And then there were two...

Today is Friday and our last full day in Lima. Cari and I added a few extra days to the end of the trip and we´ve spent them just walking around and hanging. Cari hasn´t been feeling too well - she seems to have gotten the cold-like symptoms that Chris and I had - so we´ve kind of taken it easy. Which is nice since we´ve been on the go since the day we arrived.

Tuesday was the last stop on our tour before heading back on Wednesday to spend the night in Lima. We were in Puno which is in the southern part of Peru near the border with Bolivia. Actually, the border runs through the middle of Lake Titicaca where we took a boat ride to see the Uros people who live on islands made from reeds that grow in the lake. The all speak Quechua which is one of the native languages in the area and is a little different from the Spanish spoken by most on the mainland. Truly an amazing site.

The islands are about 35 minutes away from the city of Puno but the people seem to be living 100 years in the past. They literally live on floating islands that they build from scratch, anchor in the lake and continually rebuild as the reeds decompose.

They live in areas of the lake that aren´t very deep and use the root section of the reeds as buoys to support the islands. They cut large sections of the roots and wait for several weeks until they turn into a sort of cork which floats to the top. Once that happens they begin to bind all the root sections together to form the base of the island. Then they drag large amounts of the reeds onto the floating base and cover the island with layer after layer of the reeds. We were told they have to add a new layer of reeds once a week during the wet season.

The island we visited had 8 families living on it and included houses for them all as well as a kitchen house where they do all their cooking, a section where they actually grow potatoes, onions and some herbs, a small pond where they raise trout rather than having to catch them, and a pen for their ducklings. The government recently offered solar panels to all the islanders to allow them to have some electricity. This island had two panels that I could see. Keep in mind that all of this is on an island made out of reeds.

Because their diet consists mostly of fish and some vegetables we were told that bringing some fruit for the children would be a nice gesture. So we loaded up with bananas and apples before heading out. Once on the island we sat down for a short discussion about the people, their diet, how they lived, etc. We were all sitting on benches made from reeds and the children started to come out of the houses and sit with us. I had a little girl sit next to me for a little while and I was anxious to start giving out the fruit.

The children of Peru are amazingly cute and these kids were no different. They all had on traditional costumes (I call them costumes because they all changed into them as soon as they saw our boat heading for their island.) and were very polite when we handed out our fruit. Some of us had extra sunblock and we handed out that as well. Our guide told us the islanders needed it because the sun is relentless and many already have areas under their eyes that are really dark from being burned.

We walked around the island which was kind of like walking on mattresses. It was a bouncy feeling as the reeds gave quite a bit. Your footing was never quite solid but there wasn´t a threat of poking through to the water either.

At the end of the stay we were offered a ride on one of their reed boats and we all jumped at the chance. They aren´t made entirely of reeds as they used to be because now they utilize plastic bottles as floatation devices. This allows them to make the boats lighter and smaller. They also tend to last longer. Other than the bottles the rest of the boat is all reed. It was a short ride but pretty cool. They took us to one of the nearby islands and we disembarked with the help of the islanders who were all scrambling to get their "costumes" on.

Our regular boat picked us up and we headed back to the mainland. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me as I found it hard to believe these people lived the way they do in this day. They obviously know there is other technology out there yet they remain where they are. It´s kind of hard for me to understand.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped off for some lunch at a Pollo Brazaria which is like a rotisserie chicken restaurant. The lunch included a soup that consisted of parts of the chicken (heart, feet, kidney, etc) that weren´t used during the roasting of the chicken. Some of us decided against the soup but a few brave souls - including me - gave it a shot. When it came to the table it was a light green color and you could see the chicken "parts" kind of floating around. Our guide told us could eat the "parts" as a foot was hanging from his mouth, but I don´t think any of us did. I couldn´t make myself try the "parts". The broth however was amazing. I think it also had rice or some other grain in it. It was really good.

The rest of the meal was a 1/4 of a roasted chicken, french fries and a salad. The chicken was awesome and I think most of us really enjoyed this meal because it was as close to a meal that we would normally eat as we´d had in a long time. I know that doesn´t sound very adventurous but after nearly two weeks of eating things that aren´t regulars in your diet it´s nice to have something you know is going to be good. All that and a drink each for Cari and me and it cost us 20 soles which came to less than $7 total.

After heading back to the hotel for a little break we set out again to see our last ruin which was a fertility site. I think all the women wanted to see this one because the whole site was dedicated to the penis. It was a pretty small site and when we pulled up to it I thought it was a school playground because it was surrounded by a chainlink fence and I saw a few kids playing around. Once inside the roofless structure the size of a large living room you are met by several rows or what used to be phallic symbols but now look like small columns. Apparently, all the penises in the site used to be outside of the structure but were moved inside many years ago and buried upside down. So the head of the penis is in the ground. There are a few that are right side up and the women in our group made good use of them. I´ve got the pictures to prove it. The way Cari was hanging all over these things I wouldn´t be suprised if we have triplets when one of these days!!

In the end, the two guys in the group were coerced into taking some pictures too. The obligatory "look how big mine is" kind of photos. I have these pictures too but they won´t be made public.

Today we are schedule for a City Tour of Lima around 2:30, so hopefully Cari will feel well enough to go. After that we are just going to hang out and have dinner so we can rest up for the long travel day tomorrow. Our flight out of Lima leaves at 10:40 and after a nearly 3 hour layover in Miami we get into Alanta around 11:00 at night.

I think I speak for both of us when I say the trip was really incredible and we´ve seen some things that will stick with us for a long, long time. Peru is as beatiful as it is poor and the dichotomy is ever present. The one thing I noticed though was that the people of Peru seemed to mix in a way that transcended status and wealth. You saw people in traditional dress next to men in suits. I´d like to think this has something to do with their Incan heritage. You see, the Incans didn´t have any money and all that was grown or raised was not owned by any one person but was for the entire community. So everything that is Peru is made up of bits from all these different people and the beauty of Peru is for all to share.

See you guys at home.

B