The Navel of the World

After watching a beautiful sunrise over Lake Titicaca, we hopped on a bus headed for Cusco, Peru. Although the trip to Cusco isn't too long, we took a tour bus that stopped at a number of ruins along the way.

Some of the ruins on the way to Cusco.

We arrived to Cusco on a Sunday, and the rest of the group was going to leave the next morning to start their four-day hike to Aguas Calientes, the city at the base of Machu Picchu. We arrived at our hostel, which was large, but also very nice, and went to dinner at a restaurant that served some great Peruvian dishes. Then we headed back to our hostel so my companions could prepare for their hike. When I woke up the next morning, they were gone, and I was left to explore Cusco on my own for a few days.

Our hostel: the banners were to celebrate the native cultures of Peru.

We shared a portion of cuy (guinea pig)... it was not great.

Walking through the streets of Cusco.

Because everyone had arranged their hike through a tour agency, they had their transport and entrance into Machu Picchu and everything all taken care of. That meant that I had a lot of things to figure out before trying to get to Machu Picchu. Monday I spent the day organizing my bus and train transport to Aguas Calientes, buying my ticket into the park, purchasing a tourist ticket, and navigating my way around Cusco. After that I rewarded myself with a well-earned and well-deserved massage. That evening, I visited a traditional, cultural dance center and grabbed a quick dinner before heading to bed.

One of the many plazas in the center of Cusco.

The next day I got up early to take an all day tour of the ruins around Cusco. It was exciting to get out of Cusco on my own and get to know some fellow travelers in the process.

Ollantaytambo: a site a ruins, also where I caught the train to Machu Pichhu later.

Some of the ruins visible in Ollantaytambo.

Wednesday was my last full day in Cusco. I decided to relax a little bit and started my day with a massage that turned into a massage/manicure/pedicure. Late that day, I walked around Cusco, visiting museums, churches and cultural sites and parks. I ended my evening by eating a delicious Peruvian meal and going to sleep early, excited to meet up with my friends near Machu Picchu the next day.

I wanted a picture with the sheep... these ladies insisted on joining, too...

When we visited Cusco, We had almost been in South America for a whole year. It was really interesting to visit a city having a fairly strong grasp of Spanish. I felt very comfortable talking to people I met, asking for directions, and finding out information. And I think it helped me appreciate Cusco more as a city. It's a beautiful place, and it's a place that's so distinctly different from Santiago. Being able to recognize, respect, and appreciate those differences during this experience of living abroad has been a huge take away.

No man is an island...

The trip to Puno, Peru, was pretty short; however, we did have to cross the border. The system was rather interesting. Our bus stopped in front of the Bolivian border crossing. As we joined the line of people waiting to cross, we watch our bus pull away. After getting our exit stamps, we followed the exodus of people on the walk across the Peruvian border. Crossing the border on foot in the middle of the nigh was pretty cool. We arrived in Puno shortly after, grabbed some pizza, and went to sleep before our big plans the next day.
 

The sign greeting us as we entered Peru.

We all woke up very early the next day to start our tour to the Floating Islands. Las Islas Flotantes de los Uros is an incredible grouping of man-made islands off the coast of Puno, where the islands have actually been constructed by a great compilation of reeds growing in Lake Titicaca. A group of native people live on these islands, constantly rebuilding and caring for them.

They really are the coolest islands.

Trying on some traditional clothes. (It was a rush job.)

After Uros, we headed farther out on the lake to the island of Amantani. There we got a taste of how life is for people who live on the islands in Lake Titicaca. We spent the day with a local family who showed us their ways of farming, sheering sheep, and weaving in order to make a living. Because they island is so far out, it's not very normal for people to use money to pay for goods. Instead, they tend to trade both goods and work. For example, one family will help another harvest a crop and then that family will help the other dig a well.

We finally got the clothing done properly at Amantani.

The whole group.

While our visits were meant to give us an authentic view of the lives of these people, it's easy to see just how rapidly their lives must be changing. If I remember correctly, only a short 10 - 15 years ago the island didn't even have electricity. Now it is a (fairly) frequent tourist stop. And while it's interesting and I feel privileged to be let in on that way of life, it's also clear that the influence of the tourism is changing it. And I don't know how I feel about that. I would be interested to see what the island looks like in another ten years.

Headed back to the boat after our visit.

On our long boat ride back to the main land, we spent a good amount of time basking in the sun on the roof of the boat. Lake Titicaca was such a surreal place to visit, and I certainly hope I'm able to make it back there again some day.

Laura and I enjoying the sun and the breeze.

Our view headed back to shore.

The next morning we got up to see the sunrise before going to Cusco.

