Peru

There may be many unpleasant local smells in Peru — diesel fumes, raw sewage, and dead chickens come to mind as a few — but generally, cigarette smoke isn't one of them. In my time in Peru so far, I've been pleasantly surprised to learn that most locals smoke infrequently, or not at all. I've only really suffered from passive smoking around here, while around other gringos, almost all of whom smoke non-stop. But apart from the fellow tourists, Peru seems to be a very friendly country for non-smokers such as myself.

As I already wrote regarding Mexico, you can tell a lot about a country from its music. I was mainly in the highlands of Peru for my time there thus far — almost 90% of my time was spent in Cusco — so what I have to say is probably somewhat particular to that region; although I don't imagine that the music is that different in other regions. Essentially, the music of Peru is a mix of the old, ancient folk traditions; the influence of traditional and modern Latin music in general; and of course, modern Western music. As with its people, Peru's music is exposed to the big, wide world, but still holding proudly and stubbornly to its cultural roots.

Fate was against me as I boarded my bus out of Puno (to Copacabana) this morning. I'd just gotten on the bus and sat down, when I remembered that my passport was in my big backpack, which was stowed in the luggage compartment underneath. Since we were going to be crossing the border into Bolivia on this bus ride, I needed my passport. So I got off the bus, and ducked down to the luggage compartment to extract my passport from my bag. And that's how I left Peru with a bang.

While in Taquile this morning, I went shopping in the handicraft centre there, and picked myself up some beautiful local hats. Taquile is very famous for its woollen hats, which are hand-knitted exclusively by the men of the island, and which are of excellent design and quality. I liked them so much, I decided to buy three! The other two will have to become presents for some people. Quite stylish, and quite protective when it comes to that harsh altiplano sunlight.

After last night's roaring party on Amantaní, this morning we the crew said our farewells to Amantaní and to our one-night-stand families there, and headed for the next island on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca: Taquile. On this famous island, we completed the arduous hike from lakeside to village, we relaxed in the sleepy town, and we checked out the local craftsmanship offerings.

The people of Amantaní really are a great bunch. Each night, they throw a party for their gringo guests, complete with live music, traditional folk dancing, and family-size beverages. After dinner with our island family tonight, we were taken across the island (in the pitch dark) to the local hall, and partook in one of these nightly celebrations. If they really do this every night, then I have no idea how they keep it up: 'cause they sure do put on a good show.

After lunch with our host families, those of us from the morning's boat ride that were staying on Amantaní went on a hike to the top of the island, to observe the spectacular views afforded from the climb, and to watch the sun set over the top of the world. Lake Titicaca is closer to the sky than any other lake in the world, so it's quite a sight to behold.

Sophs is a girl who vehemently claims to be a Kiwi, but who talks with as British an accent as any I've ever heard. Hence, she is a wannabe Kiwi (Christ... aren't there better things to wanna be? :P). I met her on the boat to Amantaní this morning, along with her two friends who actually are British. She's crazy in every fiber of her being, from her outrageous comments, to her endless drinking, to her flamboyant dancing. Gotta have one like her on every ride.

The popular thing to do on the island of Amantaní, in Lake Titicaca, is to spend a night eating and sleeping with one of the local families on the island, in order to really experience life like they do. So that's what myself, Chris, and the rest of the crew from the morning's boat ride did. Myself and Chris got introduced to one of the Amantaní families, and taken to their farmhouse by the lake. We got well taken care of, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time living the simple life.

Our first stop on this morning's boat ride was Los Uros, the famous floating islands of Lake Titicaca. The Uros people constructed and moved to the islands hundreds of years ago, in order to escape Inca domination on the mainland. The islands are artificially built out of reeds, which constantly rot and need to be replaced, in order to keep the islands in existence. Amazing place, and certainly a very unique setup.