Day 16- Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

At 5am alarms started going off. We all groaned and slowly within the next 15 minutes everyone who had been sleeping in the room rolled out of their salt beds and tried to get ready in the darkness. We all had desayuno on the salt tables, and then we helped Andrés load up the jeeps. We still got a late start, but that seems to be the Bolivian way though; schedules are more like guidelines. After riding/sleeping in the jeep for an hour, we took a break at a tiny town on the Salar called San Juan. Only 1,000 people live there, and it has several volcanic rock tombs and burial chullpas. John, Emma, and Jo went around to explore and found a group of llamas, and they got pictures of this adorable baby one. I was still half asleep at this point, and I was shocked that the Brazilian girls who were up partying all night were so lively and energetic at that point. I started talking with one girl who I learned had studied abroad in Indiana for a year- wow, small world! We then departed there out onto the desert-like land known as the Salar de Chiguana, which continued endlessly into the horizon .

After some considerably bumpy and jostling hours in the jeep, we passed through more amazing landscape until we arrived at an isolated area full of rocks that had a perfect overlook towards a giant volcano looming in the background. It is called the Volcan Ollagüe, and it is straddles the Bolivian-Chilean border. It is still active, and when we were there, it was emitting smoke. It was an amazing sight, if not somewhat foreboding!

Our caravan of jeeps continued on until we reached our next amazing destination- Laguna Hedionda. The laguna was very colorful and had the surrounding mountains and volcanoes as its backdrop. The still waters of the lake were full of flamingos, and they were very photogenic. As I got closer to the water though, I noticed its bad rotting egg smell. It's due to the algae and sulfur in the lake. I didn't realize until later though that the word hedionda actually translates to mean fetid or stinking, haha. Despite that though, it was a beautiful view. Back at the jeep, Andrés had prepared lunch for us. We sat on some stone walls and enjoyed it. Then us girls noticed there were no bathrooms around. However, visitors had developed their own makeshift ones behind this stone wall. We walked over to it, but were too disgusted to bother. I guess that simply adds to the smelly name of the Laguna?

After that, the real driving began. We went very fast through rough, rocky, bouncy terrain. I was amazed at how the drivers even knew where we were going as there are no trails or markings anywhere. All of us in the jeep had taken turns playing our iPod songs, and it was then my turn. Whenever I listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers music now, I will always think of that jerky drive through the Salar! We passed through more of the unique, harsh landscape and saw some of the local animals known as vicuñas. We also passed the locally famous "Seven Colored Mountain" which makes the border between Bolivia and Argentina. Finally, we reached our next destination, and it was a relief to get out and stretch.

This stop is another popular site for most Salar tour groups, and it's called El Arbol de Piedra, or the stone tree. Its name explains itself if you check out the rock's form. All the rocks surrounding it were also very unique and odd shapes. They were carved into these shapes slowly over time by the strong, whipping winds in the area. It felt a bit surreal to be out there in the middle of the Siloli desert. It was so isolated and beautiful; the strong winds were ripping around and throwing sand everywhere. We were also at the highest altitude we had yet experienced on the trip, so John decided to go for a run to test out his lung capacity. He ran for about 20 seconds and was out of breath. After taking pictures of the Arbol, some of our group decided to climb the surrounding rock formations. Being high up on the rock ledges made for some great viewpoints.

Video panorama John took from the top of a rock by Arbol de Piedra

After that we headed towards the entry into a National Park sanctioned off in the Salar known as Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. We had to show our visas to the officers and pay a fee. On this portion of the drive our jeep was behind the others and the trail of dust and sand was huge, we could barely see! We also looked out the windows and saw "sand tornadoes" a few times! They were actually a decent size. We stopped and changed the tires several times during the day, but this stretch of the Salar required the most. Luckily today I was sitting in the middle row seats of the car, because yesterday I was in the very cramped back! We then arrived at yet another amazing destination called Laguna Colorada. The water was a myriad of colors, and some of it was a dark reddish tint. We found out this color is caused by a high amount of borax in the water. These sediments attach to the algae, and this is what attracts all the flamingoes. There were tons of flamencos feeding on the laguna, which is a salt lake, and with a volcano in the background it made for one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in my entire life. I found out it's a candidate to be the next of the 7 wonders of the natural world. With the strong winds and high altitudes, it literally took my breath away! (CLICK to see a video I took). After this visit we were done with our tour for the day, and began the long drive to our hostel.

