First off, instead of traveling to Bolivia (which was the original plan), I decided to stay in Cusco for an extra week volunteering at La Recoleta. I've fallen in love with the city of Cusco as well as with these girls, and I wasn't ready to leave them just yet. This factor kind of plays a big part to my Peru-hopping weekend.
Bob and I had bought an overnight bus ticket from Cusco to Puno for Friday night. So after our placement, we rushed home, scarfed down dinner, bid farewell, and then we were off to the bus station. The bus was extremely comfortable, and I fell asleep easily. However, around 3:30 in the morning, the bus stopped and we were told that we had to walk "15 minutes" to the other side to our other bus. A miner's strike had closed down many of the roads in and around the cities of Juliaca and Puno. 15 minutes of walking would have been just fine. However, it turned out to be more like an hour of everyone hauling their luggage across broken glass, giant rocks purposefully placed in the streets so that no transportation could pass, and large groups of protesters huddled around towering bonfires. One group began to chant "Touristas en la calle! Por culpa Shougang Hierro!" (Rough translation: "Tourists in the street because of Shougang Hierro's fault!") It was definitely frightening to walk past the protesters in the dark, but it was definitely an interesting experience.
We finally got to Puno, and immediately booked a hostel and a 1 day tour of Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable lake in the world (about 12,500 feet above sea level). This also makes the lake higher than the city of Cusco. This was known as the sacred lake of the Incas, and Titicaca means "Gray Puma." If looked at from above, the form of a puma can be roughly made out in the lake. I loved being back on a boat, and just made me miss Maine just a bit. The boat ride was 1.5 hours to the floating island that we were visiting. There are roughly 60 islands, and they work on a rotation schedule so that one specific island doesn't constantly get bombarded with tourists. The island was completely made of reeds and soil, and each island lasts for about 25 years. There are 6 primary schools located amongst the islands. If the family can afford to send their kids to higher education, that means sending them to the mainland and not returning to the islands. We were able to take a boat ride around the island on a boat made completely of reeds, and it was incredibly peaceful. We bid farewell to the folks on the island and made our way to Taquile Island, which is a stunning natural island. The reason why this island is popular is because of their culture. It's a little different than those of the others. There are 6 communities on this island, which means about 2,400 people live on the island. The most important tradiition is knitting. They begin knitting at 5 years old, and if you aren't good at knitting, you don't get married. Taquile was an absolutely beautiful island with even more unique and fascinating cultures. We got back to Puno, grabbed a bite to eat for dinner, and headed back to the hostel since both of our busses were early in the morning. Puno kind of reminded me of Naples in Italy: little too grimy, nice people, and slightly bustling. I was excited to get to Arequipa the next day.
Bob and I had bought an overnight bus ticket from Cusco to Puno for Friday night. So after our placement, we rushed home, scarfed down dinner, bid farewell, and then we were off to the bus station. The bus was extremely comfortable, and I fell asleep easily. However, around 3:30 in the morning, the bus stopped and we were told that we had to walk "15 minutes" to the other side to our other bus. A miner's strike had closed down many of the roads in and around the cities of Juliaca and Puno. 15 minutes of walking would have been just fine. However, it turned out to be more like an hour of everyone hauling their luggage across broken glass, giant rocks purposefully placed in the streets so that no transportation could pass, and large groups of protesters huddled around towering bonfires. One group began to chant "Touristas en la calle! Por culpa Shougang Hierro!" (Rough translation: "Tourists in the street because of Shougang Hierro's fault!") It was definitely frightening to walk past the protesters in the dark, but it was definitely an interesting experience.
We finally got to Puno, and immediately booked a hostel and a 1 day tour of Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable lake in the world (about 12,500 feet above sea level). This also makes the lake higher than the city of Cusco. This was known as the sacred lake of the Incas, and Titicaca means "Gray Puma." If looked at from above, the form of a puma can be roughly made out in the lake. I loved being back on a boat, and just made me miss Maine just a bit. The boat ride was 1.5 hours to the floating island that we were visiting. There are roughly 60 islands, and they work on a rotation schedule so that one specific island doesn't constantly get bombarded with tourists. The island was completely made of reeds and soil, and each island lasts for about 25 years. There are 6 primary schools located amongst the islands. If the family can afford to send their kids to higher education, that means sending them to the mainland and not returning to the islands. We were able to take a boat ride around the island on a boat made completely of reeds, and it was incredibly peaceful. We bid farewell to the folks on the island and made our way to Taquile Island, which is a stunning natural island. The reason why this island is popular is because of their culture. It's a little different than those of the others. There are 6 communities on this island, which means about 2,400 people live on the island. The most important tradiition is knitting. They begin knitting at 5 years old, and if you aren't good at knitting, you don't get married. Taquile was an absolutely beautiful island with even more unique and fascinating cultures. We got back to Puno, grabbed a bite to eat for dinner, and headed back to the hostel since both of our busses were early in the morning. Puno kind of reminded me of Naples in Italy: little too grimy, nice people, and slightly bustling. I was excited to get to Arequipa the next day.
