Decided to swap the bussle and dustiness of the city and head to the calmness and tranquility of Lake Titicaca (highest navicable lake in the world aparently, dont want to sail here though as it is traditional if someone falls in not to pull them out but give them as an offering to the earth godess Pachamama, about 4 fisherman a year meet this unfortunate end). A very holy place..............
Experienced our first silly pot holed bolivian roads from a packed colectivo, it was a bit like jounior kick start but with 4 wheels.
traveled across the flat altiplano, so much sky & amazing clouds!!!! ( no more basement living, phew) & the snow capped mountins looked close enough to touch (aparently you can see further in the thin air). Quite a desolate place with very simple dwellings & animals, a hard life but still the simplicity of it was complelling.
Got off the bus in a tiny local village much to the dismay of the 2 other tourists on the bus and the amusment of the locals. Well we had heard that Peuto Perez was a pictureque and quiet spot to break up the journey to Cococabana, but with no public transport to it we were off roading.
got a taxi who jubulently beeped all the way at nothing, we think to tell all his friends the beers were on him with the amount he over charged us.
The hotel was amazing, jutting out into the lake with 240 degree views from our balcony. It was lodge built by a German guy with massive windows from the many receptions, resterants and games rooms. We were the only guests and the waiter donned his white blazer & lit a fire for us at breakfast and supper. We just chilled on our balcony watching the odd blue sailed fishing boat, women cutting reads and listened to the birds (yes Fran we have been bird spotting, some fab green woodpeckers here). This was the place that Thor of the kon tiki made his second totora boat they are the only ones that still have the ancenicent skills of making these reed boats.
Nothing here but a queit square (that looks just like how I expected south america to be), mud dellings and farm animals grazing along the shore line. Oh and a football pitch with the best view right on the lake edge next to the school. Some of the houses are mud on the ground floor and then brick for the second. Not sure if tis is better for insulation on the cold nights or new found wealth half way through the build.
In the evening we played pool and table tenis and watched an electrical storm over the other side of the lake.
The hotel had a pet alpaca wondering the grounds, he was so cute. We really feel like we are on holiday now and have a healthy colour, though already we have lost a bit of weight (the bit we needed to loose!)
Daves been reading about how they lost the art of high tec terracing. This area used to supply food for thousands of people. They had to overcome the harsh cold and the problem of salt from the lake. To do this they built a system of raised fields (50 km sq) with a cobble stone base, lined with clay and then gravel and top soil. The dug deep gullies for the water and the sun heated this during the day to stop the cropps from freezing in the night. These waterways attracted fish and ducks that produced fertiliser making the land super for production of crops. Aid agencys today cant better this system and are trying to re introduce these skills.
This is also the place where they used to put boards round the heads of infants till the age of five as it was deemed a mark of culteral distiction to have a cone head.
Experienced our first silly pot holed bolivian roads from a packed colectivo, it was a bit like jounior kick start but with 4 wheels.
traveled across the flat altiplano, so much sky & amazing clouds!!!! ( no more basement living, phew) & the snow capped mountins looked close enough to touch (aparently you can see further in the thin air). Quite a desolate place with very simple dwellings & animals, a hard life but still the simplicity of it was complelling.
Got off the bus in a tiny local village much to the dismay of the 2 other tourists on the bus and the amusment of the locals. Well we had heard that Peuto Perez was a pictureque and quiet spot to break up the journey to Cococabana, but with no public transport to it we were off roading.
got a taxi who jubulently beeped all the way at nothing, we think to tell all his friends the beers were on him with the amount he over charged us.
The hotel was amazing, jutting out into the lake with 240 degree views from our balcony. It was lodge built by a German guy with massive windows from the many receptions, resterants and games rooms. We were the only guests and the waiter donned his white blazer & lit a fire for us at breakfast and supper. We just chilled on our balcony watching the odd blue sailed fishing boat, women cutting reads and listened to the birds (yes Fran we have been bird spotting, some fab green woodpeckers here). This was the place that Thor of the kon tiki made his second totora boat they are the only ones that still have the ancenicent skills of making these reed boats.
Nothing here but a queit square (that looks just like how I expected south america to be), mud dellings and farm animals grazing along the shore line. Oh and a football pitch with the best view right on the lake edge next to the school. Some of the houses are mud on the ground floor and then brick for the second. Not sure if tis is better for insulation on the cold nights or new found wealth half way through the build.
In the evening we played pool and table tenis and watched an electrical storm over the other side of the lake.
The hotel had a pet alpaca wondering the grounds, he was so cute. We really feel like we are on holiday now and have a healthy colour, though already we have lost a bit of weight (the bit we needed to loose!)
Daves been reading about how they lost the art of high tec terracing. This area used to supply food for thousands of people. They had to overcome the harsh cold and the problem of salt from the lake. To do this they built a system of raised fields (50 km sq) with a cobble stone base, lined with clay and then gravel and top soil. The dug deep gullies for the water and the sun heated this during the day to stop the cropps from freezing in the night. These waterways attracted fish and ducks that produced fertiliser making the land super for production of crops. Aid agencys today cant better this system and are trying to re introduce these skills.
This is also the place where they used to put boards round the heads of infants till the age of five as it was deemed a mark of culteral distiction to have a cone head.
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