Send Those Wishes Into the Sky (Or Down the River)

"As we push away we pray
We will see a better day."
(last two lines of the Loi Krathong song)

The festival of Loi Krathong (pronounced roy gratone, sort of) finally came! Ever since my brother went when he was in Thailand I was looking forward to this event. And what a weekend it was...
We got into the Loi Krathong spirit pretty quickly after saying goodbye to Liz's village and all of her lovely neighbors (the goodbye consisted of some laughter and pointing as I hoofed my stubbornly CROOKED backpack-Court calls is "the Worm"- after the little red trucks they use as taxis, and cramming myself into the most crowded one ever for an hour, but hey) as the Loi Krathong song was playing over and over at the bus station in Phrae. It's a nice song, but imagine hearing 'Jingle Bells' over and over...you get the picture.
Our pilgrimage to Chiang Mai, reputedly the best city in Thailand to see the festival, went well, although the 4 hour bus ride seemed much longer as my bladder was threatening to explode (don't you love my intimate details??). Then, after dropping our stuff off at the Green Tulip-to date, the cleanest and nicest hostal we've seen in Southeast Asia-we wandered off to see the town.

Chiang Mai is such a NICE city. Rivers and moats, malls and markets, parks and wats. Bookstores up the wazoo.

Our first day in Chiang Mai, the highlight (for me) was some Western food in the form of Pizza Hut and HARRY POTTER 7! Part One. It was fun to go to a movie in Thailand-there is a little video/song at the beginning dedicated to the king, and everyone stands up in respect.

On Saturday, Loi Krathong truly began! The day included bagels, a nice Thai massage (with TIGER BALM!!-more on this later) and a massuese that was actually trained in the art of massage, and our own little Thanksgiving feast. We, meaning me, Liz, Megan, and Court, also had our own little Thanksgiving celebration, which included a whole host of farang food, such as falafel, burritos, Subway, salsa, Coke, and salad. Not much traditional Thanksgiving food, but the sandwiches WERE turkey, and remains one of the best Thanksgivings on my record, anyway (despite the fact that we almost burned down the hostal with our "mood lighting" candles...at least we were on the roof and caught it quickly, eh?) The rooftop of Green Tulip was also the PERFECT place to get our first glimpse of the amazing lanterns lighting up the sky as part of the festival.

Loi Krathong, in case you aren't in the know, traditionally began as a festival honoring the river goddess. Basically, you make a little banana boat (the krathong) and fill it with flowers and candles and bits of yourself, i.e. fingernails and hair, to send away the bad spirits that you may be plagued with. Then you light the candle and send it down the river! The rest of the festival, the spectacular part, evolved in the places that don't have a river: giant lanterns lit up and send into the sky with wishes for the next year. I think the idea of the lanterns/boats is BEAUTIFUL and I fully intend to steal at least the lantern idea for my wedding or retirement party or something (so be warned).

After our lovely little Thanksgiving celebration, we headed out onto the town to see the festival and send up a lantern of our own! The festival, we soon discovered, is like 4th of July on crack, mixed with a street festival and Valentine's Day (you're supposed to send your boat down the river with your lover). The 4th of July part was the insane fireworks that were exploding everywhere, and as Thailand is a little lax on who can light the fireworks (although they were especially on guard when a farang had a firework in their hand, I noticed) and where they can be lit, it was slightly terrifying, with them shooting in ALL directions!

I soon decided that Loi Krathong is one of the HIGHLIGHTS of our trip. It's terrifying, yes, but beautiful, majestic, inspiring, crazy, brilliant...I could go on (I won't, though, I'm sure I already broke several grammar rules, and the fact that I don't know which ones tells you just what kind of English major I was). From a distance, the lanterns looked like fireflies, or the enchanted ceiling in Hogwarts, or aliens taking over the planet. But no, just millions of wishes being sent up into the sky!