We arrived at a gathering of several small buildings, and after getting out of the car to check with people, Andrés told us it was full. We were mad and confused because when we booked our tour we paid for our hostels already, and so assumed we had a reserved room. That is not the case. These Bolivian tour companies apparently just like to wing it, and so since the first place was full we drove to a second. Not good news there either. We heard rumors from the other group about having to camp out for the night, and us girls were getting a tad worried. Finally, Andrés figured something out. He said there were 4 open beds in a room at the one building, and 3 in the other. He said we would split boys and girls. We didn't like this idea and yelled at him, and so he ended up putting the 3 Brazilians in one place and John, Emma, Jo and I at another. I liked the idea of having a guy in the room since we were in a strange place, and they probably did too. From the outside, this "hostel" looked a little rough around the edges. It was made out of caked mud bricks, and the roof was tin and had rocks stacked on top of it. Not what I was expecting, but we were in the middle of nowhere after all!

After unpacking, Andrés said he would bring us tea in 20 minutes and that dinner would be at 6:30. That time passed- no tea, no Andrés. An hour later we weren't sure where he was, where the Brazilian guys were, when we'd get dinner, etc. Very disorganized. We shrugged it off with the catchphrase of the trip, "it's Bolivia", and then hung out and wrote in our journals. I checked out our little room and I noticed my bed had a mysterious stain on the blanket, and also the pillow had several strands of hair on it. This led me to believe it wasn't washed since the last person who used it. I took the case off the pillow, and thanked God I packed a sleeping bag so I could sleep on top of the sketchy blanket. We still couldn't find our guide, and finally we cornered him. He forgot about tea, and said "dinner will now be at 7:30... or 8". Which one? Let's guess 8. We finally reunited with the Brazilians and sat down at a little table and waited for dinner. At around 8:30, the food was served. It was really gross, but our hunger overrode that. It was a good time though, everyone chatting. I have always had a strong love obsession with England and British culture for some reason, so talking to Emma and Jo was a real treat for me. I learned that Emma had met Ron from Harry Potter, and then Jo and I discussed the differences between Universities in England/US and I tried to explain sororities to her- (They are a weird thing if you really think about it).

John then left with the guys for a while, so us ladies had some girl talk. We talked about books and I was excited to find fellow Twilight fans- haha. We then went outside and realized that the sky was so clear in this unpolluted highland environment that we could see thousands of stars, and even the milky way! It was amazing! The night wound down with John and I joining all the Brazilian students in this room to play a card game that reminds me of the American game "Mafia". We learned some more Portuguese words, and it was a really fun time. I went to bed a little scared of the pillow hair, but it was all okay. I was the furthest south I have ever been in my life, and we were near the Argentinian border. This was all so awesome, I couldn't really complain!

Day 15- Uyuni & El Salar, Bolivia

The early morning was spent on the incredibly bumpy "luxury" bus, and I kept waking up. On some dirt road that was more or less invented since it had no sort of marking or pavement, the bus broke down for about 2 hours. Finally, after the rough journey we arrived to the small isolated town of Uyuni. It was very hot since it is located in the middle of the world's largest salt flats. The salt flats, known as the Salar de Uyuni, look more or less like a desert. The city had a really deserted and lonely feel since it was out in the middle of nowhere- literally. A girl met us at our bus stop, and we followed her with our bags around the town to a tiny office. The whole space was filled with luggage and the title of the building, Toñito Tours, was a completely different company name than the one we arranged our tour with. That was where the sketchy business practices began! We had some time before our tour, so John and I walked around town. We stopped and bought bus tickets for after our tour and got some food. Finally, when it was 11am, our designated departure time, we went back to the building. There were only 2 workers, and mass confusion. People were waiting outside and sitting on the street curbs trying to find shade. We sat and waited on the dirt road for about 45 minutes, since they were running late. The sign for the company also said we would have an English speaking guide- we later figured out this was just an advertisement white lie.

Finally, we learned which jeep we were assigned to for the trip. We were paired with 2 British girls and 3 Brazilian guys. The man who sold us our tour in La Paz said there would be no more than 6 people in our jeep tops, but there were actually 8. Another white lie maybe? Then, randomly, this girl started yelling at us saying since there were so many people in our jeep that some of us couldn't bring our luggage, and to just pack a small bag for 3 days. Why would they not inform us of this ahead of time? I argued with the woman and refused because they had already misled us enough, and I didn't trust leaving my backpack in the tiny office. Nobody else wanted to leave them either, so the driver stacked all our bags in a giant heap roped to the roof of the jeep. He made the guys help him do this, which made me wonder what he would have done if his passengers weren't strong guys. All the bags fit, so who knows why they were so mad? Basically, the scene on this tiny street was one of mass confusion and disorganization.

Finally, we crammed into the crowded jeep, introduced ourselves to each other, and headed out of Uyuni onto the "roadway" (there are no roads, haha). Our guide/driver Andrés was very quiet, and spoke about 10 words of English. He wasn't much of a guide since he was so silent. Despite this the drive out was great, and almost surreal. It was so amazing that it made all the trouble worth it! The salt flats were intensely bright to look at, and they stretched on and on into the distance. The whole place is so unique and unlike any other environment I have ever seen. Many people say it has an "eerie" feel to it, and I'd definitely agree. It is considered a very harsh and diverse landscape, and is often aptly described as "blindingly white". Some parts had collected water, and you could see the reflection of the sky onto the ground. According to my guidebook, the Salar "was formed as a result of transformations between prehistoric salt lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine very rich in lithium. It contains 70% of the world's lithium reserves which have yet to be extracted. The large area, clear skies and surface flatness make the flats an ideal location for observation satellites."

