my last update!

i headed off to puno which is on the border of bolivia and is next to lake titicaca (which is the highest navigable lake in the world at 3,820m above sea level).  i wasn't impressed with puno but i did do a tour on lake titicaca which was interesting.  there are about 40 floating islands on the lake which are man-made by the uros people. the uros took to island living as they were a persecuted people.  the islands are constructed of dried reeds and mud.  the reeds are between 3-4m thick and need to be replaced at least twice a year.  we visited an island and it was quite squishy to walk on.  i can't imagine living there but very interesting to visit. we then headed over to a small native island for lunch before heading back to puno.  

when i returned to the hostel, i discovered there were some problems crossing the border into bolivia. everyone who tried to cross today had been sent back and i because a bit nervous that i would not be able to cross tomorrow.  (the border was closed because of a strike and no one knows then it'll be back in operation.)

i awoke early the next morning and got on a busy (hoping to cross) and happily enough, the border was open (only for certain buses) and i headed over to copacabana.  i stayed with a cute elderly woman for $2.50 CDN and then left the next morning for a 17km hike to yampupata, to then take a row boat over to isla del sol.  the hike was quite relaxing and pretty - i wished there was some way to retain the smell of the eucalyptus trees and the sound of the ocean forever!  i took a row boat over to the island which was nice except the man who rowed me complained of being hungry for most of the trip and kept asking me to give him my lunch.  i was so annoyed by the end of the trip that i couldn't enjoy the island and so i returned to copacabana for the night. 

i am in la paz for the next few days.  i don't think i'll do much except wander the city streets while i'm here as it's a pretty unique city. 

sarah     

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i'm back from machu picchu!

i arrived last night, exhausted from my four day trek to machu picchu!  we left at 5am and started the trek around 9:30am at KM82.  there were 9 of us on the trip which was a nice size - 2 canadians, an american, 4 spanish, tug and me!  the trip was filled with bright, sunny days (despite the fact it's the rainy season) which was very lucky! 

we hiked for 5 or 6 hours on the first day with beautiful scenery and a mostly steady uphill climb. the second day, was much shorter (we stopped hiking around 1pm) but much more intense day!  we climbed about 1,200 vertical metres to get to dead woman's pass and then it was all downhill for the rest of the afternoon and all the following day.  my body always finds downhill to be worse than uphill (my knees ache) but i made it to the destination point on each afternoon ;) 

we stopped at a couple of different ruins along the hike, including a couple of ones which haven't been cleared and restored. it's easy to understand how the ruins have been buried/hidden for 450 years or so as the jungle grows around it and then it's near impossible to see! 

the last morning we rose at 4:30am (not my ideal vacation rising time)!  it'd been pouring for most of the night and we weren't sure if we'd actually head out in the morning but we did.  we hiked to machu picchu in the dark and saw the sunrise over the hills which was magnificent.  we then continued into the actual site.  the scenery was amazing and i took heaps of pictures of the ruins as they were so impressive. 

the full hike to machu picchu was about 40km long and i found it quite challenging with the constant ups and downs however it was well worth it!  our guide was quite helpful and informative and i've learned a lot about the incas, their culture and it is quite mystifying how they did some of the things they accomplished so long ago!!

after machu picchu, we hiked to aguas calientes which is another 9km into town.  i must confess that i was a bit over walking by the time we arrived in town.  we took a train back to cusco (4 hours) and then a taxi to the hostel.  my last day in cusco will be spent doing laundry and getting oranised to head off to puno and lake titicaca.  i've enjoyed my time here but after 10 days, it's time to move on! 

i can't believe i only have ~10 days left before i fly home!

sarah 

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