After traversing the crowd, getting caught in the middle of a parade, we made it down to the river, the center of festivities. After fighting our way through, and taking pictures of the many lanterns and the crowds and the fireworks, we bought our own lantern and headed onto a rickety dock to light it off.
It was harder than we thought-it took awhile to get it lit (of course, a friendly Thai person produced his extra lighter and gave us a hand) and after you light it, you have to hold it for awhile so it gets sufficient heat to prevent crashing and burning (we saw a lot of those, and some that got stuck in trees, or on houses...makes you wonder how many fires happen during that weekend!!). Being the crazy farangs we are, we didn't quite hold it long enough--it got really HOT--and it careened through the crowd, causing a few men to grab their women and dive out of harms way. But it went up! Nobody got hit! And we watched it go waaaaay up into the sky, holding our wishes for a better day :).

The rest of the night consisted of some dancing, although my skillz were not up to their usual level as I was ill with the bastard cold (that would, to my dismay, last for another two weeks, but at that point I just sounded like a man with a cough). It was still great to get out though! And it was fun to head back to our dorm, meet people, and sway on the roof in awe at the bee-you-tiful lanterns.

The next day, Loi Krathong continued, although the day was somewhat bittersweet as it was our last day :( with Liz and Megan! The lanterns were still beautiful, though, and Liz and Meg took us to an awesome night market where I spent waaaaay too much money, but mostly on gifts, so I don't feel SO bad :). We also went to dinner at this salad place with amazing carrot dressing...hear that, Mom? Salad! Carrots! I'm eating like a grown-up! (Not counting the Oreos...)
Sunday was fairly low-key as I was now having trouble breathing in addition to the throat-0n-fire, but still, I loved Chiang Mai!
After wrenching goodbyes to Liz and Megan (well, Megan. Liz snuck out at 5 a.m.) we spent another few days in Chiang Mai. That Monday was apparently THE day for Loi Krathong, which we'd hear about every other day that weekend, but it WAS! The streets were all closed off, the parade was somehow still continuing at around midnight when we finally headed home, and the crowds were INSANE.
Court and I bought our own little boat for the river and put a bit of hair in it, and braved the fiery shores (Court literally got her hair caught on fire from a firework--scariest moment of my life possibly--and we both narrowly avoided several close calls to our faces and other precious parts) to send it down the river! Our candle didn't really stay lit all that long...but I still like to pretend that the river goddess is blessin' us anyway:).
That evening, we watched the plethora of lanterns from our peaceful (well, peaceful except for the occasional dynamite blasts) rooftop and imagined all of the wishes, thought of our own wishes, sat there in awe.
A better day may indeed be heading our way...but it's going to be pretty hard to beat that festival! :)

Sweet Summertime

AND about six weeks later...I'm baaaack!! Now, I am OFFICIALLY a COLLEGE GRADUATE!! As in, I have a bachelor of arts in English from Montana State University! Sounds so official. Somehow I survived my last class, despite an unfortunate professor, with flying colors, and even learned something and managed to have some fun! I did learn that it's definitely true: just because you speak a language doesn't mean you can teach it! Sure got me thinkin' about my possible career teaching English as a second language.

After a successful finish, I went off to Washington state for a fabulous, well-deserved vacation! It was truly incredible. One day, my boyfriend and I made a long trip to Victoria, Canada on Vancouver Island, and it was one of the best days of my life!! A little dramatic, but it still feels that way almost a month later. I flew over with my friend Hannah, who was visiting her boyfriend working for NAV-C in Seattle, and it was GREAT flying with someone!! I usually fly alone or with my dad, who mostly zones out to his music or sleeps, and isn't exactly as entertained or full of interesting gossip as my old friend Hannah T :).

Unfortunately before I left, I found out that I had a kidney infection--oodles and oodles of fun--so the first day or two was a little calmer than we had planned. But on Saturday, my boyfriend's dad had his 50th birthday party, and we wandered around Olympia, and spent Sunday with his family and just resting.

