After we went to Machu Pichu, we got back to Cuzco for the night and then took off for our last stop in Peru: Lake Titicaca.  We took one of the worst busrides of all time.  Kind of a typical busride for South America.  A 5 hour trip becomes 7 hours, there are 400 people in the aisles, the driver stops every five minutes, etc, etc.  We arrived to Puno at night and settled into the coldest weather yet.  The altitude is about 3500 meters or maybe 11,000 feet above sea level? Something like that.  It was summertime, luckily, but it was still freezing.  Totally freezing!  In the morning, we went to visit the floating islands of Uros.  These are these crazy islands that are built on water using reeds and mossy land that reeds grow in.  They are out of control and very strange. These islands are in a little bay of Lake Titicaca and it was beautiful, but nothing compared to the next day.  The next day we got on a boat that was packed with potatoes, eggs, people, and coca leaves to go to the island of Taquille.  This was far away, about 3 hours by boat.  And the ride was amazing.  This is a weird lake.  I think if you´ve been there, it kind of defies explanation.  The New Yorker we met on the bus said that the lake was “captivating” and maybe that´s the right, although kind of snobby, way to describe it.  It was amazing.  The locals from the islands laughed at Edwin´s hair and then shared their coca leaves with us.  These leaves are good for altitude and hunger and are a huge part of the local culture in the sierras of this country.  They taught us that you choose the best three leaves, take off your hat, blow on them a prayer, point in the four cardinal directions and then throw them in the lake as an offering.  Then you chew them.  They are kind of gross and weird, but I guess people are into them.

The island was really beautiful and we walked around in the middle of the lake and just enjoyed the views.  It was totally amazing.  We took the long ride home and then took off that night for Chile.  After a long Peruvian ride on the bus, we got to Tacna, met up with a sweet girl who was crossing the border, got a taxi across and ended up in Arica, Chile in the early morning.  Goodbye Peru.  Thanks for the sights and the experiences.  But I can´t say that I will miss you…..and I will leave my opinions at that!