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Published: July 26th 2006
Catching my head as it suddenly dropped from exhaustion, I continued counting down the minutes until the arrival of my night bus to the lakeside town of Puno. Before leaving Cusco, I had set up a two day excursion on Lake Titicaca; where I would visit three of the islands and stay over night with a local family. Everything was sort of running on schedule to get me there in time to make my 8am boat departure. The night had kicked off to a rough start when the bus company had double booked nearly 20 seats and attempted to pull away with angry customers running beside and in front of the vehicle. Lucky for me, I had arrived really early and insured my spot. The rest of the night went rather smoothly; well except for the bitter cold that filled the cabin and had turned the condensation on the windows to ice. Then as morning neared (5am), the bus suddenly came to a halt (only 10km outside of Puno). We soon discovered that the road between us and the town had been completely blocked off by angry civilians who were holding a demonstration. The stretch of road in front of us
was completely covered in boulders, glass, angry locals, and spot fires for up to a mile. There was no getting through the blockade. I turned to those around me and asked them what had angered these people to the point where they would block off the access to their city and shut down the border. The response I got was not what I wanted to hear. It seems that the people of Puno and probably most of Peru, are angry and revolting because the Peruvian government is signing the NAFTA agreement with the United States - Greatttt!!!!! Being that I was the only American on board, I quickly started practicing my Australian accent; which is totally horrible. The entire bus sat there for the next hour like ice cubes in a freezer tray. Our bus driver had gone to speak to the mob and later returned to us with somewhat of good news. The gringo passengers would not be lined up and shot; so that was a relief. Although, we would have to give them a little bribe money (merely change) in order to be aloud to pass, and then we would have to walk the mile of rubble where
cabs would then pick us up and take us to town. Too make a long story short, I was an hour late meeting my travel agency at the bus station; but luckily they had hung around. I then quickly dropped my larger pack at their office and arrived at the docks just in time to make my boat's departure - Phew!!!!
The tour I set off on covered three islands found in the waters of
Lake Titicaca. Now, this is no ordinary lake. It is known for being the highest navigable lake in the world, while it also holds the title for the biggest lake in South America and the largest lake above 2000 meters. Lake Titicaca, which lies 3820 meters (12,533ft) above sea level, covers 9000 sq km and straddles the Peru-Bolivia border. Besides the impressive statistics, the lake also carries with it much history and fabled stories. According to legend, the sun was born here (I actually met its mother - she's huge) and the first emperor of the Inca was said to have risen from the rock called Titicaca (Rock of the Puma) on the Island of the Sun (Isla de Sol). That is some pretty heavy
stuff, but the real attraction (at least for me) were the floating islands of Uros. Making our way through the high grasses of the shallows. The waters soon opened into a clearing full of tiny floating islands. There were 35 islands in all; each one constructed entirely of totora reeds which grow abundantly throughout the lake. Docking at our chosen island, we all hopped off onto the spongy surface of the village. It was like walking around on foam - pretty weird. We were greeted by the village inhabitants (several hundred live on the islands), who showed us around and tried to sell us stuff they had crafted from the reeds. Not only were these reeds used for the entire make-up of the island, but they were also used to construct the boats, huts, chairs, crafts, and even eaten (I can't say they tasted that good). We spent the next couple of hours riding on reed boats and exploring the islands. Next, the group headed to the island of Amantaní, which was a three hour boat ride (like a snail) toward the center of the lake. Arriving to the island, the group was paired up into couples and introduced to
Rocky Road Block - Thanks to NAFTA
Rocks, Glass, Spot Fires, and Angry Civilians, covered the stretch of road a mile long.their host family. Being that I was the only solo traveler, I bunked up with two Danish girls (Maria and Sika) - blasted! How is it I always get stuck with a couple of foreign chicas; life is hard I tell you. Our time on the island of Amantaní was a great way to experience the culture. We ate three meals with our family and slept in a small little room at their house. These island folk were so cute and tiny. The doorways of their houses came up to my chest and my head touched the ceiling of our room. The family consisted of Maria (the mother), Martin (the father), and their two little daughters (Noelia- 2 and Vicki-4). They all went out of their way to make us feel at home and Noelia (a doll) was stuck to our side at all times. That afternoon, the entire group hiked to the uppermost point of the island and watched a spectacular sunset that seemed to last forever. Following our climb down and dinner with the family, the group was dressed up in the traditional clothing of the locals and attended a festive dance at the town center. Well, due
to the fact that I had had no sleep the night prior and I was suffering from severe stomach pains, I passed straight out after dinner and missed the whole thing. Although, my roomies skipped out also; so I didn't feel so bad. The next morning after breakfast and saying farewell to our family, we all pushed off and motored over to the neighboring island of Taquile. The time here was nice, but we were all ready to get back to the mainland to watch France and Portugal play in the Semi-finals. Our tour guide was quite the bore and we were constantly being brought to places where locals would try and sell us stuff. Overall it was a good experience, but I can only take so much of the really touristy trips where you are always expected to buy lots of souvenirs. Touring with a big group is just a little too slow paced for me, but the islands and scenery were really beautiful. Oh yeah, we never made it back to see the futbol match. The boat broke down on our return and we just missed it; but we did listen to it (in Spanish) on the radio
(France-1, Portugal-0). That night, I stayed in a hotel in Puno and left for La Paz, Bolivia the next morning. I didn't sleep great though, my stomach had gotten much worse and I really dreaded the 7 hour bus ride.