Mooonndddaaaaay it was off to oh CANADAAAA! Victoria was incredible, so beautiful, I loved it so much I'm considering going to graduate school there!

But before we even got there, an old dream of mine came true--we saw some orca whales on the ferry ride across the sound! I was so happy I literally cried.

Perfect beginning to a perfect day.

We landed, wandered around the little area, avoided the rain, and had a delectable English tea, complete with a silver tray!

After our delicious tea, we took a long bus ride up the island to visit...the Butchart Gardens!! They were incredible and I almost broke my camera taking pictures of practically every flower. Here are some of my favorites!! :) Also, just click on the photo for a larger view--especially the flower ones, as you can see every drop of rain! Not even rain could deter from these Gardens.

The rest of the day--including the drive back to Olympia through the Olympic National Park, which was surprisingly rural--was also so fun!!

So was the rest of the trip! We hung out on the Sound, and in Seattle visiting Hannah and her boyfriend, and our friends Lindsay, Gordon, Casey, Chris Sjoberg, and we even ran into my brother, who was visiting the area for a wedding. We also went to the BEACH, my main true love, and had Thai food and sushi and just a wonderful wonderful time!

It was the best vacation, completely worth the wait. Here a few more pictures:

Nowadays, I'm working at the Chronicle,studying for the GRE--October 1st!--and being a slave at the law office, and I just recently got hired for Express Professionals, a temp agency. I'm planning my trip to Thailand like a fiend, unlike Peru, I might actually be prepared, complete with the perfect, thoroughly researched travel sandals and my own mini-pharmacy. My shots are up-to-date, my travel book is dog-eared, my lists are made and keep getting longer...I am an expert planner.

I'm also beginning to apply to GRAD SCHOOOOooooL! I still have applied to both AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, and I have a few leads on journalism jobs, so I have a million options and a million choices.

School started for pretty much everyone I know this week, which got me thinking about my future. Grad school is very exciting right now--I'm looking at the University of Victoria, Portland State, University of South Carolina, Missoula, Trinity College Dublin, and a gazillion more. Grad schools are intense!!!!!

BUT REALLY, this blog is about my exploration of the world and life, which is continuing in OCTOBER!! I'm so excited! The first few weeks, our friend in the Peace Corps, Liz, has time off, so we're landing and heading to the beach.

To prepare, my dad and I are taking long-awaited scuba lessons right here in Bozeman! So hopefully I'll get a chance to do that at one of the best places in the world for it...if I pass the class, that is!

It will be sooooo nice--especially after the cool summer Bozeman has had!!

I'm also looking at options for when I return. I'm still considering teaching English abroad, although I love writing more every day. Also, next summer, I'm looking at GeoVisions, a way to teach conversational English to a family in exchange for room and board. Always looking to the future and planning...

I hope all of you, my many many avid readers, are having a wonderful August! Happy SEPTEMBER, tomorrow! Eek

