Las Islas Flotantes

(Pics: 1st, On the boat tour of Lake Titicaca. 2nd, One of the Floating Islands. 3rd, Getting a taste of lake reed. 4th, Islanders singing us a song in Quechua. 5th, Me in a reed hut. 6th, Ready for school--waiting at the boat stop.)

March 30, 2009...
The weekend after Machu Picchu was crowded with things to do: laundry, blogging, unpacking, cleaning, running errands, dancing salsa, calling home, checking email, booking bus tickets to Puno. Half of these things did not get done. But I did catch up on my salsa, talked to Mom, got my laundry done, booked those tickets, began to settle into the apartment. I saw Renato out dancing Saturday night. It had been far too long; really nice to see him. Sunday night, Tyler and I met Jodi and Terry at the Trattoria during dinner. They were the sweet couple in their 50’s sitting at the table next to us who are from Florida and treated us to a steak dinner out of pure kindness and told us to be safe and call our parents.
Tyler and I have to renew our visas by the 10^th of April. We left at 7:00am today to catch an eight-hour bus to Puno that should have only taken six. Upon arriving, we immediately booked an overnight tour of the Floating Islands on Lake Titicaca and now here we are, sleeping in a reed hut.
Titicaca means, in Quechua, Great Puma. The condor, the Puma, and the snake are the praised animals of Peru. They are believed to be the protectors of sky and land. And Lake Titicaca just so happens to resemble the shape of a puma catching a rabbit when looked at upside-down on a map.
We’re in the midst of an amazing culture. So different from anything I’ve ever seen. A different world. It’s hard to imagine life at home carrying on. People going to school and work, traffic on the freeway. The freeway. Here, the sky is black at night and the stars are specks of lightning. Here, they make land, boats, houses, everything, from lake reed. Here, three little children put on their uniforms in the morning and paddle themselves in a boat to school. Here, they catch fish in their backyard and anchor town at night because of the strong winds. Here, it smells like earth and water and you journal at night by the light of a candle because there is no electricity. Here, it is peaceful and silent and still.