Sunken City, Floating Village

There is a budhist principle amplified by carrying your gear at altitude - The more possessions, the more you suffer. I enjoy this knowledge as much as the idea that tattoo removal hurts more than tattoos. Some pains are necessary.

Apart from being around 4000 metres above sea level, Lake Titicaca does a good impression of being an ocean. It's expletively big and even has seagulls.

The Inca's believed they originated from the lake and called it "The Womb of Mankind". Explorers, including Jacques Cousteau, had reason to think that it could be the resting place of Atlantis. Expeditions have discovered underwater roads and a temple. Incidentally, the lakes depths are the home of a rarely seen frog species up to 50cm long named Telmatobius coleus – the aquatic scrotum.

By boat, the tour group took a sizeable chunk of daylight to get to our destination, but we still had only navigated a fraction of the lake's length.

The journey was via a stop at the remarkable Uros Islands. What makes this place special is that they are floating islands artificially created from primarily one natural material - a reed that grows in the lake. Around 3 metres thickness of reed is woven together to create a new land for these people. This versatile reed is also eaten, used as fuel, medicine and for making boats and houses. When 3D printers become common, these islanders won't be impressed.



The original reason for these floating islands was defensive, whether the threat be pre-Incas, Incas or Spanish conquistadors. As the reeds rot they need to be replaced every 15 to 30 days depending on season. Where the thatch houses are concerned, they need to be lifted for this regular maintenance work. In the case of a neighbourly dispute that cannot be resolved, they cut through the "ground" and float off in different directions.



Our destination was the more terrestrial Amantani island. We were met by several Quechua-speaking local ladies in preparation for our home stay. The communication plan was a brief written list of phrases in the local tongue, the chance someone else in the family speaks Spanish, and the hope that 'smile and nod' doesn't lead to any irreversible weird shit.



From here, the tour group was divided up into pairs and then upland we followed the lady that was to be our "mama" for the next 24 hours. If this lady wants to be my mum, then she has a backlog of ordeals to catch up on. Let's begin with "Wipe me!"



At the humble, off-the-grid house, our room was shown, we presented some prior-purchased gifts (rice, sugar, oil etc) and the husband, grandma and 2ish year old daughter were introduced. A tasty late lunch of Quinoa soup and veges from the island was prepared. In my backpack, I still had a bag of toy soldiers, purchased at the mainland market. This was in anticipation of the family having a young boy (is that a believable cover story?). During the meal, the other temporarily adopted son made a paper crane for the interactive daughter. She identified it as "pato" meaning duck, then grabbed a knife from the table and proceeded to saw its head off. In this moment, I realised two things: 1 - this is a pretty authentic island living experience, and 2 - maybe she's ready for the plastic army men. As a bomber jet came out of the bag, I acknowledged that this could be a traumatic gift in a different part of the world. She loved them.

For sunset, we walked to one of the island's peaks. This mountain was dedicated to Pachamama, Mother Earth. Despite the extensive reach of the Catholic church across this continent (genocide has been a tad influentual), the cultures of the Andes still weave Pachamama into the worship.

Majestic Scavengers

Several buses and many winding roads have provided passage through these volcanic mountains. The altitude has increased again, calling for a rematch. Being the only person not wearing sunglasses in this intense glare, I think I seared one side of my cortex. Ten Peruvian soles later, I had some eye protection. After a recovery nap and a dip in a hot springs, I was good to go.

Another morning in a another town ready for another drive. This time the destination was Colca Canyon - a split in the Earth over twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. A walking path trailed along the edge to many lookout points. We were here to spot condors, although the scenery spoke very well for itself. We took our time, but the birds took longer, so we started to make our way along the path to where the rest of the tourists stood.



The first birds we saw were far away, soaring in the distance. They disappeared and we walked a bit more.
Andean condors are big. They are the heaviest flying birds in the world. Due to the ridges of the canyon, the next condor was able to suddenly appear nearby. On the lift of a thermal updraft, it effortlessly floated from below to above with its wing spread and then cruised past. Soon after, another did the same.





We had just taken the first few steps of leaving this place when one of the creautures silently rose up from the canyon and hovered over the group. As it was happening, my hand went to the pocket that held my phone camera. I needed to make a quick decision between playing with my zoom settings to possibly get a pic, or just taking in the rare experience of having a bird make humans feel small. I chose option 2. It was awesome.



In the town of Arequipa, it's difficult to spot the car that isn't a taxi. They love their car horns too and press them as much as the accelerator. Some have their horns modified to sound like car alarms. It's delightful music at night.



One of the attractions that puts this place on the tourist's map is "Juanita" - the Inca Ice Maiden. She is a well-preserved sacrifice discovered at the top of a volcano in 1995. Apart from being dead and frozen, she's in mint condition.

A few of us visited the museum where she is on display behind temperature-controlled and bullet-proof glass. Photography was once again prohibited and the guided tour was preceeded by a short video. This had footage from the expedition that led to her discovery. There was a different flavour to this hurried archaeological dig as a volcano plumed smoke nearby. The video also showed a reenactment of how she would have climbed the volcano with a entourage of ceremonial murderers for the honour of being received by the gods.

The pamphlet states she was "put to sleep before a precise blow on her right eyebrow". I think that slightly sugar-coats the ritual that ended with her hammer smashed face.

Just as 'cool', but only on display via enlarged photographs, was a boy sacrifice also left at the volcano top. He was charred black after death from being struck several times by lightning. This was the intent (only male sacrifices were adorned in metal) as thunderbolts were the hands of the gods touching a well-received offering. Fried crispy.

I've now travelled through a sandstorm and an apparently rare hail storm to arrive in the small town of Puno, on the shore of Lake Titicaca.