My (Newest) Favorite Peruvian Cities and Terrifyingly Gorgeous Views

This past weekend I made the epic pilgirmage to the famous ´Lost City of the Incas´--a.k.a Machupicchu! I have to say that it was an amazing, terrifying, inspiring experience. I woke up and caught a bus...okay, a van...out of Cusco early Sunday morning, and here comes the terrifying part: the drive. Not only was it around eight hours, but eight hours on insanely swervy mountain passes overlooking beautiful valleys a million miles below the edge of the cliff they called a road. I spent the majority of the time banging against my neighbor (thanks for the bruise dude) and the window and the ceiling...and closing my eyes and outright praying, wishing I was in our old van with the terrible shocks that I spent many an hour whining about...smooth as glass compared to this trip!!
Closing my eyes was mostly effective, although unfortunately my neighbor had a lovely gasping reflex...everytime a scary part of the road would come to pass, he would swear or let out a bunch of air...and when your eyes are closed and you are already scared to death, this is NOT helpful! As a result, I generally only saw the tiny little falling apart bridges or the gigantic trucks attempting to squeeze past and push us off the road.
We stopped for lunch in some tiny town, where I actually introduced myself to the two Danish guys sitting by me, and met another nice girl from California. Somehow, somehow, somehow we made it to the final leg of our journey for the day, the train station. Chaos ensued there, of course, when our guide immediately disappeared, and we had no one to meet us with our train tickets. I can effectively say that Machupicchu will probably be the last tour I take in Perú, as they´re very disorganized and it´s a bit freaky having all of your decisions and tickets in someone else´s hands like that!
We ended up paying for our train tickets and hoping that we would be met by someone in Aguas Calientes who knew where we would stay, and all of that jazz. The train ride was absolutely awesome: moseying through the jungle (and lots of tunnels! I love tunnels!) and nice and relaxing after that awful van ride. It was made better by the appearance of our guide, which was a huge relief: I was not looking forward to spending money I didn´t have on a hostel and the entrance fee to Machupicchu.
We arrived safely in Aguas Calientes, and I was immediately in love. Not only was it a small, charming little city with colorful buildings and flowers everywhere, but it was in the most incredible setting: surrounded by impossibly tall mountains (making the Rockies look like gentle, sloping hills) and overlooking a raging river. We got settled, and I went out to explore the little plaza, the colorful buildings, and the parks. I wandered around, taking pictures, and enjoying the feeling that I was walking around in Indiana Jones´s shoes:).
We had a delicious dinner, met our guide, and headed to bed early, for a very early morning. I somehow got up easily the next morning, despite the fact that I´m never a morning person, at around five a.m. We caught the first bus up to...Machupicchu! My other favorite Peruvian city (even though nobody lives there anymore). We arrived just in time for the sunrise, and I was absolutely in awe. It´s one of those experiences that you can´t really describe, and my pictures don´t even begin to do that place justice. A massive city high in the Andes, overlooking the Urubamba gorge, in wonderful shape...a once in a lifetime experience that I recommend for everyone! It actually lives up to all the hype and more.
The morning was incredible, watching the sun rise and the great city rise out of the mists...pretty magical. We had a few hours to kill before our tour, and I basically stared around, took pictures, and climbed around before getting seriously lost. Although there were quite a few tourists there at that point, I somehow came into a bunch of dead ends, and then couldn´t find my way out, with nobody else to be seen! A typical Amy situation...but I did find a place with amazing views, gorgeous flowers, a bunch of lizards and some sort of rabbit-looking creature halfway up a giant wall (yeah, what? must be Spiderman rabbit).
