Thursday, Feb 7th, Copacabana, Bolivia

Greetings!

Pat and I are taking the day off from the tour today.  The main event is a seven-hour excursion, featuring a long hike on the Island of the Sun.  Both of us have colds, and I'm having a hard time breathing and sleeping.   We drive to La Paz tomorrow, for two days, and then fly to Quito, Ecuador.  I'm hoping our ailments are lessened by the lower altitude.

Before lunch, I created a YouTube video of two little girls (Noelia and Janela) who sang to us a few days ago.  

Wednesday, Feb 6th, Copacabana, Bolivia

Greetings!

Not far from Puno, Peru lies the Bolivian border.  But we had to see Inca Oya, an ancient fertility temple, which our guides think is real, but has also been claimed a hoax.  Some of the posts served as hitching posts for Spanish horses until they were returned to the site.

Trout farms on the Lake, a church which incorporates indigenous icons and gives rise to the “Baroque Mestizo” style of architecture, and finally the border.  

We’d been warned that crossing the border may hold some challenges for both us as Americans, and for our guide trying not to be seen as an Ecuadorian working in Bolivia (and not paying taxes).  Seems Bolivians don’t like either.  So we split up before passing though the Peruvian Police station and immigration offices, and then Bolivian immigration and customs.  Paying $135 each to Bolivia, and providing both countries with paperwork (and Pat’s brother’s work address in the emergency contact info?), we re-united, picked up an older van, and drove it to the Rosario del Lago Hotel. 

Copacapana is a pilgrimage site for the people of Bolivia and Southern Peru to come to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Candelaria to show their devotion.  It’s also the access point to the Island of the Sun, said to be the birthplace of the Inca Empire.  We missed the actual 430^th year celebration by a few days, but the afterglow still permeates the town, including the year-round church blessings of the cars purchased by everyone from the region.   Tomorrow, we're boating out to the Island of the Sun.

We’re back from a walk through the town, and are enjoying the late afternoon sun through our bedroom windows.  We’re told the sunset over the Lake is beautiful, and we’ll watch it over dinner at the hotel.  To see all of the photos taken today, click on Wednesday, Feb 6th, Copacabana, Bolivia.

Tuesday, Feb 5th, Puno, Peru

Greetings!

Last night, we had a power outage for a couple of hours.  It was right after we got into our hotel, so the timing could't have been more fortunate.  It effected all of southern Peru, and was caused by a lighting strike.  These posts for Monday and today were delayed as a result, and it was pretty scary because of it's unusual size and severity.  The guests al huddled in the lobby, and the hotel issued candles and tried to find out when it might come back on with their cell phones.  Alas, they weren't working either.  One German gentleman had just landed at a nearby airport, and was lucky he did before their lights went out.

Just south of Puno is Lago Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world.  We took a boat out to a man-made island (Manco Capac) populated by a pre-Inca group called the Uros.  Raft-based in the beginning, it has been a series of reed-grown, lashed-together family compounds since the 1930s.  Speaking the local language (Aymara in the language of 4 million Peruvians), we greeted them and were acknowledged in return.  Their head official provided us with a demonstration of island-building and maintenance (they last 60 years), and his wife and sisters shared their homes and grounds.  The island has two schools, a medical clinic, and a small grocery store.  Entrance fees account for the equivalence of about $1,000 a day from tourists, and some handicrafts were also sold.  The island shares its income with all families, and the 300 residents even had solar power and some televisions.

On the boat ride back, two small children ages 9 and 11 sang to us.  I videoed it on my IPod Touch, and showed it to them.  They giggled, and didn’t understand I would be putting it on YouTube soon.  Their parents did, and I’m going to see if I can email a link to someone on the island.        

We also visited a small llama farm, and another Pre-Inca archeology site (Sillustani), seeing examples of five types of burial tombs (Chulpas) for the Colla civilization (800BC to 500AD).  We found a stone circle, obelisk used as a sun dial, and a spiral not unlike those found at New Grange in England.  This one had the special characteristic of effecting compasses.

  

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Tuesday, Feb 5th, Puno, Peru. 

Monday, Feb 4th, Puno, Peru

Greetings!

I was prepared for altitude sickness, with pills brought from home.  But altitude tiredness?  I was surprised to get tired walking down stairs.  At 13,500 feet, with a perennial chest cold restricting my breathing anyway, it’s really hard not to feel like a very old man.  At Pat’s side meandering down these cobblestone streets, I’m not only not frustrated with her pace due to her sore knee, I pretty glad for it.

 Pretend you’re starting out on a train 2,000 feet above Denver, Colorado.  And you’re winding your way around mountains up to a point 2,000 feet above California’s Mt Whitney, and then down 700 feet to your hotel.  That is a rocky mountain high.

The train is owned by the same company famous for the Oriental Express.  It has six cars: the engine, luggage car, kitchen, our carriage, bar lounge, and the viewing platform.  It has elegant and comfy interiors, and beautifully-dressed and well-choreographed staff. 

 The 18 guests are over-matched by staff, including musicians and dancers.  Fashion shows are also provided, with staff serving as models. 

Standing at the end of the train, on a viewing platform surrounded by large windows and open air, we were able to be seen by everyone we passed.  I used the opportunity to wave to anyone I could see.  Almost everyone waved back, including about 98% of the kids. Even those working in the fields couldn’t avoid watching the sleek train go by, and responded with a grin and a wave.