Video panorama of the Salar

Once we were in the main part of the salt flats, we all got out for photos. Because it is so flat and continues out into the horizon, it is easy to take fun pictures with confusing depth perception. All of us passenger kids had fun coming up with different scenarios, and got some great photos. Kneeling in the salty mush felt a bit like sand, and it bleached my jeans! The Salar was such an awesome sight though, almost indescribable. We then got back in the car and drove over to a little building made entirely out of salt. There was a salt llama sculpture, and being curious, I decided to lick it. It was gross!! Not sure why I did it. Oh well, "it's all about the story".

The very bouncy and bumpy ride continued on for a while to our next stop, which was called Isla de Los Pescadores. Guidebooks say that it's actually called Isla Incahuasi though. Not sure which one is more correct. It basically looked like an island of rocks and cacti just hanging out in the middle of the Salar. There were gigantic cacti everywhere on the rock formation. Some of them were over 20 feet tall and around 200 years old! While our guide was setting up our food for lunch we all went up on a trail to climb the rocks and get a view of the flats as well as the volcanoes off in the distance. It was crazy hot, and I learned the hard way that the sunscreen I applied had expired! Ouch. Once we came back down from the rocks we took some more fun photos with our British jeep-mates, two girls in their 20's named Emma and Jo from London. They were a lot of fun to be around and had been in S. America for several months already. They were on a 6 month trip and had started in Mexico and traveled their way down through central America and spent time in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru already. After later conversing with an Argentinian hippy guitar player and seeing a wild ostrich we went back to the jeep for lunch.

After a tasty meal that we ate sitting on tables made from salt (with the Tunupa Volcano in the background!) we packed up and continued on. During the ride we chatted with the 3 Brazilian boys and found out that 2 of them were friends from Rio de Janeiro (Marc & Léo), and the third guy (Yuri) was also from Rio. Since Yuri didn't fit in his group's jeep he was separated and put in ours, but he seemed to make friends with everyone fast. The guys were all fluent in about 4 languages too, making us Americans look bad!

We drove for a long time, passing interesting landscape features and seeing volcanoes and unique salt flat animals. That evening we arrived at our hotel for the night. It was in a very tiny town called Aguaquisa. From the outside, it looked really sketchy. Us girls were all getting worried and talking about finding somewhere else to stay- though being that we were in the middle of nowhere there weren't many other options. We went inside to check it out, and luckily it wasn't as bad as it seemed. It was a "salt hotel", and literally everything was made out of salt: salt tables, chairs, beds, walls. It was actually really neat! Our room had 7 beds in it, so we were glad we all knew and trusted one another. Emma told me the guy they booked the tour from said they'd get private rooms and vegetarian food options- both untrue. The company's reliability just keeps getting better! There were about 30 people total in this little hotel, and there was a common room everyone hung out in. We had dinner served to us on salt dishes (just kidding) and chatted a lot with our jeep-mates. After discussing that you could take a tequila shot there and simply lick the wall to offset the taste, we got on the topic of how drinking games are totally different in all of our 3 countries represented. So, the Brazilian guys said they'd teach us some Brazilian drinking games that night. I also made a little video tour of the hotel, CLICK to see it.

After dinner, I discovered there was actually a shower in the building! If you wanted hot water you had to pay for it, so I forked over the cash and went into the shower room. It had a large open window next to it with no shades, so I was scared people outside would see me, which I think they maybe did- awkward. Also the water was freezing cold. I told them, but I didn't get my refund. After hanging out some more our group tried to hunt down our guide Andrés because he had disappeared, and we had no idea what our schedule was. We never got any itinerary or brochure from them of course. Finally we found him and he said "oh yeah, well you have to be packed and ready to leave by 5am." Wow, good thing we took the initiative to find him; how else would we have known that? We then watched the sunset over the Salar, and the strong winds kicked in over the isolated town.

The rest of the night was a blast! Some of the Brazilian guys bought some drinks at a little store in the valley and since there were 2 more jeeps of the Brazilian students at our hotel, it made for a fun night. Everyone sat at a long table and though I just watched at first, John learned how to play a game called 21 which required him to learn to count to 21 in Portuguese. The Brazilian girls thought his attempts were cute, and I could tell they were eying him! (haha) We also learned a new game called "pa-pi-po". Overall, it was a very fun time, and we plan to bring these games back to the US. Maybe they'll really catch on?