I somehow found my way back, after knocking over another tourist and sending his camera halfway down the hill (I successfully retrieved it, and thankfully neither he nor the camera were injured in any way) and rejoined my tour. Not the best tour ever, as really, nobody knows much about Machupicchu, so everything is generally speculation, besides the dates (15th century) and the sort that has archaeological evidence. We did see a few cool areas that I would have missed otherwise, such as the Tomb of the Princess and the astronomical viewpoint.
After the tour, I walked alllll the way back to Aguas Calientes, and it was about a million degrees with 80 percent humidity at that point. (Ironically, everyone told me how cold it would be...funny that I was melting the entire trip, even more so thanks to the massive backpack I was carrying full of sweaters and socks). The walk was beautiful, if a bit steep, full of weird jungle plants, giant butterflies and pretty, odd flowers. And occasionally the sweaty tourist and dramatic views of the river (possibly the Urubamba River, every map I´ve seen seems to label it differently).
The rest of the day was full of more travel, but I didn´t mind the terrorizing bus trip as much, thanks to my Machupicchu high. I barely even minded when our tire exploded twice and we stopped every five minutes. Although I did start to mind when it was quickly approaching midnight, we were stuck in the cold, and we could see Cusco in the distance...!
The trip through the Sacred Valley really opened my eyes a lot, and got me thinking about life and all sorts of fun things. It´s weird how easy it is to be close-minded about the world, and just go through life doing what you´re expected. There´s so many different ways to live! I´m also supremely grateful that I have a choice in this matter, after seeing many corn or banana farms or people who live in tiny little cities, doing what their parents did before them or whatever they can to make some moola. This country also stirs up a lot of feeling in me, from pride to sadness to disbelief. I was in disbelief at the state of the roads (although, as my neighbor pointed out, it IS South America), and in disbelief when we drove through the first waterfall (there were quite a few more) and sadness when we drove through poor little towns past injured dogs and dirty little kids. But, one thing about this country is that everyone acts like they´re friends...sometimes rude, but friendly and always stopping when a car is on the side of the road (except for taxis, they´re just plain rude.)
We did make it back to Cusco successfully, and the next day I had a panic attack, as my stomach has been bothering me for awhile, even after finishing all of my other meds, and I´ve never been very good at pushing it aside and not being a hypochondriac. At first, going to the doctor was a terrible idea--I merely went into the first clinic I happened upon on my way home. Horrible. It was dirty, and gross, and I could not commnicate with my doctor, who kept jabbing me in the stomach and attempting to stab me with a dirty needle. Luckily I can speak enough Spanish, in a decent enough accent (and at a loud enough volume) to prevent any tests from being done or needles going where I didn´t want them. At one point I was in the hallway waiting, and I noticed the guy next to me was absolutely gushing blood from his head--and nobody else even seemed to notice! I gave him a bunch of tissues and let him go first...but that awful experience was definitely eye opening as well.
My panic attack had not been stemmed at this point, but after escaping and returning to my house, I got the name of another doctor from my host sister, Anna, from Denmark. This doctor spoke wonderful English, gave me a good diagnosis and even went with me to the pharmacy. I will definitely be keeping her cell number close by for the rest of my time here!! It turns out I have some parasite (honestly, I´m not really surprised, despite being anal about washing my hands and what I´ve been eating) but I already feel mucho better after a few doses of the meds.
I´m finishing up school this week and getting healthy again before I hit the road next Wednesday! Beautiful desert beaches here I come...followed by tropical Ecuador. I will post pictures of Machupicchu soon (prepare to be really jealous!) if I can figure it out again, I seem to have technology issues.
I hope all is well for you, and that you (the millions out there religiously following my blog) are having some fun also! I love updates from anybody, so feel free to write:) LOVE xx