Island in the Sun

As Lake Titicaca came into view, my lungs sort of got caught up in my throat, and I had to remind myself what it was to breathe. Listen, ruins are really cool, but I can't compare them in my mind to a place with such historical significance and staying power as Lake Titicaca. And it's possible I'm biased. I've always favored lakes over oceans, and most things for that matter. Man, is Lake Titicaca an ocean of a lake. It's the largest freshwater lake in South America, and, according the the UNESCO World Heritage site, "Titicaca is less than one of twenty ancient lakes on earth." And you can't help but just stare at it.

I mean, for real... look at that.

We hopped on a ferry that took us over a part of the lake and then continued on to Copacabana, a small town with a sunset to die for.

The view from our ferry.

The next morning we headed with Grace, our tour guide, to Isla del Sol. This is said to be the birth place of the Inca culture, where the civilization began before heading toward Cusco, the belly button of the earth.

No big deal, just a cow chillin' on the beach.

Gettin' some hydration going.

The island is picturesque, surrounded and lined with terraced hills, remnants of ancient agriculture systems that are still used today. If you didn't know better, you'd guess you were on a deserted island somewhere at sea. But, if you look hard, you can see the Bolivian mountains far in the distance.

Almost too beautiful to stand, right?

Laura and I wanted to say we swam like some of the boys, but it was so cold.

We started our hike over the island, a task both my legs and lungs were not prepared for. The views were indescribable, and I wish I would have taken time to enjoy them more, but I was too busy hating everything (especially the hills) to care about beauty.

Our view from the ancient labyrinth where we ate lunch.

Sacred table (where later someone was selling handicrafts.... so...)

Ryan and Laura were both kind enough to plod along with me on our traverse over the island. We ended up missing our boat back to the mainland, but thankfully we weren't the only ones. The other stragglers and we were able to convince one of the locals to take us back for a small fee.

Just the first in a seemingly endless series of hills.

Laura and I conquering the island and catching up with Ryan.

Although the day was a little stressful and a lot tiring, Isla del Sol and Copacabana are places I won't be able to forget for a long time. We made it back to shore in the knick of time to catch our bus and head to Peru.

Noah and his friends went ahead of us to get our things. Strong guys.

My City of Ruins

The closest some people come to Nebraska is Springsteen... and that's not very close at all.

Our second day in Bolivia, we met Grace. Grace was our tour guide the remainder of our stay in Bolivia. What can I say about Grace? She was such a kind and courteous guide, and she really went out of her way to make sure we were taken care of. Bug, I also kind of get the feeling that Grace stretched the truth of some of the facts she told us, maybe even erring on the side of compulsive liar. That being said, I enjoyed our time in Bolivia very much. 

We hopped in the van with Grace and went to the Tiwanaku ruins. Apparently, the culture associated with these ruins dates back to before Inca times. In fact, the earliest date is thought to be 1500 BC. These were the first ruins we saw on the trip, but the certainly weren't the last. The ruins at Tiwanaku were still being excavated; however, they were really interesting. So many of the things we give credit to Ancient Greece and Egypt for creating were happening in South America, too. Not only were they happening in South America, but potentially years before.

The group channeling ancient times.

Carved faces lining the walls of a sacred building.

I should have paid better attention so I could write good captions...

The construction of buildings, aqueducts, irrigation systems... and the way all of these things intermingled with the chemistry of the land and the layout of the heavens. It was all pretty interesting and incredible.

Really... what's the point of taking a tour if you don't pay attention. Idiot.

OH! This is the Puerta del Sol, the Gateway of the Sun.

This is Laura and I being adorbs in the Gateway of the Sun!

On our way out of the ruins, we stopped by the nearby Puma Punku ruins. Ryan has been talking about these rocks since the day I met him. Where most people see a heap of crumbled stone, Ryan saw a candy store, and he was eighth years old. In his defense, these crumbled rocks were pretty cool. It's hard to imagine how these ancient people cut these massive stones so precisely, or how they managed to move them such great distances without any pack animals or modern equipment.

After our tour, we grabbed a quick lunch in the nearby town, and I had my first taste of llama. It was, I must admit, much more delicious than I wanted it to be. Poor llama.

Llama filet.... poor little guy.

Poor, poor, delicious, little guy.

Keeping The Peace

When you're on the other side of the world, you might notice that the seasons have deceived you. That's why as my Nebraskan counterparts found themselves sweating in the thick, July humidity, I could be found somewhere in Santiago shivering as the winter hollow takes over. however, as in the States, with winter comes winter vacation, and here I am, once again roaming around South America.

After spending our first few days of break relaxing in Santiago, Laura, Noah, Ryan and I headed to La Paz, Bolivia. We were accompanied by two of Noah's friends from high school who were visiting.

I caught a glimpse of Lake Titicaca as the plane descended toward La Paz. If I though the altitude in Ecuador had been bad, I had no idea what was awaiting me in La Paz. At an elevation of about 4,000 meters, La Paz will start by leaving you a little light-headed, but altitude sickness varies depending on the person after that.

Church in the main square.

