Road Block - Peruvian style!

Back in Cusco

Just to say that we arrived back in Cusco safe and sound.

I'm now catching up on sleep, getting laundry done and spending some time relaxing - last night was spent watching the latest Harry Potter (pirated of course!) and this morning I did my Christmas shopping too. Tomorrow in the evening we plan to go to the theatre. I'll be back at Amantaní next week.

So that is me for now, and then I'll be back in Bermuda. Man the time has flown!!!!!!

Rounding off our trip in Puno

Sadly our trip is coming to an end already. Having felt we had already had enough sun, we decided we didn't need more time on the coast, so last night we took a 12 hour bus to Puno, on Lake Titicaca. We arrived here at 8 in the morning, so after buying our bus tickets back to Cusco this evening, we were free for the day.

We found a yummy jugeria (juicing stand) in the market (the stands were all on a balcony overlooking the meat counters below - not so yummy!). A banana and milk juice is certainly substaining, so we went out to look for a taxi to take us to Sillustani.


Sillistani is a place with Inca built towers marking burial sites. They were interesting to see and the view from there iver the lake was so beautiful.


We had lunch and have spent the afternoon on the pier where the boats to the islands in Lake Titicaca leave from. Relaxing!

Now we have just have our last half hour of our trip here, some of us (not me thankfully) trying not to be tantalised by things to buy as they have no money left and others trying to calm dicty stomachs before getting on the bus!

Change

O how I want change, need change, dream of change, wish for change, o how I desire change!

Coins that is!!!

The bank ATMs here only spit out 100 sol notes, and if you are lucky a 50 sol too. BUt how many little breakfast panarias, taxi drivers, drinks and cookie vendors, market stalls can handle that size note?? I can tell you - absolutely none!!! Forever I have plenty of money and can't spend a single luca nor pay my way for anything. Eventually today I went out and bought a decent pair of shoes that ate a third of my note, but at least I had change to pay back everyone I owed. And guess what, when it comes to tomorrow, I will be back in the same starting place with a new 100 sol note!

O how I want change, need change, wish for change, o how I desire change!

¡Vamos a la playa!

We spent yesterday and the previous afternoon enjoying the Peruvian Pacific beaches in a tiny town called 'Boca del Rio'. Though the others went to the first session of their symposium, they also found some friends there, who were going to go to their beach house. Which sounded a much more fun idea!

Lots of beach, lots of shells and starfish, lots of water, and lots of sun!! But man how we're paying for that last part now! Today, now that we are back in Tacna, has been spent lying practically naked on the beds watching TV with tons of moisturiser everywhere! Last night we treated ourselves to a hostel room, rather than camping out on hard tile floors with friends! I wasn't the worst off either - one girl couldn't even stand up until lunch time . (We had to bring back food from breakfast!) We're looking like the camarones (river shrimp) we ate the other day!

But hopefully we will be able to move enough to get ourselves to Puno tomorrow! But sitting for a long time without needing to move is sounding like a good idea right now!

Tortillas de Camarones

If my souvenir from Cusco-Arequipa was a piece of shattered glass, my souvenirs from Arequipa to Tacna, which we travelled yesterday, 30th Nov, is a grease covered lap on my trousers! We passed through an area apparently known for its delicacy of Tortillas de Camarones, and thought we better try them. They are interesting to say the least!

Camerones are a type of river shrimp. The tortilla is made from a sort of flour batter. The batter and shrimps, with shells, eyes and all (supposedly adds crunch- personally I kept finding legs between my teeth!), are deep fried and then passed straight to you through the window of the bus, dripping the grease everywhere. When we arrived in Tacna and told our host that we had tried these tortillas, he said he would call an ambulance right away, as we would surely drop dead of a heart attack any moment now!