I woke up and packed for the trip. We had pancakes for breakfast that was a real treat! It was the first time I had pancakes, so it tasted really good. I went to the little town/plaza with Sophia and bought this sweet leather Chicago Bulls hat. I laughed so hard that they had it in the middle of no-where Bolivia. Best purchase so far probably haha. When I got back we made roles for the trek and packed our bags on the mules. The group did some pre-trek activities then set off on the trail. It was a very pretty day—nothing but blue skies. We hiked up a road for a while and I did really well: SO much better than Tunari. I was previously soooo nervous for the trek because I didn’t want a Tunari round 2. After hiking and talking for a while, we stopped at a waterfall for lunch. My camera started to revive itself a little so I got a few pictures. We did skits for Leave No Trace, which is a concept where we do our best to, well, leave no trace. After lunch we hiked up a trail for 30 minutes until we reached our campsite. It got really cold once we got there. The site and hike was very pretty. The campsite was in a small valley between mountains and beyond I could see the mountain glaciers. We pitched tents and played cards for a while. Dinner was good: Anne and Emily prepared it. We had Mac n cheese and vegetable stir-fry and for dessert we had apple crisp. After dinner, we chilled outside and listened to guitar, told stories etc. Crister then did what he calls a Shatakwa. It is basically your life story but you can also add other things like songs, guitar playing, skits etc. Crister played a song his dad wrote then told us about his very interesting and action packed life. He traveled a lot all his life to places like Australia and a lot of South America. After the Shatakwa it was time for bed! The tent was a lot more comfortable than I thought and I slept well.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Day 18: Sep 24
Travel Day
I woke up/packed. I had one last bread breakfast with really good guava jam. I said goodbye to Don Tomas who was a great host. The group had to carry their backpacks on the dirt road to catch the bus on the big road. While we waited we played cards with Cholitas (traditional dressed women) and talked about Peru possibilities. The bus came and we rode it for a long 8 hours. THE same Bolivian music played over and over again for 8 hours. By the end I could fiddle along with it. We got to the town of Pelechuco. It was a cute mountain town in a small, narrow valley; it was a little eerie because of the fog. Chris, Sophia, and I got some food for the hike at the local tiendas then went to the hostal. The hostal was a cute little building next to the river. I was in a room with all the girls except Annie and Emily. My bed was right next to the window with river so it was pretty and relaxing to hear. We all ate dinner together in the dining room of the hostal. After dinner Sam and I got some candy and shared it with the sons of the hostal owner. The girls had a pow wow in Maro’s room; we braided hair and gossiped : ) I then went to bed to the sound of the river. End of day 18.
Day 17: Sep 23
I woke up at 4:00 in the morning to go fishing! It was amazing. I went with Sophia and Emily. We bundled up with all the layers we had and walked down to the beach. The stars were out and crystal clear. It was absolutely gorgeous. We waited for Molly’s dad, Juan Cayo, for about 15 minutes on the beach until he came. He told us we would have to walk in the water but none of us had waterproof shoes. We didn’t know what to do because after walking all the way to the beach in the cold at 4 in the morning we didn’t want to let 10 feet of water get in our way. We stood by the edge of the water until Juan Cayo gestured Emily to get on his back. Emily who I like 6 feet tall was puzzled. She didn’t know how she was going to fit on the back of a 5 ft man. Juan Cayo threw Emily on his back and plopped her on the boat; Sophia and I followed. With the four of us in the boat, Juan Cayo slowly paddled us out. I felt so bad because there was so much extra wait on the boat. His little 60-year-old body rocked back and forth with a lot of resistance against the water. The sound of the paddles hitting the water, the birds crowing, and the waves collapsing against the sand was truly magical. The profile of the mountains against the deep blue sky was gorgeous. The stars shooting through the sky left a purple tail and were the best I’ve ever seen. The morning was truly indescribable. Serene and peaceful. We stopped from booey to booey pulling fish up from the nets. The stars slowly started to fade and the sun started to rise behind the mountains. Juan Cayo rowed us back in and inch-by-inch the sky grew lighter and hints of orange and pink sprayed out from the peaks of the mountain. When we finally arrived at the beach, we were all freezing. The sun still wasn’t all the way up so Sophia, Annie and I rushed to the top of the Dragons’ Head (the smaller part of the Sleeping Dragon mountain). We had a photo shoot at the top and watched the sunrise. It was GORGEOUS! When we got down, I saw Juan Cayo and his wife wheeling the fish from the beach. I went over and offered to wheel it for him; it was heavy!! I wheeled it all the way to his house that was pretty far. After I finished that I saw Don Tomas with some water buckets and helped him fill them up and bring them home. By this time it was around 8:00 and I had to be ready for activities at 9:00. I got home and slept for a little then had some bread for breakfast. I then headed to the beach for the group activities. The first 5 minutes we reflected then talked about Lake Titicaca. After we split up in teams and collected trash along the beach. You wouldn’t believe how much we picked up. Unfortunately, a lot of the trash comes from across the lake in a touristy town of Copacabana. Once all the trash was picked up we took a dip in the cold lake. We all rushed in, it was really fun. The day was going SOOO well and I was having so much fun until Becky broke my camera… :( it was an accident but she accidentally left my camera lens open in the sand and it jammed up. It was a damper in my day… Luckily lunch was next so I ate my feelings away haha. We had a community lunch with really good meat and vegetables. I think the food is so good because they cook it in a real fire pit. I went home after lunch and rested a little bit before the group climbed the “Dragons Back” part of the mountain. It was a very fun and gorgeous climb. It was more free climbing than a trail and that made if fun. The view from the top was incredible. I could see the mountains far across the lake—as far as Peru. Both beaches left and right were gorgeous. I could also see the Cordillera Real, which are the big snow mountains. Each direction carried its own beauty. The hike down was just as enjoyable. We stopped in this cave that looked out over the mountain. Also, there were dogs that followed us the whole way up and they would always stop on top of a rock and look out onto the ocean; it was so cute! Before dinner the instructors, Emily and I chilled around the table and Crister played some guitar—it’s the best when he plays. Don Tomas served us dinner and I was surprised that we didn’t get any meat because there is usually always meat. I yet again had really good soup. After dinner we had a group bonfire at Anne and Becky’s house. We attempted to tell funny stories but they were funnier because they were soo bad. IN all the day was VERY good except the camera incident. Lake Titicaca was all that I hoped it would be!
