puno for more than a two days. The book itself only provides enough activities to satisfy even the slowest looker for an afternoon. I would like to welcome you to Puno...day 5.

The day after our arrival, we traveled to the Floating Islands (Uros) to tour. We were put in a boat, taken 3 miles out on Lake Titicaca and met the people who infamously weaved their own land among the reeds. When they reeds very deep down rot, the people just weave new reeds on the surface to replace the old reeds. We got dropped off at an island, met the people who lived there, bought things made out of reeds and left. As far as sightseeing goes that was, by far, the most exciting thing I have done in Puno.

Monday morning I arrived bright and early, read to equip the world (ok, well the entire Puno community) with laptops. Unfortunately the town where I have been stationed is "in Puno" but at the same time- very far away from Puno. I was told (I think) to come back on Tuesday so we could go to the "very remote school that is not in Puno."

Tuesday...we went to the school. Now I thought that I had become a master of every mode of transportation since getting to Perú. Count with me now- I have managed to go by plane, train, bus (many times), horse, car, boat, motorcycle (don´t worry Mom, I wasn´t driving), and legs--the llama is coming, I promise. Well these days my commute to school every day goes something like this. Leave Puno (the city) at the crack of dawn (6:30 am). Take a taxi to a bus station where I board a bus that takes me to Ilave. This trip takes about an hour and costs a little less than 60 cents. I then get in another taxi that takes me to the second bus stop.

Let me stop here and explain that this bus is a new experience, even for me. The van probably seats (comfortably)about 12 people. I counted 20 people aboard today´s journey to Cusini. The road is unpaved and those prone to car sickness should probably fast a few days before climbing on (or hanging on...as the case may be).

So I arrive at the bus stop and sit for about 30 minutes waiting for the van to leave. Eventually, when full, the van departs down the dusty dry road. After about 6 more stops and 45 minutes later, I get close to school. The van stops and I get out and begin the 15 minute walk from the van to the school (hopefully arriving around 9ish).

Then around 12pm, I repeat the entire process backwards, hoping I do not forget a step. There is one little glitch in the plan. The last bus/van, well it does not actually have a schedule. I have been told it runs every hour, but when during that hour is anyone´s guess. Yesterday we almost missed the van. Since there is not an actually bus stop (people just stand in the street and wave), there is no way to alert the bus you are on your way. Well, we had no other options...we ran for it.

The school director kept yelling we needed to go "más alla" which translates to mean "more that-away". This seems to define our trip to Puno (or where ever we are). So we ran more that-away and more that-away and someone finally got on their bike rode up to the bus and saved us.

The picture to the left is the "bus and bus stop." I am still recovering from the run (I will blame the altitude and not the fried cheese).

The kids in Cusini are fantastic and are definitely worth the 5 hour commute. We taught (or tried to teach) them how to play four square today. I don´t think we were that successful, but perhaps I will look up how to say the word "bounce" in Spanish and maybe I will have more luck tomorrow.

Por Caballo: Yes, we went by horse

So I was feeling a bit adventurous on Tuesday. There had been a little part of me that was itching to see the ruins located near Cusco. The guidebook said I could hire a taxi for about $20 to take me around. A woman in the Plaza de Armas (the center of Cusco) told me I could go "por caballo" for $10. Well, I´m always up for a bit of adventure. That´s right, we went touring by horseback.
Now the guidebook (which I, shockingly enough, did not read first) warns that this is probably not the safest of ideas. When the random truck arrived to pick me up to take me to the "ranch," I was of agreement. Oh well, you only live once- I hopped in. I was taken to a field and then led up a path. About ten minutes later we were beginning to fear that there were no horses. Luckily horses have a very distinct scent which we caught wiff of as we arrived at the "corral."
We did not have helmets, our guide did not have a horse, but I had the time of my life racing along the Cusqueñan countryside from one set of ruiñas to the next.

We first made it to Puka Pukara. It was pink. Our guide nor our guidebook knew what it had been. This is beginning to be a common trend among our ruins visits. Oh well, it was pretty nonetheless.

Then we went to an ancient Incan Bath. It was nice. I kind of resembled the other 10 Incan baths I have seen since I got here. Ok, maybe not 10, but you get the idea...

We ended up at the infamous Saqsaywamán (pronounced, and I kid you not, "Sexy Woman") ruins. The first few times I hear about "Sexy Woman" I was confused. I thought people were either hitting on me, offering me a massage, or trying to tell me about a night club that I did not want to go to. As it turns out, the Saqsaywamán ruins are the most famous in Cusco. We took a few pictures of multiple objects (like our guide had taught us at Machu Picchu). The ruins were truly impressive. Sawsaywamán was once a site of Incan military strength and religious significance.

At one point the guide just let us run. The air was cool, my horse was quick, and I felt the my hair flying behind me (which it could do without a helmet). It is pretty much impossible to describe the beauty of Peru, but I do not think one can truly experience it without out going por caballo. And as for tomorrow, well tomorrow we are leaving Cusco behind and heading up even higher. Get ready, Puno here we come!