Day 2: Arequipa
Sunday was when Bob and I separated to visit other places. He was off to Bolivia for a week, and I was off to Arequipa ("The White City" of Peru) for a day. I still had no idea when my bus was leaving for Arequipa, so I was up early, just waiting for a knock on the door. My bus ended up being at 6 am, and I arrived in Arequipa around noon. The busride there was stunning. The environment changed drastically: flat plains with minor hills changed to snow-capped mountains which then changed to desert-like conditions. Small towns that seemed 1-street long were scattered about the highway. I got to Arequipa and immediately found a hostel called Le Foyer, which had gotten good reviews. I decided to splurge a bit and get a room to myself with a private bathroom for 65 soles (less than $25). I also booked my 1-day tour of Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in Peru (130 soles = about $46), then headed out to see the city. Arequipa is known as the "White City" because the majority of the buildings' walls are white with pops of color on the occasional wall as well as flowers and trees all around. The Plaza de Armas (the main square) is absolutely gorgeous. It's always full of people enjoying their day and scaring away the large flocks of pidgeons. One of the reasons why I wanted to go to Arequipa was because of Juanita, the Ice Maiden: a perfectly preserved Inca mummy who was found on the summit of one of the mountains as a sacrifice to the mountain god. So I went to the museum to see her only to discover that she is being studied at the moment and won't be available to the public until May. I was able to see other Inca sacrifricial mummies (a boy and girl both around 12-14 years old), and other amazing artifacts, so I was satisfied. I walked around the city a bit more, and found the "Newbury Street" of Arequipa. It was full of bustling shops and people out and about enjoying their Sunday afternoon. Arequipa is a more fashionable city than Cusco, I booked my overnight bus back to Cusco for Monday night, had an early dinner, then headed to bed. There was a chance that the roads would be closed because of the protests, but I wasn't too concerned...
Sunday was when Bob and I separated to visit other places. He was off to Bolivia for a week, and I was off to Arequipa ("The White City" of Peru) for a day. I still had no idea when my bus was leaving for Arequipa, so I was up early, just waiting for a knock on the door. My bus ended up being at 6 am, and I arrived in Arequipa around noon. The busride there was stunning. The environment changed drastically: flat plains with minor hills changed to snow-capped mountains which then changed to desert-like conditions. Small towns that seemed 1-street long were scattered about the highway. I got to Arequipa and immediately found a hostel called Le Foyer, which had gotten good reviews. I decided to splurge a bit and get a room to myself with a private bathroom for 65 soles (less than $25). I also booked my 1-day tour of Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in Peru (130 soles = about $46), then headed out to see the city. Arequipa is known as the "White City" because the majority of the buildings' walls are white with pops of color on the occasional wall as well as flowers and trees all around. The Plaza de Armas (the main square) is absolutely gorgeous. It's always full of people enjoying their day and scaring away the large flocks of pidgeons. One of the reasons why I wanted to go to Arequipa was because of Juanita, the Ice Maiden: a perfectly preserved Inca mummy who was found on the summit of one of the mountains as a sacrifice to the mountain god. So I went to the museum to see her only to discover that she is being studied at the moment and won't be available to the public until May. I was able to see other Inca sacrifricial mummies (a boy and girl both around 12-14 years old), and other amazing artifacts, so I was satisfied. I walked around the city a bit more, and found the "Newbury Street" of Arequipa. It was full of bustling shops and people out and about enjoying their Sunday afternoon. Arequipa is a more fashionable city than Cusco, I booked my overnight bus back to Cusco for Monday night, had an early dinner, then headed to bed. There was a chance that the roads would be closed because of the protests, but I wasn't too concerned...
Day 3: Colca CanyonI was picked up from my hostel nice and early on Monday morning (4 am), and jumped into the van with other tourists, all from Peru, the US, Russia or Germany. It was a nice mix of people. It was 3 hours to the starting point, so I mainly slept on the bus as it winded back and forth through the mountains. We had a small breakfast in the town of Chivay (toast and tea) and then headed out to the Condor Sanctuary, the farthest point we were going to go in the canyon. The road was entirely unpaved, and all of us were tossing and turning in the van. There was one point where we went through a cave, and our drive turned off the lights to show how dark it was. It reminded me of Maine again when we sometimes turn off the lights on Anderson Cove and let the moon bring us in to the camp. We got to the sanctuary and waited to see the condors. The condor is one of the three important animals in Inca history because of how high it can fly in the sky. The Incas believed that they were the messengers of the spirits above. We saw two and they were simply magnificent. We spent a good time up at the sanctuary, and made our way back towards Chivay, stopping at places here and there for more photos. We stopped at the "Hanging Tombs," which were tombs that were higher up. The Incas had a belief that the mountains were gods. So the higher up you're buried, the higher and closer you are to the gods. Unfortunately, the tombs have been ransacked and disturbed, so nothing remains within the rock tombs. We stopped in a town called Maca, where we were able to look at some domestic wildlife like hawks and llamas. For 1 sole, I was able to take a picture with the hawk! Kinda neat. We continued on to the hot springs, which I originally wasn't going to do. But everyone was doing it and it was about $7, so why not? It was much needed! The water felt so nice, and to be lounging in the Colca Canyon was something I'll never forget. After an hour, we made our way back to Chivay for lunch and market browsing, then headed back the three hours to Arequipa. I was going to make it in time for my overnight bus, so I was relieved. When we got back to Arequipa, I bid farewell to the new friends I had made and headed to the travel agency to ask how to get the bus station...
