Lots of catching up

So, it´s been awhile since I wrote, so I thought I would take the time to catch up. We did go to the islands off of Puno, both Los Uros and Taquile. Los Uros are a group of people that were trying to escape more aggressive tribe, so they started to build their own islands with the totora reed that grows all around here. There wasn´t much to do on the island, but it was pretty crazy to think that they built it themselves. They even have to put down a new layer of reeds once a month to compensate for the rotting away reeds on the bottom layer.

Also went to Taquile, which was nice, but just another island. Apparently the people of Taquile are world-reknowned weavers, especially the men, and you would see them walking all over the island, knitting while they walked.

After Puno, we left Peru and cross to the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, to a town called Copacabana. From there, we visited La Isla del Sol, the supposed origination of the entire Incan culture. They have this rock, the titicaca rock, that was supposed to have spawned the first emperor, and they believe that you can see the face of their god, Mamapacha, in the rock. There was also these ruins that had houses some sacrificial people, and were built 1200 years before Christ…..talk about old, eh!

After Copacabana, we headed to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. From there, we had planned to head to southern Bolivia to the salt flats, but unfortunately, it is rainy season here, and when you are in a country that only has 5% of their roads, paved, that apparently causes serious chaos! All the trains are booked, and the roads are washed out and taking lots of effort to traverse. Because of that, we decided to leave La Paz and head to northern Chile, and come back to Bolivia in a few months when it isn´t so rainy!

Not that the rain has stopped the fun, however. We´ve done a lot of shopping in La Paz, including in the nearby Witches Market where you can see goat heads and llama fetuses. We also went clubbing last night with a group of English friends we have met (pictures coming soon!) and ended up coming home this morning around 5:30…..now that´s a good night, and I even got to dance–Steve too!

And for the exciting news….I think Steve and I, as well as Andrew and Lisa (english kids) are going to bike the “World´s Most Dangerous Road” tomorrrow. It is this single lane dirt road on the side of a deep cliff, and there are apparently tons of accidents there….so of course, we have to go ride our bikes down it. Traffic still runs on this road, in both directinos, and it is apparently a huge tourist attraction to ride down this thing…thrill of death, I suppose! (It is also called Death Road, just to give you an idea) You start really high, at 4700 meters, and drop all the way to 1200 meters, so it sounds pretty crazy…..will let everyone know if we survive! (just kidding!)