From the shores of Lake Titicaca...

  When you're traveling on a SUPER tight budget taking night buses simply makes sense. You kill two birds with one stone. (Although I've never been fond of killing even one bird with a stone. It seems a little barbaric.) You get a place to sleep and transportation to the next city; a traveling hostel if you will. The only problem with night buses is that they usually arrive at an ungodly hour of the morning and leave you bleary-eyed and alone in the pre-dawn darkness.

   Such was our arrival in Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Yes, it is a real place. Go ahead and say the name out loud. (quietly, if you are at work right now) TITICACA! I guess this is proof that the ancient Incans had a pretty good sense of humor. In fact, it might have been this sense of humor that lead to their downfall. When the Spanish arrived and were riding roughshod all over the empire, the Incan warriors may have been too busy drawing penises on their gods and making up dirty limericks to put up much of a defense. (There once was a man from Chinkana...)

  We made it to the central market around 5 AM. The place was deserted except for a couple of drunks still up from the night before. This wouldn't be a problem except that drunks LOVE me. We politely but firmly fended off their requests to drink and play songs before heading in for some breakfast of cow's head soup. (It's exactly what is sounds like...and it did not taste good. )

  Around 6:30 we made it to the docks and bought tickets out to the island of Taquile. By 7:30 we were on the sapphire blue water heading out towards the center of the lake. The first stop was at the Isla Flotantes. These floating islands are constructed by layering interlocking layers of totora reeds which grow in the shallows of lake Titicaca. They have been home to the Uros people for hundreds of years and were originally constructed to keep the tribe a healthy distance away from other aggressive tribes in the area.

  We wandered around the squishy grounds of one island for an hour or so. It is amazing to see the juxtaposition of new and old. Women sit in colorful traditional skirt weaving baskets, boats, hats and houses out of the totora reeds while a few feet away a solar panel is connected to a satelite dish and TV with Peruvian football chattering in the background.

The "Mercedes Benz" of the Isla Flotantes

   The next stop was Isla Taquile. We got off the boat and climbed the 585 steps from the dock to the main town. When we got to the top, the effort was totally worth it. Brilliant, blue lake Titicaca spread out at our feet. The rarified high altitude air makes the golden island wheat and the grey rocks of the island stand out brilliantly from azure waters below. In the several thousand years that Taquile has been inhabited there has never been a car on the island and there are no hostels. Fortunately the captain of our ship led us to his son's home overlooking the lake. He had a small restaurant and a few rooms in the back for tourists to sleep in. That afternoon and the next morning Molly and I treked along the stone walkways that lead from tiny farm to tiny farm all around the island. It was heavenly.

Children on Isla Taquile

Terrace farming

Flip flops get a second life on Isla Taquile

Not a bad spot for breakfast

  A day later we hopped on a bus and crossed the border into Bolivia. Our destination was the Isla del Sol, mythical birthplace of the sun and sight of the creation of the world in the Incan religion. Again, after disembarking we had to climb what seemed to be an unending staircase to the main town of Yumani. After finding a hostel for 40 bolivianos (about $6) we started off walking the "sacred route of the eternal sun", an ancient path constructed by the Incans that runs along the ridgeline of the island. It was a beautifull walk, past herds of llama and sheep, over high hills and through eucalyptus forrests. The route ends at the sacred rock of the Incas, birthplace of the sun and sight of the appearance of the Incan god Viracocha. The whole trip was probably around 14 miles including several hundred virtical feet climbed up and down. By the end of the hike I thought my feet were going to burst into flames.

Traffic jam on Isla del Sol

Sacred Route of the Eternal Sun

Birthplace of the Sun

Sunset over Lake Titicaca

  We made it back to our hostel just before sunset, exhausted but happy. After a few bottles of Pacena, the local Bolivian beer, my feet didn't even hurt anymore. That night we slept the sleep of dead. For 13 hours we slept. The next morning we awoke to see the golden sun, in whose birthplace we had just slumbered, beckoning us back to the road. We were sad to leave the tranquil waters of Lake Titicaca but we will never forget them.