Machu Picchu- "The Old Mountain"

Well my legs hurt. A lot. Well they are healing, but hiking Machu Picchu was no small task. These ancient ruin are some of the most well preserved in the Western World and the site boasts the title of one of the seven great marvels of the century.

I boarded a train from Cusco at 6 am on Friday morning. It was dark. I was cold. I was in the student "backpacker" section. There was no heat. But, I did save 20 bucks.

When we got to Augas Calientes (the town situated below Machu Picchu) 5 hours later, I was still a bit frozen. Luckily I hopped a bus and began the 25 minute ascent upwards to Machu Picchu.
As you can see, the road leading from the town to the mountain is a bit curvy, at best.

We spent the first day walking around with our guide. We hired him for about 10 dollars. He had an interesting way of speaking (in English, thankfully). He seemed to have an auctioneer voice and felt the need to raise his tone at the end of every sentence. This made things a bit difficult to understand.

Luckily for us, our guide was also a photographer. He knew exactly where the best places were to take amazing photos. No..I'm only kidding. His suggestions were pretty terrible. His idea of a good shot was one that included three prehistoric buildings and a llama. If my shot was not dead on, he would patiently wait until I had the photograph just right. The photo to the right is a prime example. I think it took me about 4 tries to get the "ancient door, the ancient steps, AND the guard house!" Can you imagine?

Then we made the one hour walk downwards. That may have been a bad idea. While the view was beautiful, we almost died. But hey, what is life without a bit of adventure?

Saturday we made the hike up to Inkaputa which it the entrance to Machu Picchu from the Inka Trail. It was an hour hike uphill, but the view was fantastic.

I figured I would post some more Machu Picchu pictures. Enjoy!!!!

Celebrating Cusco

This week (and probably next week) we are "celebrating Cusco." I have absolutely no idea why we are celebrating Cusco. But, we are.

There are few key ingredients to celebrating Cusco that I am finally catching on about. First, it is of the utmost importance to set things afire. One must constantly fire off fire crackers (in turn setting of multiple car alarms and sirens). Once in an hour is certainly not enough, this celebration must take place every five minutes or so (until one runs out of fire crackers). The guy who was demonstrating this technique would set off twenty crackers and nonchalantly walk away with a smirk on his face. It seemed as if he believed that no one would ever believe it was him, despite the matches...

Every night the children of Cusco come out into the streets for a celebration dance, complete with drums, lights and a crowd to cheer. These dances can last hours and while the coordination is sometimes a bit off, everyone conducts themselves in a completely celebratory manner. Why are they dancing? I have not the foggiest idea.

Today (in honor of Cusco) there was a soccer game. Now I never figured out exactly which Cusco team was playing or whom exactly we were opposing, but thankfully we won. This caused the entire stadium to celebrate (with drums again) and there was dancing in the street (which is entirely different from the children´s night dancing).

A few days ago I was of the fortunate diners who received a "cultural experience" during my attempts at eating a relaxing lunch. The four person musical troupe that invaded my peaceful restaurant decided we needed exposure to the "Magical Mysteries of Peru-the acoustic version." For the next hour I was serenaded by a western guitar and a bit of moaning. I did not ever feel magical nor mysterious- but I did manage to get a headache.

Every evening I have a small celebration of my own in the MEGA grocery store. Why MEGA? Well MEGA has something marvelous. Only the shoppers of MEGA can proudly pull lime green shopping baskets that have wheels. Ok, I know, it does not sound that exciting. But trust me, it is worth the trip (and the roll).

This coming Friday is a holiday (of Cusco-of course) and I am planning to make my voyage to Machu Picchu instead of sticking around for more fireworks. I have no doubt the celebration will still be "rocking" when I return.

A Bit of Banana

Well today, for the first day, there was work. There were even children. Oh, were there children. There were 200 children. Unfortunately, there were only two laptops. This was problematic...to say the least.

First, before I tried teaching hundreds of children with 2 laptops, I thought that perhaps an English lesson might be fun. So we tried to the alphabet. We mastered the letters A,B, and C. It went steeply downhill after that. This first school is tucked high in the mountains on the outskirts of Cusco. It only has two electrical outlets, two classrooms (constructed of particle board) and two teachers. There are over 100 students. All of these students were simultaneously attempting to help me teach the alphabet. Perhaps this is why we kept getting stuck at C.

Mid morning was when the fun really started. Walking down to the second school (with markedly better resources) I began to wonder about how one could teach a group of 25 students with only one machine.

If I learned one thing today, it is that children LOVE cameras. So when one encounters problems with sharing the laptop or if everyone is too scared to try to use it, turn on the camera. This instantly brings joy to all (myself included).

After about five hours of playing with digital calculators, learning to use a mouse, and mixing sounds with voices I have a few things to show for myself. I have
a bit of banana on those green hiking boots of mine. I have grubby little finger prints all over my laptop, and a bit of blood (someone had a nosebleed--it happens I suppose). I also, thankfully, have a few ideas about what exactly I am going to teach tomorrow. It probably will not be the alphabet.