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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

From the world´s dryest desert to the world´s highest lake


"The Love is in the street"... Funny ad in the metro station. The name of the radio show for which the "angel" is the announcer is called "The Love" (Santiago, Chile)



Taken from the very convenient, very awesome Metro (Santiago, Chile)


After Santiago it was an interminable bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama. The Atacama being the dryest desert in the world.


Adobe is the normal building material. Here is an adobe arch with a whitewashed finish (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile)



Adobe wall w/sticks on the top of it to discourage folks from jumping it (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile)



"Residencial Vilacoyo", very basic accomodation (But still 6000 pesos--around $12US). The hostel was clean, with hot water until around 9pm. The interior patio was pebbled, but a lovely place to sit in the hammock and have a rest. During my time in SPdA, I was disappointed that the "Star Tours" were canceled the 2 nights I was able to take one. The Atacama desert is famous for never having rain or humidity--so it´s a great place to see stars. BUT during those two nights, there were late evening clouds. That night I woke up very early and stood out in the patio looking at the sky. The clouds had cleared, and in 3 minutes, I saw two shooting stars--One of them was GIANT!! (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile)


I was in San Pedro de Atacama during the week of Carnaval (I think). There were processions and drums beating CONSTANTLY. The native religions have mixed with Catholicism and so you wind up with goblins, devils, and all sorts of other interesting characters marching (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile)



Leaving Chile, I had to buy a ticket from San Pedro de Atacama to Tacna. I did have the option of buying a ticket to Arequipa (further), but my instinct told me just to buy it to Tacna (closer to the border). Good thing I did, too. Had I purchased my ticket in Chile, I would have paid two times what I paid (cha ching!)

I got across the border without incident. I was afraid I would need to show "proof of onward passage", but nobody asked, and I didn´t volunteer.

In the bus station in Tacna (1st city in Peru across the border), I noticed lots of people with huge amounts of toilet paper. This was a precursor of the future... Toilet Paper plays an important role in Peru...

I bought my bus ticket for Arequipa and got on shortly thereafter to a very nice tour bus by the Flores company. They have their own private terminal. Swank!

Next was Arequipa....

I stayed in a lovely hostel called "Los Andes", very close to the main square. The rate was cheap (15 soles per night... FIVE DOLLARS!). I got my own private room (shared bath) and breakfast was included.
My normal breakfast at Los Andes in Arequipa, Peru... Leche for the cafe, and the café is actually INSTANT COFFEE made REALLY REALLY strong in the little pot. So you have to dilute it so that your mouth doesn´t turn inside-out. Also two pieces of bread, margarine, and freshly made Papaya juice. Papaya fruit are beautiful, a wonderful orange flesh with beautiful black seeds. But it is always a letdown when it hits my tongue. I will ALWAYS take a Mango instead, thank you! (Arequipa, Peru)



The living room at Los Andes. Very cool bureau! (Arequipa, Peru)


This i where the BEST FRUIT ON EARTH comes from in Arequipa! MANGOS! YUM! (Mercado Central, Arequipa, Peru)


A view of the cathedral off the main square (Arequipa, Peru)

After Arequipa, it was off to Puno, on the shores of the world´s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca. To get there, I paid 30 soles to ride in maybe the world´s worst bus for 7 hours.




I thought this man was from the health ministry, because he hopped on the bus and started talking about Peruvians and how much they drink "Gaseosas" (carbonated beverages), but then it turned out that he was bending my ear (with one of those Foghorn Leghorn voices) to sell NONI JUICE! OH NO! The MLM Noni people have penetrated even into Peru!!!! So at first I was annoyed, and then I thought "Here´s a guy who lives in a country with unmeasurably high unemployment, and he´s just trying to get along".... So I bought some. And the next guy who came on the bus sold snakeoil... But it smelled good, so I bought some of that, too. (On the way to Puno, Peru)



This is a picture of a plastic moulding above my head. Normally one would see a directional vent or a reading light, but INSTEAD, it is a purple plastic molding of the same. This bus´s bathroom was equally different: The toilet had no seat (I would grow accustomed to this in Peru), no toilet paper (I would also grow accustomed to THIS in Peru), no sink, no soap, AND it had a GIANT window with NO TINT and NO CURTAIN. You have a GREAT VIEW while you sit on the can, but then so does everyone else OUTSIDE the bus. Note to self: Trim nosehair ASAP. (en route to Puno, Peru)

During the ride, one lady´s husband hadn´t made the bus. So she kept herself turned backward in her seat the whole time looking for a car to come catching up to us. During the ride, the bus driver stopped several times to let the man on (he never appeared), and during one of the stops, people started BANGING on the bus walls and floor yelling "VAMOS!" (Let´s GOOOOO!), yelling at her... In this picture is the throng ready to crucify the lady at the back of the bus with a police officer. Good thing he was there... Because I think they wanted to KILL HER. (on the way to Puno, Peru)


The bus made a stop in the Andes at a little roadside.... It wasn´t a stand, it was just a table with an old woman there scooping up food. I paid 3 soles ($1US) for the above: It was crunchy GIANT corn, three little potatoes, and some spicy WONDERFUL alpaca meat! I don´t know if it was the exhaustion from the bus ride or what, but this meal was one of the best I´d had in a long time. (On the way to Puno, Peru)

