My dream has finally been realized. I can now officially say that I've been to Machu Picchu. I can also say that it lived up to my expectations. We left our hotel at 5 am to get on a train for 2 hours to Aguas Calientes, where we hopped on a bus that took us up to Machu Picchu. That was quite the ride. We climbed for a little bit, out of breath, then we were able to see that famous view. Unbelievable! It's just like the pictures, and I almost felt like I wasn't there. It's so unreal. We toured around forever and climbed a lot. My glutes and hams got a great workout. We went to see this old bridge, and the route there was a little scary. The path was very narrow, and there were drop-offs of about 1,000 ft. (or at least it seemed). The bridge wasn't that special. We then toured around the old city, and our guide was very knowledgeable, but it was just too much information. I could have enjoyed some simple explanations, but they were just too long and I closed my ears about 30 mins. into it. I was very ready to leave when we actually did leave. It was still an overall great experience.
Yesterday we were on a bus all day starting at 8 am. The stops were planned very nicely though, so it made it seem not so long. We arrived in Puno, which is right on Lake Titicaca, around 7 pm. This lake is the highest in the world at around 14,000 feet. It's freezing cold here, and our bathroom window won't shut, so it's constantly letting in cold air. There's a space heater, but it doesn't work well. Unfortunately I'm developing a sore throat now because of all the weather changes. It's so extreme.
Today has been awesome. We went on a boat ride on the Lake to arrive to Las Islas Uros. There are about 70 of these small islands and the people are called Uros. They speak the language Aymara. These islands are floating islands made of these reed-like plants called totoras. They anchor the islands down with stones so it doesn't float away, and they have to keep adding totoras to the ground. The people there were amazing. It's so interesting how these islands were made and how their houses were made. They make everything using totoras...their boats and homes included. They proudly showed us their tiny huts, and we could take as many pictures as we wanted without being charged. They make their own crafts, and I bought a tejido with the story of their islands. We then went on one of their handmade boats for a ride. They called it their "Mercedes" boat because it was fancy. Pictures are up on Facebook if you want to see all of this stuff. The women sang us a few songs in different languages. Gosh, life is so different there. I really do appreciate my life so much more when I go on these trips. Really....I have everything I need plus way more. It's crazy.
Ok, una queja. I know that I've complained about this in Guatemala and Spain, but I'm gonna do it again. Why doesn't anybody in Peru have change? Why do the ATMs only give out 100s and 50s? I mean, last night I bought something for 3 soles with a 20 at the hotel, and they had to go searching for change for me...for a 20! Today I walked into a bank asking if I could get smaller bills for my 100s, and she told me only for 1 100 bill. Even the banks don't like breaking down bills. So come on, if your banks can't even give you change, why the heck do you even have bills of 100? The ATMs should only be allowed to give out 20s. Ok, I'm done complaining. I do love this country, it's just the large bill thing that gets me.
Well, tomorrow it's another long day on the bus. We'll finally be in Arequipa on Thursday. I can't wait to be in one location!
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