Just a little warning if you ever visit Puno.
Instead of stop signs or stoplights drivers honk when approaching a four way intersection. I´m not sure how they decide who has the right of way if multiple cars approach from different directions. I guess who ever honks first gets to go through first? Also, just ignore those one way signs, if you need to turn right but there is a one way sign pointing left, just turn left then back up the street to where you need to get to.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
¡PERÚ!
I have not updated in a while, but I am currently in Peru!! So I will start from the beginning.
JUNE 28TH
I took a red eye from Miami and arrived in Lima at 615 in the morning. I was greeted by a driver who took me by the beach, which is very different than the beaches of Florida, it was a nice change of scenery. Luckily I was able to check into the hotel early and take a nap before my friends arrived. Kat, whom I hadn´t seen in over a year, and her boyfriend Greg got in around 1230, they had taken a bus from Puno City and were on the last leg of their three month stay in South America. It was great catching up with an old friend in an unexpected place. We were taken out to lunch by Silvia, who my sister is working with in Lima, afterwards she took us to the markets of Lima. Later that evening we went to Barranco and ended up at a bar where there was a Peruvian band playing Led Zepplin covers, of all the places we could choose to go.
JUNE 29TH
My sister arrived at midnight and then we had to catch a ride to the airport at 430 to fly to Juliaca. We got into Puno around 1000, the asst. driver of our bus from Juliaca took us to a Hostel, which I assume was run by a family member, when we told her we didn´t have a reservation. She said there was hot water which we were naive and didn´t try out before we paid. We only stayed there one night.
JUNE 30TH
None of the places have indoor heat. Which is ok, they have space heaters and layers upon layers of blankets. I of course had to buy a hat and gloves right away. Luckily the second night we had hot water.
JULY 1ST
We booked a tour to the Uros Islands, Amantaní and Taquile through Always Travel. So first we went to the Uros Islands, which is a group of floating reed islands. I will have to post pictures when I get back home.
Then we went onto Amantaní where we stayed with a family. Just a mother and father, their two children had moved away to Lima, which is becomming more common among these small islands. We had quinoa soup and vegetables for lunch and soup and pasta for dinner. We hiked as a group to one of the mounts of the island called Pachamama(mother earth), the other one is Pachatata(father earth) for the sunset. Later after dinner we had a fiesta, everyone dressed up in the traditional wear and some of the local men played instruments. Walking to and from the fiesta, I had never seen so many stars! The island is beautiful and I reccommend this tour to anyone and everyone!
JULY 2ND
We said good-bye to our host families in the morning after a breakfast of crepes and of course coca and muña tea (which was served with every meal) and continued on to the island of Taquile where they are famous for their handicrafts. The island use to be a prison like Alcatraz, except it was a political prison, not thiefs, so our tour guide says. We hiked up and across the island and then down 500 stairs back to the boat for a three hour journey (depending on who and when you asked) to Puno. We went out to dinner in Puno and tried alpaca, it was tasty, Audrey thought it tasted a little like pork, I thought it tasted like the fig sauce it was in. ¡¡Tomorrow we are off to Cusco!!
JUNE 28TH
I took a red eye from Miami and arrived in Lima at 615 in the morning. I was greeted by a driver who took me by the beach, which is very different than the beaches of Florida, it was a nice change of scenery. Luckily I was able to check into the hotel early and take a nap before my friends arrived. Kat, whom I hadn´t seen in over a year, and her boyfriend Greg got in around 1230, they had taken a bus from Puno City and were on the last leg of their three month stay in South America. It was great catching up with an old friend in an unexpected place. We were taken out to lunch by Silvia, who my sister is working with in Lima, afterwards she took us to the markets of Lima. Later that evening we went to Barranco and ended up at a bar where there was a Peruvian band playing Led Zepplin covers, of all the places we could choose to go.
JUNE 29TH
My sister arrived at midnight and then we had to catch a ride to the airport at 430 to fly to Juliaca. We got into Puno around 1000, the asst. driver of our bus from Juliaca took us to a Hostel, which I assume was run by a family member, when we told her we didn´t have a reservation. She said there was hot water which we were naive and didn´t try out before we paid. We only stayed there one night.
JUNE 30TH
None of the places have indoor heat. Which is ok, they have space heaters and layers upon layers of blankets. I of course had to buy a hat and gloves right away. Luckily the second night we had hot water.
JULY 1ST
We booked a tour to the Uros Islands, Amantaní and Taquile through Always Travel. So first we went to the Uros Islands, which is a group of floating reed islands. I will have to post pictures when I get back home.
Then we went onto Amantaní where we stayed with a family. Just a mother and father, their two children had moved away to Lima, which is becomming more common among these small islands. We had quinoa soup and vegetables for lunch and soup and pasta for dinner. We hiked as a group to one of the mounts of the island called Pachamama(mother earth), the other one is Pachatata(father earth) for the sunset. Later after dinner we had a fiesta, everyone dressed up in the traditional wear and some of the local men played instruments. Walking to and from the fiesta, I had never seen so many stars! The island is beautiful and I reccommend this tour to anyone and everyone!
JULY 2ND
We said good-bye to our host families in the morning after a breakfast of crepes and of course coca and muña tea (which was served with every meal) and continued on to the island of Taquile where they are famous for their handicrafts. The island use to be a prison like Alcatraz, except it was a political prison, not thiefs, so our tour guide says. We hiked up and across the island and then down 500 stairs back to the boat for a three hour journey (depending on who and when you asked) to Puno. We went out to dinner in Puno and tried alpaca, it was tasty, Audrey thought it tasted a little like pork, I thought it tasted like the fig sauce it was in. ¡¡Tomorrow we are off to Cusco!!
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