Island Living

Fashion Courtesy of Our Island Host Mom

A failed trip to Bolivia became a serendipitous adventure!

Three hours before Jana, Dana, and I were headed for Bolivia we found out that the new visa restrictions went into effect December 1st instead of January 1st. The new restrictions, only for the USA, are as follows:
1. $100 US
2. Color photo
3. Proof of hotel in Bolivia
4. Proof of the last 3 months financial statement to prove you actually have money
5. Proof of return ticket
6. Statement of Yellow Fever Vaccination

Not necessarily difficult to acquire, but three hours before the bus leaves and with a fundraising party left to prepare for, we decided we would go halfway, to Puno, Peru. Once there we would ask around and ask if it would be possible to bribe our way across the Bolvian border.

That decided, we went off to help with the fundraising. We have friends working on an after-school project where there is a playground with a 50' drop on one side. They wanted to raise money to build a wall since one kid has already fallen off during a rivetting game of futbol (he survived but only after 4 months of being in the hospital). They decided to host a big dinner party and ask for donations. Jana and I helped two Peruvian cooks fix all the food, which meant a LOT of potatoes and carrots to be scrubbed and peeled (we learned that professional chefs can peel a lot faster than we can, we even timed them - 15 seconds per potato), lots of basil and cilantro to be washed, and bin after bin of food to be transported from the house to the restaurant via mini Daewoo taxis! While we were cooking the bar the party was being hosted at was being nailed together. It opened 20 days earlier than expected, so as one might imagine, there was a lot of last minute stuff to be done. The fundraiser was a success and last I heard they raised $500 in profits for a wall. Hopefully that will be enough.

After the party, Dana, Jana, and I boarded our bus to Puno and slept all night, arriving in Puno at 5am just as the sun was coming up. A very persistant tour guide followed us to a restaurant and convinced us that we wanted to do a 2 day trip on the islands of Lake Titikaka. Indeed. We boarded a boat two hours later and went to the phenomenon that is the 'floating islands of Lake Titikaka.' Apparently many years ago some tribe decided they didn't like living on the land near their enemies, so they added layer upon layer of reeds on the water and created their own islands which really do float. They also make boats out of reeds. I noticed though that their reed houses had rooves that hid tarps and tin, and further away the people actually used motorboats and the reed boats were just for show.

Later that day we went to Amantani Island, a real island, and met our host families we were to stay with for the night. Amantani is very rural, there is no electricity or running water, and the people are vegetarians. Our host family consisted of Nikolas and his wife and their four children. Dana, Jana, and I had our own beds in a very pink adobe room, and the kitchen was another adobe room with a small fireplace and a table. That's it. We had great food - quinoa soup, potatoes, eggs, pancakes, and amazing tea made out of muña which is from the mint family. Later that night the wife dressed us up in traditional skirts and shirts and we went to the town center for a thrilling dance party! Wooohoo!

After an all night rain and lightening storm, we boarded our boat for a three-hour ride back to Puno. We slept on the bus during the night and arrived back in Cusco at 4am.