The night I arrived in Puno, Peru, there was a fabulous lightning storm rolling across the waters of Lake Titicaca. I didn´t capture the lightning strikes, but the light was beautiful. (Puno, Peru)


Lot of Puno had dirt streets. But something interesting I noticed is that there was a lot of curvy, sexy glass in many of the buildings. I had no idea that in areas where cement was rare enough not to pave that the glass was so advanced! (Puno, Peru)


I kept seeing it all over the place, so I decided to try an "Inca Kola"... Turns out it is a urine-colored version of a standard cream soda. One was enough. This was the sales lady who WOULD NOT LET ME LEAVE HER STAND. The Kola wa 80 centimos ($0.40US), BUT ONLY if she got the bottle back. After a couple of swigs, I was done... But she was nice enough to let me take this picture (Puno, Peru)


Two young men in costume for the parade (Puno, Peru)


Puno had TONS of parades and really great costumes. My travelling buddy Rolf and I even got to march in the parade with a mask for a little bit. One of the ways they merry-make is to use fake snow to squirt on people. At one point, Rolf and I were searching for an ATM, being hassled to buy an alpaca sweater ("CHOM PAW!"), asked for spare change, and shot with the snow all at the same time. (Puno, Peru)


In the church off the central square in Puno, I found this small room with gorgeous light (Puno, Peru)

One of the highlights of seeing Puno (which was charming enough on its own... OH! And Kusillo´s guest house was wonderful! Such a nice family!!!) was finally getting to the Islas Flotantes (Floating Islands) and to Amantani and Taquile. We powered out into the water in the morning and after about 40 minutes, we were at the floating islands.


Greeting us at the Floating Islands was this.... Swan? I don´t know, but it was impressive and pretty! (Islas Flotantes, Peru)


This picture is taken from a lookout point about 10 meters above the floating island. The "Ground" you see is actually mats upon mats of reeds, the boats on the left, the houses, their seats--EVERYTHING is made out of these reeds. (Islas Flotantes, Peru)


When we got to the floating islands, we got a talk on how the islands actually float, why they don´t float away, etc. This bird was a pet and had absolutely no fear of us. It sat down right next to us and squawked away. Not ideal classmate manners, but gorgeous! (Islas Flotantes, Peru)
This Aymara woman rows a boat from one of the floating islands to another. Note the hat (Bowler hats are typical) and the long black braids with tassles. (Islas Flotantes, Peru)


Beautiful view on the way from the Floating Islands to Amantani Island (Lake Titicaca, Peru)


After landing on Amantani Island, we had a 1.5km hike to our homestay. It doesn´t sound like much, but it was a steep slope AT 4,000 METERS. It was TOUGH. But the view was incredible. (Amantani Island, Peru)


That evening from the top of Amantani, I watched the sun go down over Lago Titicaca. It was incredible (Isla Amantani, Peru)


After watching the sunset, we went to a dance. With borrowed caps and ponchos, Rolf and I ham it up. Something bothered my eyes during the evening... After looking at the photos, the flash has captured little particles in the air. I don´t know what it was, but the air was VERY dirty. Everyone´s cameras captured this too. (Isla Amantani, Peru)


The homestay was somewhat "rustic". Here you can see the bathroom facilities. In case you forget your toilet paper, there is some (used?) on the floor on the right. You´ll notice that there is NO toilet seat (never was--who would want one??), and it´s a lovely speckled red. Notice also that there´s no toilet tank. To flush it, you have to use the 3 liter bucket, fill it up from the 5 gallon bucket outside the outhouse, then toss it in the bowl. Bomb´s away! (Isla Amantani, Peru)



In the morning, we left Amantani and headed to Taquile. On the way, this sailboat crossed on the still water (en route to Isla Taquile, Peru)



Having had an evening to dance, recover and acclimitize, the hike on Taquile was not as challenging. It was about 2 km. This little bugger snuck into my photo and then demanded a tip. This is the view down toward the dock (Isla Taquile, Peru)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey there Scooter,
I have been truly enjoying traveling vicariously through this wondrous site you've got here. I hope you were able to recover the photos from your memory card, I'm looking forward to a marathon slideshow when you get back. Ami & I thank you for the beautiful pouch & key chain you sent (she almost didn't get it, it barely made it through mom first and then me). Hope all is well and you're enjoying your journeys as much as I'm enjoying reading & seeing about them.

Lots of love,
Julie

Char said...

Great selection of pictures to give us a real feel for what Peru was like. Looking forward to seeing the ones of Machu Pichu. I was proud of the compassion you showed to the Peruvian vendors. You're a good guy. Sad to say good-bye to South America but it's on to Sydney, Australia, tomorrow. No more struggling in Spanish to communicate. : ) Have a safe trip. Looking forward to your next wonderful, picturesque update on your blog. LY, Mom

Kathy said...

Hiya, Kiddo!
Great post - I now realize that from you description of the "facilities" I have become a domesticated animal appreciating nice bathroom. (sigh)
I'll bet there was something in the ponchos that might have bothered your eyes...many time the spinners and weavers will use raw fibers. Whatever the animal came in contact with may remian in the yarns/product.

You sound like you are having a ball! As my DD would say, "Good onya, mate!" Cheers!