Trip to Peru (contd)
Travelling the Latin American style (Monday):In order for Meg to see Lake Titicaca, we chose to travel back to Bolivia on the ground, i.e. by bus.The trip started with a 6-hour leg from Cusco to Puno on a fairly nice bus filled with tourists like us (the bus had a TV, a bathroom, and a snack service).Once in Puno, a town on the lake, we had to get on another bus going to Desaguadero, a border town on the Bolivian side.This bus was small uncomfortable where we got stuck on the back row crammed in between several other passengers.About 15 minutes into the journey, the bus got a flat tire...unfortunately, the bus driver didn't have the necessary instruments or the tire (I couldn't understand which one he lacked in the disgruntled conversations of other passengers).Several people got off the bus and crammed themselves into other buses going in the same direction...Meg and I chose to stay and wait and were rewarded when the tire finally got replaced (about 45 min later) and we were able to get better seats. Besides, most of this part of our trip was along the shores of the magnificent Lake Titicaca (even though the Peruvian side of it is not as pretty as the Bolivian side, but maybe Im just biased). I was also happy to see more of the altiplano with beautiful mountains against clear blue sky and fields with all sorts of farm animals including my beloved camelids represented here mostly by alpacas.
In about 2.5 hours we reached the Peruvian-Bolivian border, went through both checkpoints, and once on the Bolivian side, in Desaguadero, climbed into a Toyota minivan that took us on a two-hour trip back to La Paz (as you can guess, our travelling conditions got worse and worse with each leg of the journey).
Anyway, 3 buses and 13 hours of travelling later, we are back to our house in La Paz and packing for our trip to Salar de Uyuni tomorrow.
Trip to Peru (contd)
Machu Picchu (Sunday):Finally, the long-awaited day arrived...at 6am, Meg and I boarded a train that took us on a 4-hour long trip to Aguas Calientes.There I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Machu Picchu was located in the semi-tropical zone, which guaranteed a warm day.From there, we had to take a 30-minute bus ride to the actual park along a winding mountain road, which offered not only a breathtaking view of the mountains, but also gave us a peak of the ruins...even from a distance, the ruins looked impressive.
And indeed, Machu Picchu proved to be more that I expected...a whole city of ruins, well-preserved, with tons of interesting history and mistery behind each stone.We decided to forego getting a guide and explore the ruins on our own with the help of a map that showed us all possible tracks.
Our misfortunes began when we, busy taking in the majesty of the ruins and taking pictures, accidentally took a wrong turn and got off the intended track.We found ourselves more and more lost as we went on (by lost I mean being surrounded by ruins, but not knowing what they meant).Our miseries climaxed when we climbed up to a group of ruins, which we later learned was former Inca industrial zone, and found ourselves not being able to climb back down and even getting whistled at by one of the park workers warning us against any kind of mischief (such as jumping off the ruins).Once we found our way back down, we ended up talking to the same worker that whistled at us and learning all sorts of interesting things about the ruins and history behind some of the areas.
FYI: Machu Picchu, or the Hidden City of the Incas, was discovered sometime in the first half of the 20th century by an English (or maybe American) explorer Hiram Bingham who gave the place its current name and named the groups of ruins in it.We were also surprised to find out that Machu Picchu is actually the name of one of the mountains surrounding the park and was given to Bingham by the locals when he first arrived there.In Quechua it means Old Mountain...on the other side of the ruins, there is a mountain called Hyana Picchu, or Young Mountain.
Based on the history and details of the ruins, Machu Picchu (the park) used to the an important religious site for the Inca Empire. The Incas had a calendar of 365 days and were able to tell seasons of the year.Their civilization was very advanced, and their religious beliefs were based on astronomy and the objects of nature around them (water, mountains, etc).
We were also lucky to see some more of my beloved llamas just walking around the ruins...I was glad that Meg got to pet one. The train ride back to Cusco was very enjoyable as our attendants put on a costume show displaying the clothes made out of the fiber of baby alpaca.
The picture above is of the view of the park, and below are some shots of Meg and I among the ruins.
Long-awaited trip to Peru
Cusco (Saturday): Meg and I got up bright and early and got on a plane to Cusco, Peru.We were picked up by our hotel owner and taken first to the Perurail office to buy our train ticket to Macchu Pichu, then to the hotel to drop off our things, and then to Cusco downtown to begin our Peruvian adventures.
Cusco is a very historic, beautiful and definitely unique place.It is very different from La Paz as it has more evidences of the Spanish colonial presence...many cobblestone roads, churches and cathedrals of a different style that in Bolivia (more of a colonial Baroque style), and typical Spanish-style houses with courtyards inside (see picture below).After eating a delicious lunch of alpaca steak, we embarked on a trip to the nearest Inca ruins, the names of which I wouldn't be able to pronounce.We walked around the ruins, sat on the Inca throne,got soaked in the rain and hail on the way to the other ruins (named Q'enko), where we did some cave exploring, and then returned to the city.
There we toured around the magnificent Catedral with amazing paintings and carvings inside.Then we went to another very interesting place called Qoricancha/Convento de Santo Domingo, which combines an ancient Inca temple with a Catholic convent built on top of it.The ruins of the Inca infrastructure are still there side by side with the Catholic structures.After this tour, we rushed off to another interesting church called the Iglesia de San Blas (church of Saint Blaise), where the paintings on the walls told us the story of this saint, who lived in the third century and was a throat doctor as well as an avid defender of Catholic faith.He was later captured and beheaded by the Romans.The barrio (neighborhood) of San Blas has narrow cobblestone streets and is famous for its abundance of artesan shops.There, Meg and I did some shopping and then rushed off to see a performance of traditional peruvian dance and music.
