As I write this, I’m sitting at a restaurant in MiraFlores, about 45 minutes from the Lima Airport. I flew in this afternoon, arriving around 3:30. My flight back to the states (fly through Houston then back to Chicago) is not until 1am, so instead of sitting at the airport I decided to get out and find the best ceviche I could. Several people in Puno told me to go to MiraFlores, so here I am, at a restaurant called Punto Azul.
Yesterday was absolutely fantastic. The bus picked me up at my hotel at exactly 7 and we headed to the port to load the boat for the Lake Titicaca tour. I decided on a one day tour of the Uros Islands and Taquile Island. There are lots of these tours available, and you can go just about anywhere to book it. I would have preferred an overnight, or even staying on the island, but I was out of time!
Seriously perfect day for the trip. The tour guide was awesome and I learned a lot about how the Uros people live and how the island was built. Really very cool how they built it and to stand on it. We got to sit in one of the houses and really just learned a lot about their culture.
This is one of the women who demonstrated how they built the island, using props!! The guide translated for her, as they don’t speak Spanish but another language. It’s similar, but has its differences.
Check out more about the Uru people and Uros Islands here:
They sell their works… jewelry, textiles, and pottery… so I bought a few things. Everything goes to the families that live on the particular island, so it felt good to support that.
Next we took what they call their Mercedes Benz over to the other side of the island where you can get a coffee or pastry and get your passport stamped, which was kind of cool. This is the Benz, which costs 10 soles to ride. At one point I helped row and it was SO HARD! Not like rowing a canoe, this was FOR REAL. I don’t know how they were doing it, but the woman took back over once she realized I wasn’t helping the cause (which was my intent but that went majorly south, lol).
Anyway, next was Taquile Island which was really cool. Of all of the things I’ve experienced on this trip, I learned a lot here. For example, did you know that the word textile comes from text and originated from using cloth, etc. to tell stories? Never knew that. It was really interesting to see all of the different kinds of hats and belts, etc. that all represented something (married, single, having authority, etc.) and told a story through their images. No one belt is the same and each tells a unique story. Super interesting stuff!
Next was lunch. Traditional Peruvian lunch of quinoa soup and grilled trout (very fresh) with rice and vegetables. And Peruvian beer! It was very good. During lunch we learned about how they use the herbs to create a paste that they add water to to create shampoo. I served as a volunteer to test it on my hair. It was no herbal essences “yes, yes, yes!” experience even though our guide wanted it to be (he kept calling it the sexy shampoo, haha), but alas, I believe them I guess. 🙂 Anyway, the larger point is that they live off the land… They get everything they need right there.
Finally, the boat ride back. Since most people got their views and pics on the top deck on the way, I guess they were done so I was basically the only one up there the entire ride back (about an hour and a half). It was lovely and a great peaceful return from a great day.
I ended up at dinner at the same restaurant from the night before (I know, I should have tried something different but I wanted that ceviche!!!!). This time I got guinea pig legs and then the best chocolate mousse ever. While the presentation of the guinea pig this time was easier to stomach, it was fatty and I didn’t enjoy it all that much.
The bus came this morning to take me to the airport and successfully made it to Lima. Now I just need to get back to the airport later for my 1am flight.
I’ll write my final blog post likely tomorrow on my return. Or once I get some sleep. 🙂
#atpeace #feelingstrong #happybritt
Britt's Adventure 