TITTY + CACA = JAJAJA

We decided to go to Lake Titicaca (which lies between Peru & Bolivia) because, well, it is called "Lake Titicaca" hahaha. I know you think it is funny too!
A Peruvian guy we met joked that the "caca" side belongs to Bolivia. That was pretty amusing until we realized that the word "titi" had no meaning to him!! We quickly explained the word's significance in the U.S. and he got a pretty big kick out of that. 


When we added the lake to our agenda, I didn't know there was actually anything special about it --I thought it was just a large body of water with a funny name. As it turns out, the lake is filled with reed villages. The villagers constructed tiny floating islands, which are made out of one meter of hard dirt and one meter of dry reeds, and they live on them!  We went on a boat tour in the morning and it was definitely one of the most interesting, amazing things I have ever seen. 






When we stopped at one of the islands, the chief explained to us how they make the islandsand a little bit about their way of life. EVERYTHING on their islands are made out of reeds --their houses, the furniture, and even some of their food! We were all so fascinated, but it got pretty awkward toward the end because it turns out the only reason they invite tourists on the islands is they want us to buy a bunch of their homemade souvenirs... 











This next picture is my favorite. It looks like she is daydreaming.



After our tour, we had about 6 hours to kill in the city of Puno before our LONG, LONGbus ride back to Santiago. As it turns out, Puno is a really ugly, nasty, boring city. Maybethat sounds mean, but I am not offering my opinion -- this is an objective observation. We ended up finding some place to eat and then spent a few hours in an internet café. 



Although the food was really good (I still fantasize about my pasta from time to time. It is the second one pictured) the service was so bad it was laughable. For example, the waiters could not describe ANYTHING on the menu... not even the ingredients! I think the icing on the cake was when a waiter brought out two identical pastas and tried to convince us that one of the them was actually a salad hahahaha. 
And thaaaat, my friends, is the end of our unforgettable, amazing, incredible trip to Peru.If you ever get the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it! 
Life in Santiago has been rough since my return. I have had a lot on my mind and school has been a complete nightmare. Not to mention, it is so hard to understand Chilean Spanish after being able to understand Peruvian Spanish so easily!! Sigghhh. 
Thank goodness Miley Cyrus came to Santiago last week to cheer me up :)

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

***

WARNING: You are about to experience what is 

commonly known as PHOTO OVERLOAD.

Proceed with caution.

***

To put it simply, Machu Picchu is an Incan ruin hidden on the side of a mountain
in the middle of the jungle in Peru. It is said to have once been a place of worship
or possibly a shrine to one of their emperors. What makes it so incredible is that
it was only discovered 100 years ago, which means it was in no way affected or
damaged by the Spanish conquistadores, like most Incan sites were. 
To get to Macchu Picchu, you have to take a train to a small city in the jungle called
Aguas Calientes. To reach the ruins from there, you take a short bus ride up the
mountain. We decided to stay the night in Aguas Calientes the night before we
went up to Machu Pichhu so that we could be among the first to arrive in the morning (the first 200 people to arrive get passes to climb Huayna Picchu, a tall mountain next to the ruins which offers an incredible view). Aguas Calientes was a pretty cool little city -- besides the fact that the local restaurant/shop owners mobbed us wherever we went. 



 




The next morning, we were a bit worried that we were going to have a rough day because A) it was already raining when we woke up at 3:30 AM &  B) by the time we got out to the bus at 4:30 AM, there was already a huuuuge line of people waiting! But do not fret! We were among the last people to receive a pass to Huayna Picchu. 
Hooray!



BTW, the bus ride to Machu Picchu was crazy! I felt like I was on Disney's Jungle Cruise, except... it was real!!! I wish I had better pictures to show you, but we were going soooo fast. Which is terrifying, considering we were flying up a mountain in a sharp zig-zag motion.


 I can't say much about the ruins other than that they are absolutely breathtaking.









I tried to do a handstand, which is on my Day Zero Project list, but apparently I have no sense of balance whatsoever.





The trail up to Huayna Picchu was just as beautiful. Other than the fact that the hour-long trek was practically vertical, it was quite enjoyable. The next picture is of the entire mountain. If you squint, you can see the trail we took. See what I mean???



 The view below us became increasingly better as we climbed the mountain.I spotted a river that bore a striking resemblance to the chocolate riverthat one Augostos Gloop fell into in the movie Willy Wonka. Yummm.


When we reached the very top, there was fog covering everything :( We chilled up there for quite some time, though, so we were able to get pictures of the ruins once the fog drifted away. 







This group insisted on taking a picture with us hahahahah





Nap time!!! This is where we all got bitten by mysterious Peruvian bugs.
If you go to Machu Picchu, WEAR BUG SPRAY!!! We itchhh :(

 

She is pointing to the top of Huayna Picchu, where we climbed earlier that day


And then... we discovered the alpacas. The babies were soooo soft





Right before the park closed, we walked to see The Incan Bride,
one of the famous sights in the ruins. While the walk to the bridge
was gorgeous, the bridge itself wasn't too exciting





And that, my friends, is all! A day I will never forget.We were at Machu Picchu for 12 hours, literally from dawn until dusk.When we got back to our hostel in Aguas Calientes, we showered, bought pizza, devoured said pizza, and then laid around in our beds talking and reading.While Rachel was out by 8:30 PM, I think the rest of us fell asleep around 10 PM.

Up next, my 13 year-old self's dreams come true -- we go to Lake Titicaca!

♥