Peru 2: La Regressa!

Well, the good news is I have not contracted Dengue Fever, Malaria, Jungle Rot, Jaguar-induced bodily trauma, trench foot, annaconda bruises, caiman ingestion, candiru infestation (I dare you to click on the last one and read the entire entry.), or any of the other myriad misfortunes that can befall the intrepid rain forest traveler. The bad news is, of course, we never made it to Rurranabaque and the Bolivian Amazon. Surprisingly enough, it continued to rain in the rain forest (surely theres some sort of team of experts to look into this strange phenomenon?) and our flight was indefinitely delayed once again. Not willing to waste another day in La Paz (which is actually fairly pleasant, my favorite of all the Latin American cities Ive visited with the possible exception of Panama City, but pleasant or no, we had exhausted the leisure possibilities the city had to offer) we decided to push onto Copacabana.

Copacabana, you may remeber, is the pleasant little town on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. We had initially passed through on our way down to La Paz, and bad weather forced us to move on before we sufficiently painted the town red. Actually, to call Copacabana "sleepy" would be like calling Godzilla "irritable." Theres not a lot to do there other than watch the gringo hippies and buy artisan-y souvineers. Actually, the real attraction of the town, besides its incredibly relaxed atmosphere, is its proximity to Isla del Sol. The Incas believed that this island was not only the birthplace of the sun, but also the location where the first people, Manco Capac and his sister Mama Occlo, appeared. Despite over 500 years of fervent and devoted missionary efforts, many of the local people still believe this as their creation story.

You reach the island via 2 hour boatride. When you head down to the docks, you realize that every gringo within a 25 mile radius is heading to the same place you are, and that 25-30 of them are going to be jammed onto the same marginally seaworthy (lakeworthy?) boat you are. No matter where weve been, even in remotest southern Bolivia, weve been surrounded by other tourists. As Chris says, if Lonely Planet makes a guide for it, youre going to be surrounded by gringos, Bob Marley music, and trust fund hippies selling crappy jewelry on the street.

Anyway, the boat dropped us off on the north end of the island where the primary ruins are. After a bit of hiking we apparently walked right by the Templo de Inca and the Piedra Sacrado (Sacred Rock) which the guide at the gate was either too lazy or too indifferent to point us in the right direction of. We did, however, find the Mesa Sacraficado (Sacraficial Table) where human sacrifices may or may not have taken place, and an allegedly puma shaped rock where the the lake takes its name from (Titi- puma, karka- rock in the Aymara language). If the sun is behind it and you squint, and you imagine really hard...well, it still doesnt look much like a puma, at least to me. Of course 1000 years ago, to people who worshipped the sun, it may have been the spitting image.

By far the most interesting thing we saw was the Labertino (Labrynth) Chinkana, a mazelike series of interconnected rooms and plazas overlooking the lake. The walls only came up to about chest height (I would have seemed like a giant to the Inca who averaged about 5"2´ in adult males) but to get from area to area I had to literally crawl to fit through some of the tunnels. The Incas believed that in the center of the labrynth there was a well whose water would bestow the drinker with health and vitality. I never found the well, but I suppose it would be a pretty terrible labrynth if the special thing in the middle or end was easy to find...

After the northern ruins, we started the long trek back to the south end of the island where our boat was due to pick us up. The walk itself is fairly arduous, lots of ups and downs along a trail that is mostly paved in the -nonoriginal- Incan style, but the view alone makes it well worthwhile. As you walk south, to the east you see the vast majesty of Bolivias Cordillera Real, a mountain range that makes the Rockies look like the Appalachians. If the day is clear enough, you can see all the way to Huyana Potosi and Illimani, the 2 massive 6000 m peaks that overlook La Paz. To the west, Lake Titicaca stretches out in all its crystaline beauty, looking like the Aegean with its sparkling blue waters and tiny rustic islands.

By the end we were well tired but totally pleased with the day, despite the numbers of tourists we saw. I know Ive already commented on the irony of me, a tourist, complaining about other tourists, but despite my self-awareness in this regard, I cannot help what I feel.

After Copa, we headed back to Peru and tonight find ourselves back in Puno; dirty, noisy, touristy, charmless Puno. When we were pulling out of the bus station on the way to our hotel, our cab was cut off by an army convoy of armored vehicles, camoflauged dune buggies complete with mounted missile launchers, and trucks full of heavily armed (with uzis!) soldiers. As we pulled into line behind them in traffic, they affixed me with glares that can only be described as "menacing." In the weeks heading up to Peruvian Independence Day (July 28-29) there have been massive anti-government riots and demonstrations throughout Peru. Apparently President Alan Garcia has not done much to calm peoples concerns about the prices of milk, bread and gas in the three weeks or so since we were last here. In fact, things seem to be getting worse. We heard that the army was brought in to "pacify" the situation in the south, especially around Cuzco and the Sacred Valley because there is so much tourist money centered around there. We did hear that a train to Maccu Piccu was stopped and that people threw rocks at it, but by and large the frustrations of the people seem to be directed at the government and its representatives, the police and the army.

Just out of curiosity, any of this making the news in the papers back in the states or Europe? Were not finding much of anything online when we look, the same with the La Paz-Sucre capital divide thats going on in Bolivia right now. Its a huge deal there, but we havent heard boo from the western press. I guess its not news until people start dying, or western tourists are affected in a way betond the inconvienience of delayed buses and road blocks.

Anyway, were heading up to Cuzco tomorrow (By train! Supposed to be one of the lovliest train rides in the world.) so I guess well see whats going on first hand. Dont worry, we wont seek out trouble or do anything (too) stupid.