I have just tried the local specialty - grilled Alpaca, which is a cross between a Llama and a sheep. After getting over the guilt of ordering something that looks more like an inmate at a petting zoo than dinner, I actually quite enjoyed it...
Been a bizarre but interesting week. Crossed the border into Bolivia and spent a few days at a teensy tiny, fantastic town on Lake Titicaca called Copacabana. Stayed right by the water`s edge, went kayaking, climbed (yet another bloody) mountain to watch the sunset and drank unhealthy amounts of red wine. After the strain of the trek, it was bliss. Met a mad bird from Australia (hi Felicity!) who it turns out will be in the UK VERY soon, so lock up your sons/valuable items... Took a boat trip to one of the lake`s islands, Isla Del Sol, and the place was so lovely the three of us ended up spending the night in a hostal right at the top of the island with stunning lake views and excellent breakfast, all for the princely sum of one pound twenty five! Intention was to get over to the capital, La Paz, where I wanted to do a mountain bike trek down ´Death Road´(the most dangerous road in the world, apparantly) but those pesky locals have some gripe with their Prime Minister and all transport was on strike. Bloody selfish gits, how dare they campaign for their rights and disprupt my plans? Humph. So instead headed to Puno, a town on the Peru side of the Lake. After having such a lovely time on Isla Del Sol we decided to boat over to Taquile (population 1,000), another island. Now, you can organise accomodation with a tour company in advance but if you wait til you get to the island you can arrange to stay with the locals themselves and it benefits the community more directly. Or something. Well you know me, I do love my selfless acts of charity...
So, we gets to the island and hauls our asses up to the main square (don`t get excited, this is a dust-pitch measuring 50 feet by 50 feet, it`s most appealing feature being, er... the view) and approach some guy in a colourful stripey knitted hat (apparantly denoting his position of authority on the island) for accomodation advice. Out of nowehere the oldest woman on Earth shows up - bare-foot and chewing coca leaves with her gums and her one remaining (seriously rotted) tooth, and he says, ´go now - you are staying with her´. `OK` we thinks, no problems. So we follow Snaggletoothed Mama Peru (as we affectionately dubbed her after my miserable attempts at conversation in Spanish failed to produce a name) across the island to her house, where she showed us to our room - a clay hut with no electricy and beds with matresses that were actually resting on straw. I shouldn`t complain, at least there were windows and a door (even if the one next to Rob`s bed had a hole in it big enough for a small child to climb through...). I hadn`t even had a chance to drop my bag before Mama P accosted me for the dosh. Ten friggin soles EACH! We had a bleedin` twin room with hot shower for 15 the night before! Still, it was an experience (and we had no other choice) so we coughed up. Then she disappeared. So we trekked round the island, which was beautiful, and watched the sunset - it was dark at 5.30pm. Back at the room, Mama P hadn`t even provided candles so we nipped to a local stall and bought some. By this stage I was getting a bit worried about food; you are suppossed to eat with the family but the family were nowhere to be seen. Rob was no help at all, saying not to worry as we had three packets of biscuits if all else failed... So to kill time in the vain hope Mama P turned up, we played several rounds of cards by candlelight, dressed in ALL our clothes as it was so cold. By 7.30pm I revolted. I shall NOT have biscuits as my evening meal! I shan`t! After another fruitless search for the elusive Mama Peru and her brood, I persuaded Bob to walk with me into town. We had seen numerous cardboard signs outside huts on the way up saying things like ´Restrant´and ´Hit Fod´. I needed to eat. We walked by torchlight all the way back to the main square and there was NOTHING open. Even the main square was deserted, devoid of all life except for one light - a shining beacon of hope in my desperate search for food. We headed over and opened the door and... this was clearly some private party. A quick interrogation of the nearest table revealed them all to be on the same tour and all to be German. My heart sank (not because they were German, because I had hoped this place was open to the public) but determined not to be beaten I headed to the kitchen and hey presto, ten minutes later me and Old Bob were sat with the Germans, eating their food and drinking their beer. Result! We were back in the room by 9pm, still no sign of Mama P. Bob went to sleep almost instantly (how does he do it? How?) leaving me to fend for myself. So I literally entombed myself in my sleeping bag so not even an inch of my flesh touched the bedclothes, fended off a curious spider with the only thing to hand (my factor 15 sunblock spray) and hunkered down for one LONG night... Had about three hours sleep in all, Bob had about 12. Got up, what a shocker - no Mama Peru. So we just left. Boat wasn`t til the afternoon so we found a nice secluded spot and just enjoyed the sun. That is, until a single local woman (you can tell the single ones easily; they have BIG fluffy pom-poms on their skirts whereas the old marrieds have tiny stubby ones) took a shine to me sat next to me smiling for what seemed like an age. She finally left my side, but perched on a rock behind me for half an hour watching me through a pair of binoculars. Was most upsetting. Finally got the boat, but due to local strikes we had to go to a port MILES away from town and take a bus back. Two hours later, high on petrol fumes and lungs full of dust, we are back to semi-civilisation...
Leave Peru in the morning for Venezuela. Will be so nice to get back to sea level as we have spent the last two weeks at 12,000 feet. Let me tell you, that altitude plays HELL with your skin`s moisture balance...
Ciao ciao!
John xx
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
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6 comments:
fended off a curious spider! Now come on John,is this the same John that had to get his best mate to clear out his shed before he left because it had a tiny spider in the corner or has a month in the wilderness toughened you up?
You are so funny....
Joanne x x x
You are a legend Mr John
Am loving the website.....keep up the good work
Sam xx
Hey JBB,
Lovin your work! Still missin you like crazy unlike Blackie who has taken over the asylum.....
Photo's??????
xox
hello baby
well i just get prouder of you every day babes glad you dpin ok be more careful next time n insist no spiders oh my i am tryin 2 imagine you noy screamin n runnin a mile bt it hard ha ha happy birthday my sweetheart i will be thinking of you angel love as always 2 you both
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Glad you are both safe, sounds like you are having a ball. Take care.
Jackie DXXX
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