Life on a Peruvian Island, Served with Queso

After four weeks in the Cusco area, I was ready to head out, even if it was on an 8-hour night bus from Cusco to Puno.  Unfortunately, I dont think Cusco felt the same about letting me go.  I went to my regular bakery for a last empañada dinner, only to find their restrooms out of order (with no sign or warning, in typical Peruvian fashion).  The waitress unceremoniously scooped a bucket of water from a giant garbage can and passed it to me to wash my hands.  No apologies.  I would have been shocked if there had been.  Then I went for one last 20/s massage (because really, why not?).  Covered in baby oil and filled with empañadas and cake, I headed back to my host family home for a quick shower before departing to the bus station.  I was really looking forward to a hot shower.  I should have known better.  Not only was there no hot water, there was no water at all.  My last shower in Cusco was completed with a washcloth and the few drops of water I could get to flow from the sink.

The trip on the night bus was surprisingly uneventful.  I traveled with 5 companions from France, Germany, and another American.  The company we booked with, TourPeru, had fairly new busses and seemed to operate safely.  And given that I spend half the year on a motorcoach, I feel like I am qualified to judge this.  After all the horror stories I have heard about South American bus travel, I was relieved.  We arrived in Puno, Peru around 5am, plenty of time to be harassed by tour operators trying to sell us tours to the islands of Lake Titicaca.  We negotiated them to 65/s a person for a 2-day/1-night tour.

The woman told us to be back at the office at 730, which we were.  The tour left at 815.  So Peru. Before our boat could leave port we were serenaded by a one-man band, who then expected tips.  Also so Peru. 

First stop, Uros Floating Islands.  If I didn´t know better, I would think they were built solely as a tourist trap, or maybe one of the themed parts of Disneyworld.  It is unreal that people pass their entire lives on islands built of soil and weeds.  In fact, everything is built using a type of weed that grows in Lake Titicaca as high as 3-meters.  The islands, the houses, the roofs, the boats.  The base of the plant is even used as a food source.  On a positive note, if you don´t get along with your neighbors, all you have to do is hack off your part of the island and create your own. 

Their main source of income is, obviously, tourism.  They do have electricity, as I learned when a woman proudly showed me her 4-inch television (see pic above).  I tried to ask about the plumbing situation, but received vague answers that I´m pretty sure meant they just go in the lake

As touristy as this was, I definitely think it is something to see.  These islands, originally built to help the inhabitants escape the violence first of other indigenous tribes such as the Incas, then of the Spanish, are truly one of a kind. 

The next part of the tour was a little more real.  We stayed with a local family on Amantani Island.  I never could remember the name of my housemom, and in their traditional dress they all looked the same, but she ushered us to her pink house towards the center of the island.  The room was basic, although we did have electricity and a real toilet (albeit one that had to be manually flushed with a bucket of water).  

The walls were decorated with posters of past island events and sporting competitions.  All the walls.  Even those of her dirt kitchen, where she served us our first real island meal, a lunch of fried cheese, rice, and potatoes.  Just when I thought a meal full of carbohydrates couldn´t get more unhealthy, she cut off a big slab of cheese, fried it up, and served it.  Mmmm.  Meat is a special occasion food on the island, where agriculture is the second largest industry after tourism.  They grow potatoes, quinoa, other grains, and more potatoes.  So a usual meal does not include a protein, as a lot of that is bought from the mainland.

After a hike around the island and a dinner of pasta and quinoa soup with potatoes, our housemom dressed us up in traditional clothing for a "fiesta".  Yes, I am aware how cheesy this is.  And the "fiesta" had a junior-high dance feel, with all the boys on one side and girls on another, everyone scared to dance.  So of course I was the awkward one who danced around by myself, then with one other brave soul.  Either way, I now have my photo taken in this oh-so-figure-flattering ensemble.  

The next morning we braved a literal seastorm to reach Taquille Island.  I am not an easily seasick person, but hours in a boat that I was not sure was going to remain upright tested this severely.  I was replaying scenes from the Titanic in my head and locating life jackets and the most accessible exits.  That is not an exaggeration. 

But we made it, a little green, but safe and sound.  The sun came out and after a short hike we were rewarded with a lunch with a view.  It was trucha a la plancha, or grilled trout fresh from the lake.  Delicious.

All in all, especially for the price, I would recommend the trip.  Two days cruising around the lake was a great way to relax (minus our close brush with death).  Definitely go the the Puno station or even the docks to book your trip.  We had no problem getting aboard a boat, and paid a LOT less than the people we knew who had booked online or with an agency in Cusco.

Things to Do in Cusco Besides Eat...

As I prepare to leave the city that has become my first South American homebase, I am almost sad to leave the city that stole a good portion of my possessions, refuses to let you flush toilet paper in the toilet, runs out of hot water throughout the day, runs out of water period after 10pm if you happen to live on the second floor, and has a taxi fleet that Im pretty sure are just regulat civilians who get bored and decide to offer tourists a ride in their unmarked vehicles.  I have almost adjusted to the packs of stray dogs that eat the food you drop and bartering for everything from hotel room prices to the cost of directions (that in America we are stupidly and courteously giving out for free lol).  My stomach has recovered from eating fish served bare-handed and cold after sitting out all day and I now know where to watch burned DVDs shown in a movie theater setting (cost: $3 USD...the evil guy in the last Batman movie sounds even more hardcore in Spanish on a bad speaker system).  Heres a few of my adventures around town, for better or for worse...

