Friday, Oct. 15
Sorry about the sideways picture. And the double the posting before. I’m still learning.
This time I will try to post one picture from the Isle del Sol, the buses in the street when we were leaving Copacabana, (the burrow was in the last posting), and the bus backing up after taking the wrong turn.
We took a trip to the Isle del Sol. The guide to the ruins, Faustico, made reference to the pre-Inca society all along the way. The people living on the island who tend the land do so in the old way. Most speak only the Aymara language. We saw an elderly lady toiling the garden using a pole with a long blade crudely tied to the bottom. The ruins at the top we pre-Inca. You can understand the difference by the crudeness of the construction. What is really interesting is that at one time he entire island was underwater, but, also, that between sections of the island Jacque Cousteau went underwater and discovered a ruin which would have been constructed when this area was above water, of course. The artefacts are in a museum in La Paz. I think Peter is ruins/museumed-out for the moment, so I doubt we will see them. We walked about 50 minutes to the top. For his 1 ½ hour guide trip Faustico charged each of us the equivalent of $1.40. Some of the group began a three-hour hike to our second port-of-call, and they were sent off with “buena suerte”s in many languages. All but one of this group were twenty-years younger than our kids! Some burrows met us on the way down and it was obvious by their behaviour that they are used to getting treats from the visitors. As the guide okayed it, we gave them some crackers in exchange for a photo. At one point I was talking with the guide, practicing my Spanish, and was not paying enough attention to the rocky path and I went down on my right knee. I have had a little owie (sic) since. It didn’t bruise so nothing is broken. I was more silent the rest of the way down, probably to the guide’s delight!
We met a nice young British couple on the trip down. He had thanked me for translating some of the stuff for them. He is a teacher who has a new job starting in a few months and she has just completed a masters in some area of political science. We stopped for a beer while we awaiting our boat. We make two more stops to view ruins. We arrive, tired, back at Copacabana at 5:30. We still need to hike from the wharf to the hotel.
Before going for dinner, we check about reserving seats to La Paz the next day. It turns out the bus is “asiento libro” - right “first come first served”. We plan to be first!
We walk around the market area again, then go out for pizza. My tummy manages the wonderful hot chocolate (Chunks of real chocolate are put in a cup and hot milk added. Then you stir vigorously to melt the chocolate. They give you sugar, but I have never needed it.) but I can only manage one small slice of pizza. Luckily it is cheese only, so I take home for the bus tomorrow.
Sorry about the sideways picture. And the double the posting before. I’m still learning.
This time I will try to post one picture from the Isle del Sol, the buses in the street when we were leaving Copacabana, (the burrow was in the last posting), and the bus backing up after taking the wrong turn.
We took a trip to the Isle del Sol. The guide to the ruins, Faustico, made reference to the pre-Inca society all along the way. The people living on the island who tend the land do so in the old way. Most speak only the Aymara language. We saw an elderly lady toiling the garden using a pole with a long blade crudely tied to the bottom. The ruins at the top we pre-Inca. You can understand the difference by the crudeness of the construction. What is really interesting is that at one time he entire island was underwater, but, also, that between sections of the island Jacque Cousteau went underwater and discovered a ruin which would have been constructed when this area was above water, of course. The artefacts are in a museum in La Paz. I think Peter is ruins/museumed-out for the moment, so I doubt we will see them. We walked about 50 minutes to the top. For his 1 ½ hour guide trip Faustico charged each of us the equivalent of $1.40. Some of the group began a three-hour hike to our second port-of-call, and they were sent off with “buena suerte”s in many languages. All but one of this group were twenty-years younger than our kids! Some burrows met us on the way down and it was obvious by their behaviour that they are used to getting treats from the visitors. As the guide okayed it, we gave them some crackers in exchange for a photo. At one point I was talking with the guide, practicing my Spanish, and was not paying enough attention to the rocky path and I went down on my right knee. I have had a little owie (sic) since. It didn’t bruise so nothing is broken. I was more silent the rest of the way down, probably to the guide’s delight!
We met a nice young British couple on the trip down. He had thanked me for translating some of the stuff for them. He is a teacher who has a new job starting in a few months and she has just completed a masters in some area of political science. We stopped for a beer while we awaiting our boat. We make two more stops to view ruins. We arrive, tired, back at Copacabana at 5:30. We still need to hike from the wharf to the hotel.
Before going for dinner, we check about reserving seats to La Paz the next day. It turns out the bus is “asiento libro” - right “first come first served”. We plan to be first!
We walk around the market area again, then go out for pizza. My tummy manages the wonderful hot chocolate (Chunks of real chocolate are put in a cup and hot milk added. Then you stir vigorously to melt the chocolate. They give you sugar, but I have never needed it.) but I can only manage one small slice of pizza. Luckily it is cheese only, so I take home for the bus tomorrow.
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