Incan gods depicted on the side of a museum.

Streets lined with vendors.

We dropped our bags off at our hostel (also a brewery) and decided to walk around the centro. Like many cities on the western coast of South America, La Paz is located in a valley surrounded by mountains and hills. That means our walk through the city consisted of a lot of slanted streets... beautiful, but a round sell when you just had your supply of oxygen shockingly reduced. I wish we would have had more than just one afternoon in La Paz, because I'm sure we missed out on things. We were there just long enough to check out a few churches, visit a bunch of shops, and eat some delicious Bolivian food.

Enjoying our complementary drinks at the hostel.

Unfortunately, that evening during dinner, my slight light-headed feeling turned into a pretty legit headache. When we finished dinner and someone proposed walking up the lookout to see the city at night, I decided to head back to the hostel and get some rest. By the next day I was feeling ready to take on Bolivia.

The view I missed as a wallowed in my bed at the hostel.

No one understands me when I say: Uruguay

For real. I always feel like I'm saying it the way you're supposed to it say in Spanish, but no one ever knows what I'm talking about. Story of my life here. 

I present to you, my final blog post about my adventures traveling during the South American summer. And heck, It’s only several months late. Oops. 

After Rio, the Extremely Gringo Travel Gang headed back to Santiago. Soph and Dan were headed for the good old U.S. of A. Ryan’s parents were visiting Santiago. And I… well, I was sleeping copious amounts. We’re talking a LOT of sleep. However, after about a week, Dan and Sophie were gone, Ryan had said goodbye to his parents, and we realized that there was traveling still to be had.

We set out on our adventure of Uruguay. Said to be a “hidden gem” of South America, Uruguay is nestled between Brazil and Argentina on the Atlantic Coast. We flew into Montevideo and spent our first few hours there trying to figure out how to work ATMs and eating at our first parilla. This blog post could have probably been entitled “The trip that never happened” or “Ryan and Sarah eat and drink their way across Uruguay.” The first title would be due to the fact that while there are many pictures of our trip to Uruguay, we’re not in any of them. The second is pretty self explanatory.

The next morning we hopped on a bus to Colonia del Sacramento, a quiet old town on Rio de la Plata, just across the way from Buenos Aires. (Mind you, Rio de la Plata is pretty ginormous.) The town was pretty touristy, but man was it beautiful. We strolled along the cobbled roads, walked all the way down the riverfront path to the other part of town, and ate and drank. 

Colonia del Sacramento dock.

Pretty picturesque, eh?

Rio de la Plata near sunset.

Looking for a parilla to eat dinner.

We only had about 24 hours in Colonia before hopping back on a bus (after sleeping in and almost missing it) toward Paloma. Now, I know that 24 hours probably doesn’t seem like enough time, but there just wasn’t THAT much to see in Colonia. So to Paloma we went. You see, there wasn’t that much to see in Paloma, either, but that was kind of the beauty of the whole trip. We feel asleep when we wanted; we woke up when we wanted; we took siestas whenever we wanted; we lounged on the beach when we wanted; and we ate and we drank when we wanted. Paloma is a tiny beach town on the Atlantic Coast of Uruguay. It’s truly one of the quietest places I’ve ever been. It was the type of town where families from Uruguay probably go for vacation. It’s also the only place where a picture was taken that I’m actually in. The only proof I’ll ever have of my Uruguay adventure.

I told you I went to Uruguay.

After two days in Paloma we headed back to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Montevideo is a cool city. It’s one of those cities where there aren’t a whole lot of huge impressive sites, but there are thousands of interesting ones. Laura and Elaine happened to be in Montevideo the day that we arrived, and after trying to contact them, we ran into them on accident walking along the Rio de la Plata boardwalk. We spent the evening eating churros and drinking mate (a South American tea) before the two girls caught their bus to Brazil. The rest of our time in Montevideo was spent doing what Ryan and I do best. Eating all the food and drinking all the drinks. We visited every parilla we could find and were introduced to a Montevideo favorite, “Medio y Medio.” It’s basically a bottle of half white wine and half champagne, and it’s wonderful. We also visited the Montevideo port and the first FIFA World Cup Stadium and all those things you’re supposed to do when you’re a tourist, but I think it’s pretty important that you keep in mind all the parillas, too. 

Montevideo plaza thing.

Montevideo cool building thing.

Montevideo beautiful sunset thing.

First FIFA World Cup stadium.

The fabled Medio y Medio. So good.

Montevideo port market with so many parillas.

MORE MEDIO Y MEDIO!

All the grilled foods. :-)

Although visiting Uruguay wasn’t the shiniest most exciting part of my South American adventure, it was the perfect way to end it. It offered a real retreat from the craziness of the previous eight months and helped prepare me for what was about to come.

When we returned to Santiago, we had about a week’s worth of calm before the storm that is our lives teaching in Chile.