Hola Amigos! Today we went to Lake Titicaca... it's hardly a lake, it is a sea. It is the most ridiculously large lake in the whole world.
But first off today, we woke up in PUNO and began to truly discover the impacts of altitude sickness. After yesterday afternoon, where Kate, Emma and Yianna spent dinner about to vomit in the bathroom (with Yianna being the only successful one!) we slowly discovered more effects of altitude. Walking up stairs caused us all to puff for air, and some to have headaches and tingly feet. If the PE Department could hear us breathing, they'd be sending us off on massive fitness programs thinking we're in danger of heart attacks. But, it's just because the air up so high has less oxygen, and nothing to do with fitness, so we'll be fine once we adjust.
After breakfast, which consisted of eggs, bread and pineapple juice, we were picked up by a bus and taken down to the port of Puno. Gorgeous ladies in traditional dress (called a bollera) were selling all sorts of trinkets, and the water looked so inviting. As we got closer, the stench was a bit much, but we boarded our boat and off we went.
We are sure that the tour guide would have been both informative and interesting had we understood a word he was saying, but from what we could make out (he was speaking English!), Lake Titicaca is named from a combination of local languages and it means Grey Puma. We were shown a map of the lake, and we could vaguely make it out. Hopefully when we get home we'll remember still and be able to show you.
About an hour after boarding, we arrived at the first of the islands we were to visit. The Uros floating villages are completely man-made islands, that are built up year after year to house small villages. There are a number of steps to creating and then maintaining such an island, and once reeds are put down, layer after layer, the village celebrates with a game of volleyball. This actually has a purpose too - the running and jumping compacts the reeds so the island remains stable.
We were greeted by woman of the village, along with the president. He then took the time to explain their lifestyle, and we even ate some of their staple diet - the Lake Reed. It tasted a bit like celery with heaps of sugar in it, and for those of us who liked it, we chowed down. The president suddenly started jumping up and down making all sorts of strange noises, and when this failed to communicate his message, he ran around snatching back the reeds. Apparently it's an acquired sort of food and if foreigners eat too much of it at first, they can get really sick. Luckily we were all ok.
After shopping (it seems that this is possible even in the most remote of places!) for handicrafts created by the women of the Uros, we set off on a reed boat which even had a top deck! We were rowed (and Bellie and Kate had a go too) across to another island, where we saw the local school and a 7th Day Adventist Church. A little more shopping was had, then we set off for Isla Taquile - a real island out on the lake, not far from Bolivia.
Arriving at Taquile, it felt like we'd jumped from Peru to the Greek Islands. Spectacular stone arches lined the path up the cliffs, and the water was so blue it looked like it had stepped out of a painting.
We were totally pumped to be doing something energetic after sitting still for so long, so we set off with a bounce in our step. This was a big mistake. We'd forgotten about the altitude and the fact that it was our first day in it. 3,900m above sea level at the highest navigable lake in the world. This means that we got about 20m (no joke) before we had to stop to catch our breath. It would be a bit ridiculous to see if you had no idea about the effects of altitude. However, a few bananas later and a nice steady pace meant we huffed and puffed our way up the hill. It was well worth it.
When we got to the top, the most stunning views were all around us. Looking out across the water, we could see Bolivia (seriously!) and it was tempting to organise a boat to go across just to say we've been there. On that note, the Uros floating villages have to be tethered down so that they don't cross international waters, because apparently there can be issues with visas and passports, because they don't have either of these!
We walked right around the island, stopping in the main square to look at the sparkling waters below. There was a really cool sign post with directions and distances to all sorts of places, and this is where we found out that we're actually 13,027km away from Sydney, as the crow flies.
A delicious lunch was had at the Cafe Flor de Coca. This translates as the Coca flower cafe. For those of you who have never come across Coca before, it's what Cocaine is made from. Don't worry, we haven't encountered any of that, but Coca leaves are used to assist with altitude sickness. We were treated to fresh trout, yummy soup and lots of bread.
As well as great food, we had a great cultural lesson. We were taught about the differences in the local dress, so now know how to identify men who are married, engaged, under 18, or single and looking. Quite convenient really don't you think?
All too soon it was time to trek back down to the water. Down was definitely much easier than up, but it was kind of sad to leave this magnificent paradise.
The boat ride back consisted of lots of laugh, Trivial Pursuit challenges (it's amazing how much our teachers don't know! And pretty funny the stuff they do know!), singing dancing and just absorbing the wonders around us. It was hard to imagine how a day such as this could ever be improved.
We returned to the same place for dinner and were treated to another festive song and dance routine. All sort of dishes were tried - chicken, alpaca, beef, etc, and we went home well fed and ready for the next adventure.
We so wish you all could have been there to share in this adventure with us. It truly was one of the greatest days of our lives.
Love to all,
Team B. Today B is for Burnt (but don't worry, it's just a little bit, and we're all applying Aloe Vera).
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