Hiking to Cristo Blanco
Do not do this the day before you leave on the Inka Trail.  Or the day after.  If you have a few days though, it is a great way to start acclimating to the altitude, along with coca leaves of course.  If you go through the main entrance, it costs money.  But if you wander side streets asking directions from strangers and practically crawl up on all fours through a "path" that isnt...its much more exciting and free.

Other people have recommended hiking to Saqsayhuamen (Sexy Woman), but to be really honest, Ive started to view Inca Ruins like Italian churches...how many can you really see before they start to blur together??? 

And what better activity to do after your hike than a massage?  Or in my partner in crime´s case, after 4 days of hiking the Inca Trail and no shower?  Im pretty sure the masseuse is still washing her hands...

Get a massage.  In Cusco, there are massage parlors on every corner.  For 25/S. I had an hour long massage.  That is $8.  I repeat.  $8.  Granted, you get what you pay for, but a massage is a massage.  We were ushered into a large room with 20 beds.  They drew a curtain around two of them.  Privacy, Peruvian-Style.  After giving instructions, the masseuse left, only to return 2-minutes later to do who knows what, aside from see us very exposed?  Very puzzling.

It was a hot stone massage, using only one kind of oil/lotion that Im pretty sure was equal to Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil.  The masseuses would whisper to each other while they worked, as if you couldnt hear them in the silent room.  Or at least it was silent until other people came in and they pulled more curtains.  All in all, the best $8 Ive ever spent...I apologize theres no pictures of this one...lol.

Cusco is filled with museum.  I have visited several, including the Museo de Inka, Museo de Coca (of course they have a museum filled with facts about the Peruvian wonder drug), Qooricancha.  But at the end of the day, I am on vacation, so of course my favorite museum was the Museo de Cacao...or the Museum of Chocolate. Including a 2-hour choclate making demonstration where you take home the final product.  We might have gone a little overboard.

Cacao is rapidly becoming the most important export in Peru.  The government is even encouraging farmers to switch from growing coca, which obviously cant be exported, to cacao.  The high quality of Peruvian cacao makes it in high demand, even in luxurious Swiss chocolate locales.  Plus, its good for you.  Or at least thats what I reminded myself as I had European hot chocolate, Mayan hot chocolate with chili powder and honey, chocolate raisin buns, brownies covered in chocolate, and chocolate candy made by yours truly.

Another great part of the city is San Blas, the local artists community.  The drawback being that it is at the top of a very steep hill.  I had the great pleasure of making this hike two nights in a row.  My teacher had told me about a music festival that started at midnight, with bands playing all night and into the next day.  Now what kind of Austinite would I be if I missed a live music opportunity?  Using a combination of charm and sheer desperation, I persuaded my friend at 5 strangers from our chocolate class to stay out drinking until it was time for the festival to begin, then walk up the hill in the pouring rain, only to find it was the wrong night.  Oops.  I guess my tour guide side was on vacation.  However, the next night I returned with a fresh group of unsuspecting victims.  We were the only Gringos in the entire place.  I couldnt leave the side of my guy friend without being propositioned things I couldnt understand...and probably didnt want to.  But the music was great, and of course I love local experiences like this.

Note the extremely drunk Cusqueñan that dominated all of my pictures...

Something I would skip.  Horseback riding.  Usually a sure-footed animal, my horse seemed to find it difficult to walk on flat land, much less trot, gallop, or ascend small inclines.  It was a depressing tourist effort, not to mention that the wonderful sites we saw were more or less rock piles.  Our guide took naps while we were given "free time to explore the ruins". 

Shopping.  Everyones favorite part of traveling right?  I must have missed that girl gene.  But I survived the Pisaq Market, a giant maze of bargaining and identical looking alpaca clothing, by using a rotation system.  Shop, empanada and beer, shop, empanada and beer.  I was terrible at bartering...I guess I find something heartless about arguing over the equivalent of $3 USD with a woman who has children selling candy on 12-hour shifts.  But maybe thats just me...lol.  For the record, the goods available in Pisaq are the exact same as those available in Cusco.  So if catching a van out of someones garage and riding in the wrong lane while rounding blind curves at breakneck speed doesnt sound like your idea of a good time, stay in the city.  It was much quieter, though, and of course any drive through the Sacred Valley is a gorgeous way to pass the time.  Who doesnt love a morning of counting crosses on the side of the road with beautiful mountain views?  Note-guardrails are not as common in Peru as they are in the United States.  Pisaq is also a good place to see the luxury palaces the guinea pigs live in before winding up on peoples plates. I also had a first-time chivalry moment here...which given that Im a small-town Southern girl I pretty much thought Id seen about all the various versions of door-holding and chair-offering there were.  But I can officially say that Market Day in Pisaq was the first time a guy has ever bought me a turn in a toilet lit by candlelight.  Yeah.  I didnt really know what to say either.

I was going to include the foods of Cusco...but upon further reflection of how much Ive eaten...I think it deserves its own post!