The Art of Bargaining

One of my favorite parts of the trip was bargaining with the locals. I liked it because it was challenging, it is fun and it helped me improve my spanish. I loved working the locals down until we both agreed on a reasonable price. I bargained for most things I bought and ended up getting 20-40 percent off. It is also a way to learn about a new way of life and a new form of economy. I have enjoyed learning how to get better at bargaining by traveling to many different places and trying my best to bargain for the lowest price.

-Kelly

Andean cross and the churches

There are many religious symbols in Peru one very important one is the andean cross which is seen in many places in Peru including Machu Picchu. The andean cross is also sold in markets and on the streets by the women who make handicrafts. The andean cross is sometimes made of stone, or silver. The nativity scene or nacimiento is also seen and sold a lot in Peru along with bracelets of important saints or religious people.

We have seen many beautiful iglesias in Peru that had gold inside and beautifully painted murals. Some of the murals depicted heaven while others depicted a version of hell for nonbelievers. One church we visited was in Arequipa. I loved the intricate details in the churches and the different representations of the important people in the Catholic religion. I also liked the huge crosses that were next to the churches. I am not a very religious person but the churches that were visited were so breathtaking that it brought out the spirituality in me. I love to see different religious rituals and infastructures and it is especially interesting this semester because I am in a religion class.

-Kelly

Animals and animals and more animals

llamas, alpacas, sheep, dogs, cats, pigs, guinea pigs, frogs, spiders, cows and more. This trip has been filled with many animals. It was my first time ever seeing llamas and alpacas. I am honestly not really an animal person but it is cool to see animals that are not in the United States. My favorite part was feeding the animals the plant because they liked it so much and I have never really gotten to feed an animal before. There are a wide variety of animals in Peru that I learned about and want to learn more about when I get back to the States.

We also saw textiles being made and I bought two pashimas made from super baby alpaca and baby alpaca. It was fascinating to see how the women weave.

-Kelly

MY FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP

Machu Picchu was awesome but how many people can say they dressed up in authentic Uru Reed Island clothing and danced with the people of the Reed Islands. I Loved going on the Reed boat from one island to another island, it was cold but well worth it. I can´t believe that people are able to eat the reeds and actually do eat the reeds. I had so much fun meeting a Uru Reed Island woman and wearing a skirt, coat and colorful hat that of course was too big while dancing to the flutes and drum. I loved living a different culture that is why I like to go on these trips. I also enjoyed the breathtaking views from Tanquilla Island which was an hour by boat away from the Uru Reed Islands. I thought it was crazy how the Uru islanders speak Aymara while the Tanquilla islanders speak Quecha and they are only an hour apart by boat. We learned that the Uru islands last 15 to 25 years and can be built in year. The Uru islanders beds made out of reeds looked surprsingly comfortable. But I had to go pee in a bucket in a little reed hut. It was sure an experience. I will never forget the Uru Reed islands and the people that inhabit them. It was also interesting that on Taquille Island both the men and the women weave unlike the other places in Peru where mostly women do the weaving.

-Kelly

Machu Picchu One of the wonders of the world

It was a pain to get to Machu Picchu but it was well worth it. We had to fly to Cuzco then take a bus and train to Aguas Calientes. Then we woke up early and took a bus to Machu Picchu the next morning. There was a fabulous view from our hotel of the mountains and the river. It was awesome seeing the Royal Palaces of the Incas which has been compared to the United States President´s Camp David. Machu Picchu was beautiful to see and scary at the same time because I am terrified of heights. I enjoyed seeing the site discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. I wish we had more time to climb the mountains but what we saw of it was amazing. It loved to see the sites that were used for sacrfices or religious rituals because it is nice to learn about the different cultures.

-Kelly

Glimpses of Titicaca and its people...

Well, today I am really tired. I have a headache and I am rambling in my finest form yet. I have faithfully drank many a cup of mate de coca, and chewed its medicinal leaves, and well, the altitude has really not affected me in the last 4 days. However the accumulated tiredness of having to blog late at night and awake early on chilly mornings has had its toll.

Today was spectacular. I am aware that I have used so many grand adjectives in my blogs that they sound monotonous, but really, most every day has been spectacular. We hopped on a small ferry boat and ended upon the Uros islands, that placidly floated on the roots of the marvelous totora reed. How mind-boggling to think that these people really do live on floating plots of reed.

