Back to Civilization

The Machu Picchu entry will be completed next, but I wanted to provide a quick update as to our recent whereabouts first.

As you may be aware (some of you hysterically so), Dylan and I have been incommunicado for the past couple of days. We've been staying on the small island of Amantaní, which is in the middle of Lake Titicaca near the Bolivian border. It was beautiful, to be sure. We stopped briefly on the famous so-called "Floating Islands". These have been artificially constructed in the shallow part of the lake using nothing but reeds, each island measuring no more than 50 feet across in diameter. Between six and ten families live on each island, which form a series of tiny communities in the middle of the lake. The local story says that these people, who speak a near-extinct language called Aymara, were too lazy to work normal jobs so they built islands in the middle of the lake and now survive on tourism income.

After arriving at our small, family-run lodge on the island, we walked up to the site of some interesting Inca ruins, taking in coffee, fried dough, and one of the most incredible sunsets ever (I took no fewer than four dozen pictures from the same position). That night, we walked down to the beach to enjoy a sky with an endless supply of stars (including more than a few shooting stars) thanks to a near-complete nighttime electrical blackout.

Then we spent an entire extra day there, which was easily the most boring day of the trip. There was just nothing to do at the small family-run lodge we stayed at. Dylan slept for about 23 hours in a 36 hour span while trying to ward off a sudden yet passing illness, and I played cards - by myself - for the better part of four hours before reading a little and, ultimately, just sitting still. If you should ever find yourself on Lake Titicaca, please be advised that one day on the islands is wholly sufficient.

We are now back in Puno, which is a city on the coast of the lake. We would like to continue to Cusco, where we have both a hostel reservation for tonight and plane tickets for tomorrow morning to the jungle. Unfortunately, there is a nationwide transit strike going on today that is preventing us from leaving town by either bus or train. Hire a taxi or private car, you say? The disaffected proletariat has apparently constructed roadblocks on all the major highways out of rocks and fires. And in the event that any wayward union-busting fascist (or, for that matter, innocent tourist) should attempt to make the journey anyway, they can expect a shower of rocks and bottles to be thrown at the car/bus/truck windows. All that to say that we are stuck here until at least early evening, and possibly until tomorrow.

A quick note to Peruvians: throwing stones and glass bottles at tourists discourages them from spending money in your country.