Damn altitude

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Well lake titicaca was a beautiful place. Unfortuntely it was a little hard for me to fully enjoy it because I was very sick the whole time. We first arrived in puno after 2 days of bus rides. The city was cute but there was not a whole lot to do. As soon as we arrived there was some sort of parade going on. Im not sure for what exactly but everyone had sign that said i love jesus, jesus is my friend, etc.

After the parade we decided to learn about coca, at the coca meuseum. The museum had two rooms. At first we learned abouth the traditional andean dress, and we even got to dress in traditional clothing. The second room had the history of coca dating back before inca time. It was very intersting to learn about how much coca is embedded in the culture and all the different uses the leaf has ( i have been drinking coca tea like crazy because it helps with altitude sickness). We also learned to make one gram of cocaine you need rooms and rooms full o coca leaves.

After the museum we decided to go see the larget cruise ship on the lake. To get there we have to take these mini vans where they just pack full and full of people. There is only one person screaming out the window all the different locations that the van goes...it was definetly an experience. Unfortunetly the cruise ship was actually very small, but i did get followed by an alpaca.

The next day we went on a 2 day tour of the island. We started at the floating island. They were these small islands made of reed inwhich you felt each time you step you were going to sink through. At these islands we learned a lot about the culture of the lake which is actually pronounced titihaha. The shapes o the islands are supposed to be that of a puma. Everything surrounds the puma it seems like here.

After the islands we went to amantani, the largest island in the area. We arrived and got assigned to stay with a family. Our guide was a 17 year old named norma who want to study communication. In the whouse lived her sister, aunt, and father. They stayed in small little adobe houses, no electricity f course- The house all had tiny doors to conserve heat in the rooms. The family cookes us traditional food, you always start with soup, and eat a lot of potatos. IT worked out for me because the island was vegeterian. After lunch we walked to the top of the island...altitude sickness plus walking does not exactly mix. I was suprised i made it up to the top because i was so light headed, couldnt breathe, etc. We stayed to watch the sunrise aand then returned to our homes to eat dinner and prepare for the festival.

For the festival was all got dressed up in the tradtional clothes of the island. Then we had a band playing the traditional tunes and our host families tought us how to dance. IF you are unmarried you have to cover your head while you dance. The feista was a lot of fun, and some of these older ladies i do not know how they could go dancing all night long... I on the other hand had to take it easy.

The next day we went to taquile island. This is where most of the clothing is made and sold in other parts of the country. There we learned all about the dress of the area. For guys you can tell if a guy is married, single, attached, or happy just by the cap. Before you get married you have to live witht he girl for a year, so if the ball at the end of your cap is behind the head that means you are taken, and if it is to your left it means your happy. The best hat of all was the authority hat that you can only have if you are married, It is this knitted raibow colored hat.

YOu can tell if a girl is singlr by how big her ball is on her dress. The larger and more colorful the ball is it means she is single. If the ball it between her legs it means she is angry. I realize now writing this that maybe this is one of those things you have to show rather than tell, because it sounds odd.

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