Day 16: Sep 22
Santiago De Okola Day 2
I woke up feeling WAY better! My energy was still low but my stomach was feeling way better. I ate some bread and Don Tomas, who is a cute, old Quechuan man, made me this weird native drink that he believed would cure my stomach problems. He mixed some natural herbs to make this foggy looking tea. I had a big gulp but with a bad stomach it didn’t taste so good…Crister helped me finish the rest thank god. After breakfast we had a community tour. The tour was very pretty. The town is full of gardens, fields, and the lake brings everything to life. Locals talked to us about crops and other town myths. We went to the beach and our guide told us a myth about a pass between two rocks. She said that the locals believe if you go through it alone then you will see a ghost on the other side and have bad luck but if you go in a group then you might see a good ghost who will reveal your true love. After we learned about the school, cemetery, and medical clinic. During the whole tour I felt soo tired. I constantly had to sit in between stations. Luckily, lunch was next. I was nervous to eat but Don Tomas brought out a soup that resembled Mirani’s chicken noodle soup. I was SOO excited! It was exactly what I felt like. It hit the spot and I felt even better. I took a catnap under the sun before our afternoon activities.
The group split up for afternoon activities. I was in-group 1 and we first learned about medicinal plants. Our guide, Walter, brought us around the community and showed us different plants and explained their medicinal use. After the groups switched and we my group learned how about textiles. We watched a 70-year-old woman work on a quilt she was working on. We took turns learning how to weave. It was harder than it looked but it was really fun! The elderly woman said it would take 6 days to finish, which seemed incredible! She also said that she takes her animals up the mountain and back every day! Imagine a 70-year-old woman herding animals up a big mountain every single day. I couldn’t believe it. The work ethic is so different. All her kids, like many others, are in La Paz.
On the way back from the activities Maro and I took a picture of a woman sitting in the field but she made us pay her. I payed her 2 Bs but it was totally worth it. After we played volleyball and soccer at the school. We all taught Walter, our 15-year-old tour guide, some English. It was really funny watching him try to learn it. He used a lot of hand gestures when trying to pronunciation words. At dinner we taught him “Hey baby, I love you.” It was sooo funny. I had more yummy soup for dinner that made my stomach even better. The group stargazed a little after dinner but it was really cold out. Bed.
Day 15: Sep 21
After not feeling well the night before and puking a couple times, I had to wake up early to pack for Lake Titicaca. I didn’t go to breakfast because I still wasn’t feeling so well. I called my parents and did some work on the computer instead. Around 9:00 we all loaded the bus for Santiago de Okola, Lake Titicaca. The bus ride was three hours and wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be because I wasn’t feeling well. The scenery was also gorgeous. We came up and over the hill to see the bright blue lake and the mountain they call the Sleeping Dragon because it looks like it is sleeping on its belly. When we finally arrived I wasn’t feeling well still. I had a stomachache and had very low energy. Once we got out of the bus we were greeted by the locals with handshakes and smiles. We were assigned home stay families; Emily and I were assigned the house closest to the instructors because we both felt bad. Emily had a lingering staff infection that made her throat and stomach soar. Both of us quickly went to our rooms and collapsed on our bed. We missed most of the afternoon activities that is unfortunate. A man named Steve from a company called La Paz On Foot was at Santiago de Okola. He works a lot with Dragons and his mission at Santiago de Okola was to promote ecotourism and biodiversity in the community. I caught the last big of the meeting he had with the group. He talked about what his company does and ways to interview the locals for our Independent Study Projects. After the meeting, Helen, my instructor, asked Emily and I if we wanted to go back to La Paz to see the doctor. Emily said yes just because her infection had been lingering for a long time and her antibiotics we upsetting her stomach. I was torn because the Apolobamba trek was coming up and I didn’t want to be sick for it. I was also nervous that I had an intestinal infection and if I did I would need antibiotics for it. After contemplating for a while I decided not to go back. I was looking forward to Lake Titicaca for SO long that I didn’t want to miss it. We were only going to be by the lake for 3 days.
I went back to my room and slept for the rest of the afternoon. I literally had NO energy; it was awful. Crister woke us up later in the evening and we moved to Don Tomas’ house where the instructors were staying. Steve led another meeting regarding projects in Bolivia in Don Tomas’ house but I slept through most of it. Emily and Helen left for La Paz after the meeting and I slept.
Background on Santiago De Okola
Santiago De Okola is a small community on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The town is currently working with an organization called La Paz On Foot run by an American named Steve (who is married to a Bolivian). The organization is trying to promote biodiversity and ecotourism in Santiago De Okola. The community is mainly an agricultural and fishing community; they keep all the food for themselves unless they need money. A lot of the youth is moving to La Paz, which is similar to a lot of youth all over Bolivia. Santiago De Okola is a Aymaran community; they speak little Spanish and most of the members are very shy. The houses are simple adobe houses with dirt floors and straw roofs.