Day 14- Copacabana - La Paz, Bolivia

At 7am we left our hostel; the owner and his wife said goodbye to us and the woman gave me this cute mini Peruvian style hat that said "Inka's Rest" on it. I thought it was a cute gesture. We headed to the bus station and boarded for our journey out of Peru. By some weird chance, the same group of Canadian students we chatted with on our bus in Cuzco were sitting in front of us! We talked to them and found out they were robbed in a restaurant in Puno and lost their wallets, cameras, passports, etc. A man placed his coat on their chair which was behind him, and when he got up to leave he picked up his coat and the bags too. They looked for him but no luck, he had left several minutes before they noticed.That would be so so awful! It reminded me to be extra vigilant about my belongings- as if I wasn't paranoid enough already!

Our bus was headed towards La Paz, the Bolivian capital. After a while we got off the buses at the Peruvian-Bolivian border and walked towards a long line that led to a building where you get your exit visa and passport stamp. Nothing was labeled so it was just a guess, but luckily we were right. Then, we walked under this little arch that symbolized we had left Peru and were now in Bolivia. We walked up a hill and basically just followed the crowds to figure out where to get our entry visas. We got in another line where you had to stand on concrete next to a 3 foot ditch. Due to my strong coordination skills I somehow slipped and my foot fell into the ditch. I twisted my ankle and it really hurt. It was later swollen and purple. Only me... haha. Then we got into another tiny building where our passports were stamped and our visas and yellow fever vaccination cards were checked. We left the building, hunted around for our bus for a bit, and then finally after the disorganized struggle known as "border crossing" we were ready to conquer Bolivia! If you don't know, Bolivia is considered the most isolated country in South America, and also its highest. The city of La Paz is the highest capital city in the world (12,000 feet above sea level). It is also the poorest and least developed country in South America, partially because it is landlocked due to some bad luck in wars over the years.

After an hour or so we arrived at the city of Copacabana. A random man got on the bus and said we had to buy "city entrance tickets" for 2 bolivianos. Everyone bought one. Then we got off the bus and I realized it was a scam because no one was checking for the tickets- they were totally unnecessary! We were then told we had an hour for lunch. The touristy city of Copacabana is located on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We walked down the road to the overlook of the lake- it was a pretty sight as the area is very scenic and the lake was specked with various colorful boats, but once we began walking around, we realized there was really nothing to do. It is always billed as a popular tourist destination and place to go, but beyond the fact that you can take a boat from there to the Isla del Sol, we're not sure why. It was extremely touristy, filled with street vendors and overpriced restaurants. The beach area was very littered and the hotels all seemed a bit rundown. We decided to go up towards the 16th century Catedral de Copacabana though, and we saw many people kneeling and intensely praying before a shrine to Mary. As we walked around we noticed many giant flower arrangements and various flower necklaces were being sold everywhere. Even the cars were decked out with flowers! Everyone around was buying loads of them, and I didn't know why. I later looked it up and realized it was because that day was the feast of our Lady of Copacabana, and since Bolivia is strongly Catholic, everyone was preparing to buy flowers in Mary's honor. It definitely made our walk very colorful!

We then got to a street filled with more vendors. Since I lost my sunglasses somewhere in Puno, I decided to buy cheap knock off shades. John got some aviators, and then I found a jewelry stand where I bought myself a cheap yet unique ring from a 10 year old boy. It was then time to walk back to our bus. We stood by it thinking we were going to get back on it, and then the workers started throwing our big backpacks out into the street. We found ours and assumed this meant we were changing buses. We tried to ask where the next bus we were supposed to get on was located. There was a lot of confusion, no clear instructions, and nobody really knew what to do or where to go. Frustrating! I did not want to be stranded in this town so I directly confronted the worker and he finally gave me a straight answer. We were completely changing bus companies apparently (way to tell us). Our new bus was at the top of a steep street, so we rapidly walked up there hoping to get on before the bus left us. Since the altitude there is so high, I was really struggling. Carrying the big backpack up a steep hill at high altitudes caused me to honestly have moments where I couldn't breathe. Sitting down on the next bus was a huge relief, as it was a very irritating ordeal trying to figure out what in the world was going on! (This was my first taste of the business practices of Bolivian bus companies, and if you think this is bad, it only gets worse in days to come).

Once we left, we drove through narrow mountainous roads hovering near the edge of cliffs until we got to another part of the lake. There was no bridge in sight. The bus stopped and they made us all get off and said something in Spanish about buying a ferry ticket and riding it across. John, the Canadians and I were a bit lost and just followed people who looked like they knew what to do. Once we figured it out we got on the little crowded ferry boat and rode to the other side of the river. We then waited for about 30 minutes for the bus to be ferried across too! Finally, we began the last leg of the journey towards La Paz. This final part was very bumpy, windy, uncomfortably close to cliffs, and thus slightly nerve-wracking. Somehow, we finally arrived. We were dropped off at the large bus terminal, and stepped out into the narrow and hilly streets.