We had a unique chance to dress in the traditional attire of these warm and friendly reed island dwellers. Marital status is defined by the coquetry of women and color of the pom-poms that they tie to their two long braids of hair. Older and wiser married women wear black rimmed hats, and display a duller and less vivacious clothing. I was in shock when i realized that however rudimentary the dwellings of these amicable Aymara speaking people were, by each one of them there was a solar panel!

Our bus-boat later took us to the island of Taquile. We ascended an impressive amount of stone steps, to the top of the island; and please consider that for us this was indeed an impressive feat, for the top of the island caressed the 4,000 meter mark. Here after coming back to our selves, and our relatively normal breathing pattern, we beheld the panorama of the highest lake in the world unfolding below us. The hues of blue merged with the distant mountains, and the near transparent waters of the lake lazily licked the rocky shore of Taquile Island. The melancholic beauty of this place was interrupted by small sad-faced girls asking desperately to buy their bracelets. The people here as well wore socially significant clothing. The unmarried or widowed men wore long red chullos with a wide white band at the top. Married men wore the same hats but of a solid red colour. Infants wore brightly colored baby's hats. Outside of the nagging of the sad-faced girl the entire community seemed entirely oblivious to the tourists that we were. They chit-chatted and busied themselves with their everyday tasks.


As a conclusion to this trip I will give you a few last glimpses. As we sat on a top floor of a warm restaurant in Puno, the rain outside started to pelt the roofs with violence. Hail had begun to bounce from the sky onto the surroundings. The following day, exhausted and frozen to the bone, but fascinated with what I had seen earlier, I watched lazily the recent layer of snow on the hillsides around Puno, as the bus rolled by. What a conclusion to such a trip of dramatic scenery, charming people and mystifying cultural remains of the unforgettable people of the Tahuantinsuyo. I hope you have enjoyed our humble ramblings.


-Konrad

The magical monotony of bus rides...

The bus ride we experienced today was one of those bus rides. One of those bus rides when one is so over-saturated with scenery, the jerking of the bus shocks, the heat inside the cabin, and the slowly developed un-comfortableness of the seats. But as all days this day had some more memorable moments.

I have this thing for old, dimly lit, and splendid churches; whether humble or grand in size, I find great pleasure in visiting their interiors. The first church we stumbled upon was that at Andahuaylillas, know popularly as the ¨Sistine Chapel of the Andes¨. I found the outside facade painted with faded but fantastic frescoes depicting catholic saints, a real treat to the eyes. However when I entered the dimly lit interior, and my eyes became accustomed to the lighting, I saw beauty beyond description. The entire ceiling of the humbly built, mud brick and wood Jesuit church was dripping with bright colour. Such a humble structure with such imposing artistic beauty. The walls and naves of the church were painted with intricate frescoes of various Biblical scenes and the lives of the saints. The altar gleamed with its overwhelming quantities of silver and gold, flamboyantly carved in figures of saints, and ornamentation.

The next stop, away from the main touristic tracks at the church in Huaro, proved equally overwhelming. This church was as well exuberantly decorated beyond the capacity of the intake of my mortal human brain. I stood for a long time visually consuming the frescoes representing the Resurrection of the Dead, the Final Judgment and glimpses of Paradise and Gehenna. In conclusion these two majestically decorated churches were a true treat to the eyes of a random by passer from Rollins College.


We were destined to later stop at the town of Raqchi where there are the remains of temple of Virachocha, the Inca creator deity. I was shocked by the height of this impressive Inca temple. The remains of the stone and mud brick walls and pillars loomed above us. I vividly imagined the structure, filled with the bustle of people, and emanating the reverence due to a most sacred place. The reconstructed circular stone storage houses, with their conical roofs harmonized with the soft grassy landscape of the valley. It was a majestic and serene place to have one of the most sacred Inca places positioned.

As the landscapes flowed unceasingly, and we coasted inside the bubble that was our bus cabin, we intermittently dozed off into short spurts of sleep. Suddenly there was a perceptible change in air density. my lungs were heaving at extracting those oxygen molecules, and I could no longer nap. We were approaching our topmost elevation of around 4380 meters, and although we were rather acclimatized to the air of Qosqo, 800 meters lower, our systems churned out significantly less oxygen from the atmosphere here. Slowly we emerged from our cabin, and admired the crisp view of glacier laden mountains, in the thin air. One day I hope to climb higher.


-Konrad