NOPE! NO BUS! STUPID PROTEST! Because of the protest, all the roads were closed and the strike isn't going to let up any time soon. He said I could buy a bus ticket for Tuesday, but there was a chance that the bus still wouldn't be running. My best option was to take a $220 (not soles!) flight back that would get me back Wednesday afternoon. I started panicking just a bit because I was tight for money, I had no place to stay, I needed to get back to Cusco for volunteering, and I hadn't expected this. The guy felt bad for me, and offered a private room at his hotel for 30 soles a night (originally 60 soles per night). He was incredibly sweet, and helped me out so much. So I bought the stupid plane ticket, got a taxi to the hotel, checked in, then immediately went out for dinner where I got a much needed Pisco Sour (the national alcoholic drink of Peru). Even though I was beyond frustrated and upset, dinner calmed me down since it overlooked the beautiful Plaza de Armas, the bells started to toll, and somewhere "Danny Boy" started playing.
NOPE! NO BUS! STUPID PROTEST! Because of the protest, all the roads were closed and the strike isn't going to let up any time soon. He said I could buy a bus ticket for Tuesday, but there was a chance that the bus still wouldn't be running. My best option was to take a $220 (not soles!) flight back that would get me back Wednesday afternoon. I started panicking just a bit because I was tight for money, I had no place to stay, I needed to get back to Cusco for volunteering, and I hadn't expected this. The guy felt bad for me, and offered a private room at his hotel for 30 soles a night (originally 60 soles per night). He was incredibly sweet, and helped me out so much. So I bought the stupid plane ticket, got a taxi to the hotel, checked in, then immediately went out for dinner where I got a much needed Pisco Sour (the national alcoholic drink of Peru). Even though I was beyond frustrated and upset, dinner calmed me down since it overlooked the beautiful Plaza de Armas, the bells started to toll, and somewhere "Danny Boy" started playing.
Day 4: Arequipa (Parte Deux)
There's not much to report about my unexpected second day in Arequipa. I went out for breakfast where I met two others who were stranded because of the strikes. They were from Canada and Boston (Acton to be specific)! It was nice to meet a fellow Bostonian kind of stuck in the same predicament as me. The day consisted of more walking around, exploring some of the churches that were open, and going to one of the museums that was free. I bumped into two of the older ladies that were on my Colca Canyon tour, and they were the sweetest ladies. They tried to help explain some of the descriptions, and I was able to see another frozen mummy of a 30 year old man, which was beyond amazing. I found the San Camilo market, which is very similar to San Pedro market near the volunteer house in Cusco. I sat in the plaza, had a lovely dinner, and went to bed early to get a good night sleep. My flight was at 10:30 on Wednesday, so I got up early, packed up, got a quick bite to eat and headed out towards the airport to stit there for a while. It was nice to be back in Cusco, and I was back in time for placement. The girls attacked me with hugs, which was very touching and sweet of them. As Saturday draws near, the more I'm dreading leaving these girls who have made such an impact on my life.
There's not much to report about my unexpected second day in Arequipa. I went out for breakfast where I met two others who were stranded because of the strikes. They were from Canada and Boston (Acton to be specific)! It was nice to meet a fellow Bostonian kind of stuck in the same predicament as me. The day consisted of more walking around, exploring some of the churches that were open, and going to one of the museums that was free. I bumped into two of the older ladies that were on my Colca Canyon tour, and they were the sweetest ladies. They tried to help explain some of the descriptions, and I was able to see another frozen mummy of a 30 year old man, which was beyond amazing. I found the San Camilo market, which is very similar to San Pedro market near the volunteer house in Cusco. I sat in the plaza, had a lovely dinner, and went to bed early to get a good night sleep. My flight was at 10:30 on Wednesday, so I got up early, packed up, got a quick bite to eat and headed out towards the airport to stit there for a while. It was nice to be back in Cusco, and I was back in time for placement. The girls attacked me with hugs, which was very touching and sweet of them. As Saturday draws near, the more I'm dreading leaving these girls who have made such an impact on my life.