The Real Football, More Sickness and a few Good-byes

I suppose it has been a bit of awhile since I´ve posted, but things haven´t been too exciting around here. Last week, I contracted not only a cold but also another stomach bug type thing...very fun. I spent a lot of time lying in my bed trying not to die (I´m a bit of a hypochondriac) although I did manage to have some fun over the weekend. I went out several times, dancing and karaoking (I´m ridiculously and weirdly awesome at karaoke...as long as it´s in Spanish!), as goodbye parties for a few friends who left, either back home or onto their next adventure. It probably wasn´t good for my health, but it sure was fun! I tried the Machupicchu, a famous drink around here, which is multi-colored for some reason. It was good but SO sweet...I think I prefer the Pisco Sour! I also made it to the football game (non-American style!) with my family last Sunday. It was pure chaos, tons of fireworks and water being thrown everywhere (yes, more water...what is UP with that??). I even got covered in this odd red powder...red is the color of Cusco, although I have no idea WHAT that stuff was! It was a gorgeous day, although I only made it about halfway through thanks to my illness. It was fun to watch, the players were all really good...thanks in a large part due to the fact that they´ve been playing since the cradle! I think my favorite part was going with my host papa, the cutest old man ever, decked out in head to toe in RED :)
This week I missed quite a bit of school, fighting off the illnesses that refuse to leave me alone. I´m pretty sure this country is trying to kill me, but luckily I´m a fighter! It could be due to the food or the fact that everyone is much more touchy-feely...although I do really like the custom of kissing everyone on the cheek! I might have to try to transfer that to Montana, could be an interesting experiment :).
My housemate and chief translator left for Costa Rica via Bolivia this week, so that was a bit of a bummer, although we did go out for pizza, which I have been missing terribly! It´s weird how much I miss that sort of comfort food when I´m sick, guess I´m an emotional eater! It was delicious, with pineapple, Canadian bacon, and peach (who would´ve thunk? pretty decent though!).
Otherwise, this past week has been rather uneventful. My Spanish has improved a lot, although all the different tenses are getting jumbled into my head...I suppose I just need time to sort it all out! I did find ´Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban´in Spanish for twelve soles (about four dollars) and so far it´s been a great read! We also got a new tourist staying in our house who brought tons of English books...my life has become a life of small pleasures :).
The next week or so things start to get very exciting. Not only do I travel to Machu Picchu tomorrow for a few days, but I finish my Spanish lessons in Cusco on Friday! I plan on leaving the city next Sunday, and I´ll be travelling pretty much nonstop for the next six weeks, in both Perú and Ecuador (where my brother will be meeting me in three weeks! Woohoo)! So stay tuned for my next great adventure :).
Hope all is wonderfully well with all of you! Hope to hear from you soon, miss and love you all!