The picture above is of the Cusco cathedral, and below are the view of Cuzco from the ruins and of Meg and me sitting on the Inca throne.
A week at a glance
Well, this was my last week of work, except that I decided to be sick again and stayed in bed most of the week.I did finish all my research projects on Monday and got good reports from my boss about my work. Im beginning to realize that I only have a little more than a week left here in Bolivia, which makes me very sad.The good-byes have already started.
Things I will miss the most about being here:-cheap and easy public transportation (once you figure it out)
-being called reinita, hermosa, querida, etc (on the street and among friends)
-having a maid who cooks delicious lunches and makes your bed for you when you leave in a hurry in the morning
-being surrounded by beautiful mountains everywhere you look
-clear blue sky everyday
-having a sister/friend my age very similar to me in character and preferences
-incredibly delicious bread and meat and amazingly fresh vegetables and fruit (including freshly squeezed fruit juice every morning)
-big family lunches after church on Sundays where the whole family gets together
Things still to look forward to:-My friend Meg (from grad school)coming on Friday
-trip to Peru (Cusco and Macchu Pichu) over the weekend
-trip to the Salar de Uyuni after Peru
-one more glance at the magnificent Lake Titicaca
-souvernir shopping
-finally being warm and sweating again (back in DC)
Finally (aka Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol)
I FINALLY got to see the one place in Bolivia that I have read about and dreamed about seeing...the majestic Lake Titicaca.On Saturday, the Rodriguez (my host family) and I drove down to Copacabana, a small town on the shores of the Lake to see this magnificent creation of God...and everything I read about this place is true...it is absolutely breathtaking, with amazingly blue water and mountains surrounding it.
A little bit of history/geography: Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world.The reason for the water being so blue (in places sky-blue) is because it reflects the sky.Part of if belongs to Bolivia and part to Peru.It is so large that it really resembles a sea and even smells like the ocean, even though the water is not salty.The Lake has an important significance for the Bolivians as the legend says that the Incan civilization was born on the Isla del Sol (the Sun Island that is located in the Lake, on the Bolivian part).Supposedly, the children of the sun god went there and became the forefathers of the Incas.The Lake has become deeper with the centuries and has covered many unique Incan ruins.Some still remain on the Isla del Sol.
One of the highlights of the trip was definitely going to the Isla del Sol, about an hour and a half boat ride with incredible view.We only had an hour on the island, and since we wanted to see some sights, we had to climb up hundreds of steps made by the Incas (I think called Camino del Inca) and up the pathway to cross over to the other side of the island to see the Peruvian side of the Lake.The parents didn't want to climb up all the way, but Sara and I had to literally run up to see the other side and then run down to make sure we catch the boat back to Copacabana.Keeping in mind that we were climbing up in the altitude of 4000 meters above sea level, my heart was literally jumping out.
Once back in Copacabana, we went to the famous church of the Virgen of Copacabana, which attracts thousands of Bolivian and Peruvian pilgrims every year. The whole altar was covered with gold and silver, and there was a museum of all the things that people bring as gifts to the Virgin of Copacabana.
Some more adventures Bolivian style on the way back...to get to Copacabana, you have to cross a straight in a little boat (the car crosses on another ferry-type boat).Well, on the way back in the dark the boat engine died in the middle of the lake...it probably got filled with water...the driver tried to start it for about 10 minutes, but all in vain...well, two other boats came and began towing us to the other side...then our engine started again and we were going on our own for a while, but then it died again very close to the shore, and the wind started drifting us back to the other side...another boat came and literally pushed us to the dock (btw, if you thought this story was never going to end, so did I sitting in that boat in the cold and dark thinking we were never going to cross this tiny stretch).
The pictures below are of me and Sara with the view from the Isla del Sol of the Bolivian side of the Lake, and of me with the view from the island of the Peruvian side.The amazing thing was being able to see the Cordillera (mountains) ad my favorite peak, the Illimani, from the Isla del Sol (in the background of the Bolivian side of the Lake).
A week at a glance
Last week was pretty uneventful (well, compared to the others)...I finally worked another full week without travelling and enjoyed hanging out with Sara and the rest of the family.Even though my general rule is not to share bad things on this blog, I think that I will break that rule since it's the only news I've got. So 2 not-so-great things happened last week, but the Lord has definitely provided and took care of me.
1) My computer got a horrible virus and was completely unusable.After the initial freaking out, I was surprisingly doing well about it.Those who know me well are aware how much Im attached to my computer, so that was supposed to be pretty devastating for me, but the Lord gave me lots of peace and by His mercy, the computer got fixed with no data loss.
2) I can now consider myself a full Bolivian because I got salmonella...Apparently, it is a very common thing to get here and no one really worries about it.I'm taking antibiotics, but the thing that saddens me most is that I have to maintain a diet to get better, and it has been very hard because I really like the food here.
On Sunday, Sara and I continued our tour of La Paz by visiting several Catholic churches around town.Some of them are very old (like the Iglesia de San Francisco in the picture that dates back to 1548), but all of them are different inside.It was interesting to see how the Catholic beliefs are so intermixed with the indigenous religions. The picture below is of me at the main plaza in La Paz called Plaza Murillo, with the Governmental Palace and the main Cathedral in the background.
