The Lost City

Puno and the Floating Islands of Uros
We finally made it to Peru, where our first stop was Lake Titicaca.  After being in the Bolivia for a few weeks, one becomes used to visiting the highest or largest or most dangerous  _____ (you fill in the blank) in the world.  In the past few weeks we have been to the highest city in the world (Potosi at 13,420 ft), the largest salt deposit in the world (Uyuni Salt Flat), the most dangerous road in the world, and most importantly, the highest Irish pub in the world.  And now we can add Lake Titicaca to the list.  It is shared by both Bolivia and Peru and is the highest navigable lake in the world.  Instead of taking a trip to one of the real islands of the lake we opted to visit the floating islands of Uros.  It's a short boat ride through the shallows close to the city of Puno.  There are about 40 islands and all of them made entirely of reeds which form a squishy floor that you sink into with every step.  The reeds extend about 12 feet into the water and are used to build every structure on the islands, even the boats that are used to go from island to island.  The islands sole income is tourist visits so we were constantly put into awkward situations to buy the local crafts.  Long story short...very interesting and informative, incredibly touristy, and slightly awkward.  For those looking for a place to explore and relax, I would recommend Isla del Sol.

Reed Boat

Huts of Uros Island

Me with our travel buddy Elliot

Cusco
We found a great hostel overlooking the Plaza de Armas of Cusco.  It took a little while to find but worth it.  We had a balcony with a view of the plaza, and our room came with a TV and all of the pirated DVDs you can imagine!  We took a few days to get to know Cusco and visiting the must-sees of the city before heading out on a trek to Machu Picchu.  The city had an exciting vibe from the celebrations de Los 15 Santos.  Every morning we were woken up by fireworks going off in the streets.  At first I thought people were being murdered outside our hostel but after a few days we realized it was part of the celebration. To accompany the explosives, thousands of people crowded the streets to join in the parade. The plazas filled with music, local cousine (mostly cuy or what we would call guinea pig), and traditional dance.

View from our hostel

Making chocolate at the chocolate museum. Yum!

Dying wool from plants/insects

Salinas de Mara (Salt Mines).  Many pools are carved down the side of the hill and fed by narrow channels from the river above that supplies them with highly saline water needed to form salt crystals.

Moray ruins used for agriculture

Andy in the center of Moray feeling the positive energy.  Look at those spirit fingers!

Local Cusine

Celebrating los dias de Los 15 Santos

Trekking to Machu Picchu

The Salkantay trail leads to the ruins of Machu Picchu but is not the Inca Trail. It's a longer trek, with less people and higher altitude so naturally we choose this route.  You also have to book the Inca Trail months in advance. The highest pass is at 4600m which is over 15,000ft so higher than Mt. Whitney.  It's the highest Andy and I had ever been. We spent five days hiking through the mountains and the high jungle with another great group of people from Germany, England, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Austria, and Vermont.  The trek is a great lead up to the last day to see one of the wonders of the world.........Machu Picchu!!!!!  We woke up at 4:00am to hike up to the gates of Machu Picchu by 6:00am.  We were the first in line after kicking some serious butt up the first section of the trail to the secondary gates that guard the area itself. We even beat the buses. And our prize was the first to see an undisturbed Machu Picchu.  The ruins lie on the top of a mountain and the structures are perfectly constructed from laying stone onto stone.  With every vista you discover something new and sometimes within arms distance of a llama!  Machu Picchu was built in the 1450s during the height of the Incan empire and was abandoned about 100 years later with the Spanish conquest.  Hiram Bingham discovered the lost city in 1911.  There is a lot of debate but most believe it was a sacred religious site and estate for the Incan emperor Pachacuti.  The ruins have been restored/reconstructed so that tourist can appreciate how the lost city would have looked like in it's hay day. It's an enchanted place and to think how it was constructed is unreal.

Salkantay pass

wasssup?!

One of the stone structures of Machu Picchu

MACHU PICCHU

Our trekking group

View of Machu Picchu and other couple making out from Huana Picchu

Walking down Huana Picchu

En route from Cusco to Arequipa
The Cusco bus Terminal was no different from all of the bus terminals we've experienced in Bolivia.  Usually one side of the terminal is lined with numerous little food shops all selling the same thing: fresh or fried bread in a big basket outside the store, and inside water, soda (Inka Kola), crackers, bananas, and chocolate that most travelers indulge in before boarding the bus for a long journey.  The other side of the terminal has bus company kiosks armed with a loud baritone voiced women screaming the name of cities like, "Oruro, Oruro, Oruro", with a little "Cusco, Cusco, Cusco", and "Puno, Puno, Puno" all at the same time from different people.  We come to rely on our ears instead of eyes when entering bus stations these days.  After many cold, sleepless nights on buses, we opted for an early morning bus to Arequipa from Cusco.  It was by far the most entertaining bus we've taken but might also sway us back to taking to night buses.  Basically, the buses of South America are a salesman's dream.  If you want to sell anything, hop on a bus  where people are trapped and begin spouting off the amazing healing powers of eucalyptus balm or give a 45 min speech about a video that will help every aspect of your life from marital troubles to diabetes or how this travel toothbrush will make your teeth whiter, etc.  The buses are also havens for people selling food.  Most buses don't include meals so the meal is brought to you by your local shepherd. On this particular ride, a woman and her assistant boarded the bus.  She was wearing a large colorful ruck sac on her back.  These packs are made by strategically tying a colorful blanket so nothing falls out.  I'm still amazed  every time I see one tied.  She opened the bag and pulled out a meat clever and started hacking away.  Then, her assistant started yelling, "Cordero a 10 soles!!". This means, "Lamb for $3!".  We are used to the empanada ladies on the buses but the lamb lady was way more entertaining.  Nothing like meat from a ruck sac served in a plastic bag for lunch!