Once there, we needed to find our company for the bus we had lined up to take us to Uyuni that night. It was called Todo Turismo, and we couldn't find it on our map. After some unsuccessful wandering I ended up asking la policia for help. We were directed to their office, which thankfully was nearby. The bus company was very professional and organized, and they offered to store our bags until our departure that night. We then began to walk around the city.

La Paz is hard to describe, but basically it is a bustling, busy city with tall buildings scattered around a very steep and hilly landscape. The sidewalks are cobblestone, narrow, and very packed. Vendors and loud honking cars are everywhere. It is very noisy and full of commotion, definitely a very urban setting. There are also several open-air markets in the plazas and squares in front of churches. Also, as there are no crosswalks, crossing streets is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. It is like playing the game Frogger, and you are the frog. It is also interesting to see the contrasts. One minute you see a businesswoman in a suit chatting away on her phone while hopping into a cab, and you turn around and see an old woman in a colorful woven skirt knitting on the street corner where little barefoot children are playing. At one point during our walk I felt a tugging on my backpack and I turned to see an old lady trying to unzip it. Luckily my backpack was locked shut!

After we explored the area around the cathedral we came across a building offering tours of the Salt Flats. We went in and spoke with a nice English speaking man about our options. He offered a good price and an all inclusive trip, so we booked our 3 day tour! He told us we would have a guide who spoke basic English, and stay in a decently nice hotel for each night. We then had to get online there and cancel a hostel we had previously booked due to the schedule change. We also had to find a hostel in the city of Oruro, which was hard to do since no hostels there had websites and we didn't know when we'd get Internet access again. We then hunted around the city for an ATM because we had to change our remaining soles and dollars into the Bolivian currency, bolivianos. After a dinner on the go, we went back to the bus company's building.

At around 11pm that night, we boarded our "luxury bus" towards Uyuni. The bus was very nice indeed. It had TVs, its own introduction video which comically showed the bus in various settings with exciting music in the background, reclining seats, blankets and pillows, and free dinner and snacks. I was very happy about the comfort of the bus, yet it was a bit ironic because despite the fact the bus was amazing, the ride to Uyuni was extremely bumpy and crazy. We drove on non-existent roads, little stony paths, and did some off-roading as well. They changed the tires 2 times over the course of the night, and after a while I got used to the constant bouncing and hitting my head on the window.

Day 13- Uros Islands & Taquile Island, Peru

At 6:45am a cab took John and I from our hostel down to the docks on the lake. We got on a boat with about 20 other passengers from all over the world, and with our island-hopping tour group (Edgar Adventures) we booked yesterday, set out to explore the islands of Lake Titicaca! Winds blowing, we made it about 200 feet and then... the boat died. We waited for them to try to fix it, but ended up jumping onto another boat. Our guide gave us a commentary on what we were seeing, and we were excited to find we weren't the only Americans on the boat. Half an hour later, we arrived at our first destination: Las Islas Uros, also known as the Floating Islands. It was very hot outside, and I had lost my sunglasses, but I didn't care because this place was amazing!

These islands are very unique because they are man-made out of reeds stacked together to float on the water which are tied to the floor of the lake. The people who live on these islands are from a long line of descendants who have been living in the same manner for centuries. Their ancestors built these reed islands out in the middle of the lake to isolate themselves from the violent Incas in Puno. The current residents speak the native Aymara language, as well as Spanish and even a little English (so they can barter with us tourists!). They make a living from fishing and tourism, and their homes are very uniquely crafted and decorated. These locally famous islands are made by combining layers of the totora reeds (which you can also eat) and they are constantly replenished on the top since the layers on the bottom rot.

As we walked around on the "island" we were greeted by a woman named Delia who took us on a brief tour and showed us inside her home. Other residents were pairing off with other tourists, doing the same. Delia introduced John and I to her family and pointed out different things. The specific island we were on had about 10 homes, and there are many other islands scattered all around. It was very kind of her to show us around, and so obviously we felt obliged to buy some of her handicrafts that she had set out on a blanket. I ended up buying a necklace for myself, a bracelet for Jenna, and a little blue pot for Christina. It might have been for show, but the locals all had traditional clothing styles and lived without technology inside reed homes. They had traditional reed boats too. Some people go on rides in them but I was happy to just take a picture! As we continued walking around the small island, we learned about the history of the people, how they built the islands, etc. and it was all very fascinating. The ground is somewhat bouncy or spongy feeling, and it is a very odd sensation. When you get near the edges you can see how it just cuts off into the water, and certain parts where the reeds are rotting you kind of sink into it a little.