At the highest point (La Raya, 14,155 feet), we got out to stretch our legs.  We met another train coming from our destination, and the entire crews switched.  There were some vendor stalls, and children tapping on our windows.  I noticed that one of the staff gave a warm jacket to one of the kids.  Good thing, as these summer nights can get cold up in those passes. The ten-hour journey passed more easily than an equivalent plane flight, as the scenery around kept getting more spectacular with every bend of the tracks.

The last stretch of ride was quite interesting, as it rook us through a town which is famous for it's extensive boac market of construction goods.  Along the tracks were vendors and storage sites containing the largest collection of used materials of any kind I have ever seen.  The side streets were packed with those living in some squalor, and our guide had warned that it was not for the weak of heart.  They all looked pretty happy to me, and I thought it would make a great scene in a movie about a post-disaster event.  Again, the juxtoposition of our train and the environment was staggering.

To view all of the photos taken on Monday, click on: Monday, Feb 4th, Puno, Peru

Sunday, Feb 3rd, Cusco, Peru

Greetings!

This morning, we drove back up to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, by way of two ruins (Puka Pukara and Tambo Machay).  The latter is an important example of the Incan reverence for water.  The fountains appear to provide some of the finest showers on the Incan trail outposts, and the fortress in front probably protected Cusco.  It has been suggested that well-known use of conch shells, and the uniquely acoustical valley, probably made communication easy between the two locations.

 On the way to valley, we stopped at Awana Kancha, called the living museum of the Andes.  It presents the Andean weaving story from the source to the finished products, presented by 700 members of 14 villages in the region.  The organization is committed to supporting the preservation of endangered members of the camelid family (llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos), as well as growing the many varieties of their food sources.

Begun in 1989, the organization now includes over 700 members of 14 local communities which rotate weavers into the compound monthly.  Forty percent of the proceeds are returned to them.

Spinning, dyeing, and weaving techniques were demonstrated, and we watched young members of the communities producing the various yarns and cloths.

Arriving in Pisac, we walked to the main plaza where the market included the traditional crafts and Sunday fruit, meats, and produce.  As it was our last day in Peru, we decided to buy some gifts and keepsakes there.

Tomorrow, we board the train to Puno, a Bolivian border town.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Sunday, Feb 3rd, Cusco.

Saturday, Feb 2nd, Cusco, Peru

Greetings!

Well, we're on our first full day in Cusco.  The Hoteles San Augustin is a couple of blocks from the Plaza de Las Armas on Avenida del Sol, so we've been seeing the sights of the it's restaurants, shops, churches, and a couple of ruins nearby.

The Catholic Cathedral, build in 1516, shares an Inca foundation and perimeter wall.  With chapels on either side, it's quite large, and contains many examples of Inca stone design.  All demonstrate an advanced knowledge of  geometry, plumbing,  carving, and spatial organization.  The joints between these stones is so tight that a needle cannot be inserted between them.

The Inca wall construction permeats the city of Cusco, as well as the nearby fortress of Sacsayhuaman and the underground alter of Qengo.  One of the remarkable features of Sacsayhumaman (Gringos pronounce it "Sexy Woman") is that some of the stones weigh over 100 tons, were quarried over 10 mies away, and crossed two ravines to get to the site.

On our return to Cusco for lunch, Diego recommended a restaurant just off the main plaza, where we relaxed, told more stories of past travels, and contemplated shopping or visiting museums.  Pat and I chose to do a little window shopping, and then catch up on some sleep at the hotel before dinner.


To see all the photo taken today, click on Saturday, Feb 2nd, Cusco, Peru.

Friday, Feb 1st, Cusco, Peru

Greetings!

If you logged onto our blog in the last few days, and it has looked strange, you have my apologies.  But I don't think it's my fault.  Try as I have to discover why some of the photographs have been replaced with large minus signs, I can't figure it out.  At least not with the limited wifi I have, and even more limited time to sleuth it out.  Google's gatekeepers are supposed to block photographs they suspect are pirated (also music on YouTube), and I'm beginning to suspect that they aren't quite sure the ones I have been putting up are really my own.

I'd love that to be true, but as of now, it's just the best explanation I can find.  I put them u twice now, and they come down within hours.  I've put them up again, and we'll see if they leave them alone.

Today is Pat's birthday, and the group sang her happy birthday tonight at dinner.  We really are having a lot of fun with these folks.  They are all experienced travelers with very interesting personalities and lives.

After hiking up Machupicchu yesterday, we were given the morning today to hang out at the Inkaterra Lodge and take some guided walks on the grounds.  We chose an orchid walk, as the property has 372 of the 400 Peruvian orchids.

Many of them are very small, so I hope the photos allow them to be seen.  It was a great morning of non-taxing walking, and excellent learning.

At 1pm, we boarded the train to Ollantaytambo, where we caught the bus to Cusco, had dinner on Cusco's Plaza de Armas, and have now retired to the first of three welcome nights in Cusco.

To see more of the photos taken today, click on Friday, Feb 1st, Cusco.

And if you're keeping up with the blog daily, and missed the photos from yesterday's trip to Machupicchu as much as i did, you can now check them out at Thursday, Jan 31st, Machupicchu.