Drifting off into meditation to take my mind off of the stomach pain, I somehow managed to make it all of the way to La Paz, Bolivia just before nightfall. The bus trip around Lake Titicaca and into the Bolivian mountains was absolutely beautiful; too bad I couldn't get any pictures. Pulling into
La Paz, the highest capital in the world (3,660m - 12,008ft), I hopped a taxi to a nearby hotel and immediately went in search of a local medical center. I had now come to the conclusion (after 17 days of problems) that there is something really wrong with my stomach and it was not going away without treatment. The remedies that I had attempted had all failed; it was time for a professional opinion.
The Doc's Diagnosis: I knew from the look on my doctor's face after she had checked my blood pressure, that it wasn't my IBS that were in an uproar. My BP was
at 150/100 mmHg, which is definitely not normal. In adults, the systolic pressure should be around 120 mmHg, and the diastolic pressure should be near 80 mmHg. This lead to poking and prodding all over my body, and then she had her verdict. The doc informed me (did not speak English) that I had Gastritis; which is the medical term for inflammation of the stomach lining (that's just lovely). But, that's not all; I was to return the following day to have a blood test done to check for possible infection. Next, I was ordered to stop taking all of the medication I was presently on (Dioxicyline - Malaria pills and pepto) and to only eat bread, rice, white chicken (not fried), water, and a two liters of some really funky tasting medicine - for the next three days (I'm going to look like a string bean). The following day after my blood test and much waiting, I soon discovered there was more good news. Along with an inflamed stomach lining, I also had the wonderful bacterial infection known as
Salmonella. For those of you who are unaware; Salmonella is a type of bacteria that is usually transmitted through contaminated
Uros Islands from a Distance
There are 35 floating islands in total. food (such as under cooked poultry). Let me stop here for a second and thank the cooks of the S.S. Victor for never washing there hands or anything for that matter - Bravo I say, Bravo! Now, with this new diagnosis, I'll will be spending three more fun filled days in La Paz getting shots (the size of a pencil) into my rear end. Well, I must say that being immersed into a culture not only opened my eyes, but other areas as well.
Alright, I am going to leave you with that. I guess I will spend the next three days reading, writing, and watching the conclusion to the 2006 World Cup (France vs. Italy). I haven't decided for sure where I am headed next (somewhere South - toward the Salt Flats of Uyuni), but you will find out soon enough. I had planned on ice-climbing the Huayna Potosí (6,088 m-19,974 ft), which is known as the easiest 6000 in the world. I had met a Swiss guy who had recently done it and it was only his first time ice-climbing. He said it was absolutely amazing (but very difficult) and the tour company trained and watched over
him the entire time. I am going to have to take a rain check on that adventure - Doctor's orders. She said that I shouldn't have done the Machu Picchu trek (too bad) and that I had better take it easy for a while and ease myself back into physical activities (rrrright!). Well, I hope everyone is doing good. I know it is getting close to time for some of these little ones to be born. Keep me posted! I'll be thinking about you. Till next time; Adios!
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Wendy from Ireland
non-member comment
anticipation....
Jeremy, I came across your blogs just recently (by accident) and have since read from start to finish - in the 'wee small' hours! Have enjoyed travelling along with you - your adventures and reflections have been thrilling - so thank you! The only thing remaining to be said is 'PLEASE HURRY UP WITH THE NEXT INSTALMENT!!'