A video John took from atop a small lookout panning the island:

The islands were very unique and definitely interesting, and although the one we visited is used to seeing tourists, apparently there are many more isolated islands where the people live in a very traditional fashion and prefer to not be photographed. Once everyone was back on the boat we began the 2.5 hour long ride to our next stop, the island of Taquile. During this time we started chatting with the other Americans on the boat. A very friendly San Francisco couple introduced themselves as Valerie and Jeremy, and we swapped our traveling stories. We ended up all moving to sit on the back of the boat so we could be outside and could enjoy the breeze and the sights. We were later joined by a hilarious guy named Jake who was from Ohio (small world) and has been living in Lima working as a teacher. He was on his summer break and was doing some traveling in the country. We all just hung out back there and had some really good conversations until we arrived to Taquile.

Once we arrived, we prepared ourselves to climb a steep trail leading up the side of the hill. It consisted of over 500 steps going from the dock to the high center of the hilly island. It wouldn't have been difficult except for the fact that we were at a very high altitude, and as usual I struggled. The views as we all walked were stunning though. You could see a panorama of the lake and mountains of the Cordillera Real in Bolivia in the distance. As we walked we were stopped by a couple different sets of kids trying to sell us crafts or get us to take their photo for some soles. They were all super adorable of course. According to my guide book, "the island is a tiny 7 km place with a Quechua speaking population. They are a self governing body within Peru, and maintain a strong sense of group identity. The rarely marry non-Taquile people and live lives unaffected by the modernity of the mainland." They have limited access to electricity, and have a very unique culture. John described the island as "a treat because the people continue to live largely without influence from the modern world."

Once we reached the main square we explored a little and John and Jake banned together to exchange "photo-sniping" aka stalker photo techniques. With their powers combined they got some pretty great photos of the locals in their traditional clothing. Our group then went up some more steps to have lunch on an outdoor patio overlooking the lake. It was very tasty, and during this meal I had my first try of mate de coca, or coca tea. It's made out of the popular coca leaves, which Peruvians chew to aid altitude sickness. It is illegal in the US, Chile and Bolivia because it is used to make, of course, cocaina! After we were finished, the owner of the restaurant and our guide explained to us the unique customs and practices of courtship and marriage that the islanders do. Here is what we learned:

Most of the unique handicrafts on the island are made according to a system of deeply ingrained social customs. The men wear tightly woven woolen hats (looking like a floppy Santa hat) that they take great pride in knitting themselves. If a man's hat is red it means he is married, red and white means he is single. When a man is interested in a girl, he will give her the woven hat for a night. To judge if he is a hard worker and proficient knitter, thus good enough to be her husband, a girl will pour water into the hat to see if it holds. If she likes it, she likes him, and she will then begin making him a thick, colorful waistband. These decorative belts are given to the men once they marry, and sometimes girls weave the hair from their head into the belts too. We also learned that if a guy is interested in a girl, he will get out a mirror and aim the reflection from the sun on the mirror at her face. If she is interested, she can come over to talk. If not, the girls have shawls with decorative pom-poms on the end, and they can use that to hit the guy if they don't care for them (like my outfit). Good stuff!! We got to try on some of the local ware, and also learned it is normal to carry around a little pouch full of coca leaves every day.

On the trek back down the island, we were stopped by many more children selling crafts. I ended up buying a llama ornament from this little boy, just because he was so cute. We also stopped at the famous stone arch which overlooks the lake and is very scenic. Some kids were there dressed up in local clothes making bank on tourists photographing them. John and Jake got photos of these kids, but thanks to their skills at photographing people without them noticing, they got the photos for free. It was funny to watch them bond over being paparazzi. The boat ride back was another long 2.5 hours, and the five of us Americans chatted some more.

It began to rain, and once we arrived back to Puno we all went separate ways but planned to meet for dinner in town. Later that night John and I met up with Jake, Valerie and Jeremy in front of the Cathedral and had some dinner and drinks at a local restaurant. It was a fun time, and at one point it was very hilarious because this Australian couple at the table by us ordered cuy, and once they got it they started screaming and freaking out about how gross it was. They didn't speak Spanish so the waiter was confused, thinking he cooked it wrong. Jake is basically fluent, so he sorted it out, and then him and John somehow convinced the couple to let them eat the rest of the guinea pig so it didn't go to waste. Boys being scavengers for guinea pig scraps- wow, just wow. Overall our last night in Peru was very fun, and it was nice to get to make some new friends.

Day 12- Puno & Sillustani, Peru

After a long night of a bumpy bus ride weaving its way through narrow mountain roads, we finally arrived at our destination: the bus stop in Puno. We pulled in at 4am during a bad thunderstorm. There was no shelter so everyone had to stand in the pouring rain waiting to get their bags thrown to them from the bottom of the bus by the one 13 year old kid in charge of the operation. Lightning was striking uncomfortably close, and I was convinced someone was going to die. I ended up running inside while poor John waited in the rain for our backpacks. Once we entered the bus station it was full of men trying to convince us to use their taxi. We were tired and stressed so we went along with the first annoyingly pushy man who confronted us. I told him the name of our hostel, "Inka's Rest", and he said he knew where it was. We started driving into town. In the rain and dark the place looked pretty shady, and I was getting worried. Eventually we realized the driver didn't know where it was, and after repeating the name several times it finally clicked. Luckily John wrote down directions to it before we left the US or who knows what would have happened!

