Doppelgangers, body doubles, scary costumes, and something sacred
My last day in Puno was great–met a few new individuals and met a few new cultures. It turns out that I had to come all the way to Peru to meet my Israeli doppelganger. Who’d a thunk it?
Eerily similar
I also had to come to Peru to find a body double for my sister. Just in case Sarah ever puts on her thespian boots and starts walkin (and should need a double), I know exactly where to find her.
Sweet sweet Sarah
I took a 3 hour boat ride on Friday out to the Uros and then Taquile Islands on Lake Titicaca. The Uros islands are made of reed that have been put together by hand by the people that live there. Possibly the strangest thought I’ve ever had that these people really live the way that they do. And it’s amazing.
Young Uros girl selling her crafts
Dirty baby of fatness
In between islands, I talked to my awesome tour guide, and he was telling me about how Peruvians don’t value material possessions. They value their family, a house for their family, the earth, water, the sun, and the air. It’s nice to think that people that hold those values still exist in this world. And I got to meet them. In the main square on Taquile, I happened into one of their celebrations. Don’t ask me what any of it meant, but it did include cows, fire, music, beer, scary masks, and dancing.
Dancing with the Taquile family we had lunch with
Taquile celebration
Brothers dear (his hat being red and white means he's single)
Taquile boats
Boy on the roadside
Pisac
Pisac valley
Pisac
Chinchero
Chinchero plaza
Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures of Ollantaytambo. It was raining when we there, so my camera got shy. But, I think I’m going to be there tomorrow morning anyway, as that’s where I start my trek. Another chance for pictures and another chance at nearly dying from exhaustion/high altitude. My tour group is picking me up in the morning at 5:20, and on Thursday I’ll be throwing it down in Machu Picchu. I’m praying for a little bit of luck because I’m the odds-on favorite to freeze to death.
Feliz viaje (name of gas station I saw yesterday)
Peruvian police and a Puno parade
I´ve made my way from Arequipa to Puno. I made a few friends the last day that I was in Arequipa, one of which was a police officer who gave me a good understanding of the Peruvian police force. Initially, all seemed normal, as the policeman kicked a guy out of the bar for singing too loud, and then made another leave because he was smoking too close to a woman. At that point, he may have tired of his duties, as he became interested in posing for pictures…
Peruvian police get-up
And then allowing random foreigners to pose for pictures in part of his uniform…
Do you like my hat?
And next became very tired and decided to catch a few zzzz´s on the barstool…
Peruvian police rest-up
I guess the good part is that there wasn´t any violent crime occurring so that he would need to be awake??
My bus ride to Puno had less picturesque scenes than the one to Arequipa, but did have a few pretty moments, just the same. To whit:
House on the side of the road
Today I got to see a parade that included a marching band and school children in the main square here in Puno.
Babies marching
Pretty babies
Babies with balloons
I bought a decent hand mirror from a woman on the street today, and it was marked for 1 sol, which is equal to about 33 cents. I gave her 5 soles, and when she went to give me change, I told her not to worry about it. She looked so amazingly happy. Many people here are so poor and have so little. It´s unbelievable the small amount of money that they are able live off of. But, many seem so happy, at the same time.
I like Peru, and I´m already getting sad about having to leave. Tomorrow, I´m taking a boat out to the Uros and Taquile Islands on Lake Titicaca. I´m looking forward to it, and also preparing myself to be out of breath whilst walking up the steps on Taquile… I have a serious case of altitude sickness at this 12,000+ feet. The good thing is that Cusco is a little lower elevation, so I´ll be acclimatized and ready for my Machu Picchu trek by the time I leave Puno.
Happy trails.
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