The lake that birthed a civilization, floating islands, more dancing, and some sickness...

This past week I came down with some evil sickness, continued to be frustrated by Spanish, and I travelled to the famous Lake Titicaca--highest navigable lake in the world!! Lake Titicaca is gigantic and gorgeous (although the first morning that was difficult to see, thanks to the rainstorm) and it was fun to see, despite me still being in recovery mode from my stomach bug. It´s a sacred place for the Incas (I´m surrounded by those) as one of the legends about their beginning states that the sun god had his children spring from the lake to form the Incan empire. Seems like a bad way to start a civilization to me, but I guess it worked for them :)
It was also an exhausting trip--we left Friday night at ten o´clock and arrived in Puno (right on the lake) at around 5 in the morning. Ouch. It was a rather uneventful trip, except for a small incident--I was locked in the bathroom for a solid fifteen minutes. Ironically, everyone else had complained about NOT being able to lock the door. I guess I was really freaked out about somebody walking in on me, and also half asleep, so I yanked the door closed really hard. It locked all right, and I ended up knocking and yelling until somebody heard me--a little boy who was the keeper of the keys. However, his key didn´t work, so he got somebody else, who go somebody else...I finally got out, amid the cheers of the crowd that had accumulated. Oh, what adventures!!
Thankfully, I was travelling with several Peruvians, whose connections came in handy. We were picked up at the bus station by Dwight, another Peruvian, who took us to his aunt´s house, where we had tea and talked for awhile. Dwight then used his connections as a tour guide to get us a tour of Lake Titicaca and the islands for an incredibly good price--other people on the same tour were paying over twice as much as us!
We wandered around Puno for a bit before our tour, and I have to say that Cusco is spoiling me--it was a rather dirty, ugly city full of garbage and even rattier looking dogs than I´ve seen in Cusco. The lake was pretty to see--and then it started to pour. I was soaking wet for the next hour, and travelling around in rickshaws--basically a guy on a bike pushing your seat, which has a tiny little umbrella over it--did not help that situation. We did eventually make it to our boat, hoping that the rain would stop so we wouldn´t get hypothermia.
And, thankfully, it did, just as we arrived at the first island--a small little one made completely out of reeds! It was one of the famous Uros Islands, or the ´floating islands´of the Lake Titicaca. The reeds have solid enough roots that are floating for little villages to be built on them. It was pretty amazing, and my favorite part of the trip! We hung out on the island for awhile, meeting a few of the locals and seeing their (reed) houses, and trying on their traditional clothes--a common part of tourism apparently. I looked ridiculous enough that the other tourists--from Bolivia, Amsterdam, Germany and Ecuador--all requested a picture of me. I tell myself this is because I´m on of the few who actually dressed up, but it´s more likely I looked like a complete fool.
We then took a boat made out of reeds (I´m sure you´ve caught on by now to the fact that everything was pretty much made out of reeds) to another island, and explored this one, seeing some local food still alive, including cuy (guinea pig!!), Perú´s favorite local specialty. I still think they´re too cute to eat, but at some point I will get around to trying it!
From there, we took a looooooong boat ride to Isla Amantaní, where we would spend the night. The sun had come out in full force, and it was beautiful when we arrived on the island. We were greeted by the families we were to stay with, as there are no hostals on the island--or cars, or running water, or really electricity--although there was cell phone service. It was like going back in time--we did have nice, kind of comfortable beds, but the kitchen was a little dirt hut with a fireplace. The food was amazing, although I don´t have any idea what most of it was. They were pretty decent Spanish speakers, but a lot of the food only had Quechua names, the local language down here. My favorite stuff was the tea, the mix of onions and cheese and some kind of fruit, and the crepe for breakfast!
After we rested and had lunch with our families, we watched a soccer game (or played, if you had the energy and/or the skills, both of which I lack) and then went for a hike. We hiked Patchatata, one of the two peaks on the island, and got some beautiful views, completely worth the long, hot hike! I had a small crisis when I dropped Hamarabi down a small cliff, had to climb down to get him and almost fell myself, and got yelled at by some random passersby, but it was a good trip.
I was hiking with Laura, my housemate, and Indira, a teacher from my school (we were also sharing a house on the island) and we managed to get very lost on the way down. I think we were all exhausted, but it was really hilarious...except for one one of the islanders refused to listen to my Spanish due to my shining white (or pink...) face. I was rather offended, but oh well. I still speak gibberish most of the time anyway.
We eventually found our house (how we got so lost on a tiny little island is beyond me) and had a delicious dinner, followed by a fiesta which included more local clothing (Laura in their traditional hat and dancing was so funny I laughed for about half an hour) and lots of dancing, which for me was swishing my skirt around and being whipped around in a circle. I was so tired at this point, I practically crawled back to my bed and passed out until the next morning when we were rudely awakened at 6 a.m. We had a delicious crepe and jumped back onto our boat, where we headed to Isla Taquile. The boat ride there was rough, I was rather seasick, which reminded me of Ireland, the only other place I have experienced that awful feeling. We finally made it to the island, where I discovered Dramamine in my pocket and took some in case the ride back was awful.
I was exhausted and just ready for the mainland at this point, although the hike up to the main plaza was pretty (and long) and then we sat around for awhile, waiting for everyone else. The steps down the mountain were rather frightening for me, and next to Indira in her little heels I felt like a fool every time I almost tripped and injured myself. We made it back, relaxed in the sun, and a million hour boat ride later we were back in Puno. It was another gorgeous day, but we caught the earliest bus we could and headed back to Cusco, which I was so ready for!
The bus felt like hours long...especially surrounded by a bunch of smelly Quechua women with their chickens and cats, and I was so relieved to be back in Cusco!!
This week has been uneventful so far, but it´s kind of nice to have Carnivale over--I´m a lot warmer! Although on the bus from Puno I could not escape, and go silly stringed right in the face. That stuff is hard to get out of your hair!!! I went on a field trip today, to the oldest (and most chaotic) market in Cusco, San Pedro´s. It was interesting to see all the foreign fruit and vegetables, and I bought some itty bitty bananas! No plans so far for the weekend, except for a soccer game possibly, between Cusco and Lima...my major plan for this week is getting healthy again! And bidding farewell to my friend Linda, who is heading off to volunteer on the coast.
I hope everything is well with all of you, and I hope my blog is entertaining somebody...and not completely boring, although I think this post takes the award for the longest so far!! What can I say, I tend to be wordy. I love you and MISS you all and would love to hear from anyone!!!!!!!!! Besos, Amy
p.s. No new pictures yet...having some techincal difficulties. But hopefully SOON :)