We were dropped off in the narrow street in front of the hostel, rang the doorbell and were greeted by the owner. He told us our room wasn't available until 11am. Great. I asked the man (in Spanish) if I could pay for an extra night if we could stay in a room until then. I said any bed was fine- but he said they were completely full. Ugh! I was so tired and cranky I almost cried. We tried to fall asleep sitting in the check-in room, but it was unsuccessful. Randomly at 5am, I think he took pity on us and told me there was an open room on the 2nd floor. We headed up there and it had 6 empty beds. I'm not sure why he lied to us initially, it was odd. He also started speaking fluent English at that point. Tricky man. Then, we passed out til 10am. It was great.

After our rest, we headed out to the main plaza in Puno. The town was very lively because it was the Feast of the Epiphany (when the 3 kings visited Jesus), or El Dia de Los Reyes. Women dressed in traditional clothing had stands in front of all the cathedrals and in the main square, selling dolls. I later learned that the children buy the dolls and at mass that night they put them on the altar for baby Jesus, then they later give the dolls to charity. We peeked inside the crowded Catedral de Puno, and then went inside a tour company building to look into our Lake Titicaca island hopping options for tomorrow. (If you don't already know, Lake Titicaca is 12,500 ft above sea level, making it one of the highest navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water, it is also the largest lake on the continent.) After a brief pharmacy stop for me, we hailed a cab. The driver was very talkative and friendly, and I had a nice in-depth conversation with him. I actually used Spanish vocab words they teach you in school that you think you will never use. Now I can say I did! Once. He drove us up a hill toward El Arco Deusta. It was just some arch to honor war heroes, but it was a scenic view for sure.

We then continued up towards a lookout on the hilltop known as Cerro Huajsapata. It had a statue of an Incan king and overlooked the town and the famous Lago Titicaca. Its name might sound weird, but in the native language it means "grey puma" since the lake is supposedly shaped like the animal. After we went back down to the central part of town we had lunch at a place Lonely Planet recommended, it was fairly touristy and had a weird church like theme. It was very quiet and the food was just so-so. We ran into a German couple who were apparently loaded because they had sailed to South America and left their yacht docked while they explored the continent for months. Must be nice.

Video panorama of Lake Titicaca as seen from Cerro Huajsapata

At about 2pm we went to a travel agency and bought bus tickets for a day trip to the nearby area where the ruins of Sillustani are. Our guide spoke English, but his accent was so thick that when he repeated what he said in Spanish, I actually understood him better! The ruins were pre-Incan and Incan structures which served as funerary towers. The burial towers are known as chullpas. The people would put the body of the ruler who died inside the stone tower, and then kill his family and all of his servants so that they could be buried with him. The towers have since been looted of the treasures and the bodies, and the stones are crumbling, yet it was still a very interesting place. The site sits on a hilltop overlooking a lake, and is out in the middle of the countryside. With the wind and isolation it had an eerie yet peaceful feel to it. We had the chance to take many great photos, explore, and learn about its history. We also got some nice photos of the lake as seen from the cliffside.

Our bus left Sillustani and on the way back stopped at a local rural homestead. A family lived and farmed there and let us come visit and see how they live. They had various foods sitting out, a population of guinea pigs, llamas, and alpacas, as well as some woven goods for sale. The homes were made out of stones and dried mud or clay. It was very interesting to explore their home and try to imagine what it would be like to live in that isolated area, selling llama wool for a living. They also had the "pig" statues on their rooves, and we learned that they are actually bulls, and they are a symbol for good luck and prosperity. Tons of Peruvian homes have them. Walking back to the bus, several local kids ran up to us begging for tips. They tried to guilt me but since they didn't do anything worth getting money and didn't even live at the homestead we toured, I denied them. They were really pushy though! We then headed on the bus ride back to Puno, enjoying the rural scenery of the isolated lands.

Puno is at a very high altitude, which causes me to get headaches and tire easily. After I took a necessary nap, during which John wandered the town, we reconvened and walked around the surrounding streets. I bought some snacks from street vendors, and then we went on a quest for peanut butter a.k.a. crema de cacahuete. No street stalls or even large markets had it- they don't know what they're missing! Mission failed. We then ate dinner at a local chifa restaurant. The food has an Asian influence and is a mixture of rice, meat and veggies known as chaufa. It was a local place, so was highly affordable. Then we headed back to the hostel to prepare for another early day tomorrow!

Day 11- Puerto Maldonado-Cuzco, Peru

After enjoying our final breakfast at the Corto Maltes lodge, we got our stuff ready to go in our backpacks and said our goodbyes. I was a little sad to say goodbye to Luci, I really did view her as a friend and she was so interesting to talk to, I was sad to think I'll likely never see her again. The canoe motor driver put our things into the boat, and for a minute there was a struggle trying to maintain balance on the boat so it wouldn't tip over! Once we worked it out, we all headed on the 45 minute ride down the Madre de Dios river, out of the jungle, and back towards the small town of Puerto Maldonado. At the dock we were met by a girl working for the tour company, and she helped us put our bags into the van. Before taking us to the airport she said we would get to explore the town a little. We then stopped in the middle of a busy street in the central part of the town. She led us around the open air markets to get a feel for the town. It was definitely a new experience for me. We were the only foreign people in sight as we walked around the open air markets, taking in all the sights and action around us. The dusty streets were full of motor bikes, carts, and vendors. The different stands for things like fresh fruit, meat, fish, clothes and jewelry lined the streets, and continued back underneath many more tents. I saw a wide variety of things being sold- it ranged from pirated Spanish DVDs and colorful clothes to live chickens, bunnies and puppies. (I hope the puppies were being sold as pets, but I doubt the rabbits were!) There were also massive fish just laying on tables with flies swarming them. It was loud, busy, colorful, and a lot for the eyes to take in. Once we had our fill of exploring in the heat, we were taken to the little Puerto Maldonado airport. It was oppressively hot in there, and since it was basically outside, the only cool air was coming from the fans on the ceiling, but it didn't help much. John and I had about 2 hours to kill before our flight, and since the airport was one large room, there wasn't much to do besides read and write postcards.

Once our flight came and left, we were back in Cuzco- and back to comfortable temperatures! At the Cuzco airport we were more or less assaulted by the many people trying to sell tours or trips to Machu Picchu. I wish I could have worn a t-shirt that said "I already went" or something. Would've been nice. We went out to get a cab, and since the last time we took a cab into the city from this airport we were basically jipped, we were resolute in our price negotiations with the cab drivers. We started at 30 soles and after getting rejected by some I talked it down to about half that. It was nice that we knew the tricks they try to pull, since we're basically pros now, haha. We found ourselves back in the Plaza San Francisco, and back in our old hostel, Pirwa Colonial. They let us store our luggage there and we headed out to get lunch at the empanada place John is obsessed with for one last time. We then wandered around the Plaza de Armas some more. I saw the evil little girls again, and tried to avoid them. They scare me a bit. Anyways, we kept strolling around central Cuzco. During this time sales girls ran up to us frequently and we were probably offered about 30 different chances to get a massage or a manicure. It was fairly annoying, but a little funny. I guess they thought John's nails were looking bad. At one point a guy came up to John and asked if he was an American, and upon saying yes, offered him some illegal stuff. We of course denied this offer, and left that area right away. It was a bit humorous though that he assumed American = go for it.

Since we had a lot of time before our night bus, we went back to the hostel and spent time hanging out on the top floor. We played some pool (I lost) and darts (I won!), and then spent some time reading and writing. For dinner we found a place earlier that offered a 5 course meal for only 15 soles (2.50$), so we returned there. I was amazed at how much food we got, and at such a great price! I will miss that about Peru for sure. After that we got our backpacks and cabbed it to the bus station. We waited for a little, and then got on our two story bus. Our assigned seats were luckily "bus-cama" seats (the label for a bus seat that reclines back into a 'bed' or a lounge chair sort of thing), and we were in front of a group of Canadians about my age. We started chatting with them about their travel experiences, and it was fun to swap stories. Before the bus left the station though, a woman decided to have a hissy fit. We think that in Peru, the wealthier people normally sit on the bottom floor because the seats are a tiny bit more spacious. On this bus though, they were all the same. The woman didn't realize this, and so thought the company was degrading her by making her sit on the top floor, and in a small seat. She started screaming and yelling in Spanish, and I caught that she said "you have cheated me!!"/"Me ha engañado!!" and she also said something derogatory towards Argentinians? Not sure why. She was so mad that she screamed "Stop this bus!!!!/Pare este autobús!!!" and would not allow the bus to leave until her little problem was fixed. Basically the workers convinced her all the seats were the same, they were not cheating her, etc. yet she was still extremely angry, throwing a little temper tantrum for all of us. I can't believe what a snobby and inconsiderate person she was, thinking that the whole bus was happy to stop and wait for her to throw a fit before we were finally allowed to leave. It was actually really funny though. The Canadians got a big kick out of it and so did I. The rest of the night was spent attempting to fall asleep on a cold and uncomfortable bus ride through the narrow mountain roads on the way to Puno.