Background

As with the Jungle Trek which I did in July, I was privileged to accompany a group of medical volunteers from the USA while they explored Peru on Worldwide Exotic Adventure’s Mini Adventure Package this August, 2014.  The week prior we worked together on a medical campaign where we helped about 1,500 people in and around Cusco, providing them with free medical check-ups and medicine.  It was an amazing week, and the Mini Adventure was the perfect was to cap it off. The Mini Adventure normally includes the following:

1. Sacred Valley Tour
2. Cusco City Tour
3. Trip to Puno
4. Floating Islands at Uros in Lake Titicaca
5. Amantani Island in Lake Titicaca
6. Tequile Island in Lake Titicaca
7. Train to Aguas Calientes and return to Cusco
8. Machu Picchu
9. Transportation and most meals included

Our trip, however, was slightly modified, as you will see…

Puno and Lake Titicaca

Late Monday night we all hopped on an overnight bus to Puno, a city located on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca.  While not an especially beautiful place, it is the main launching off point for exploring the islands of Lake Titicaca.  Also, during the entire month of February it hosts a major traditional dance festival called La Festival de La Candalaria.  We arrived to Puno super early on Tuesday morning, crashed in the hotel for a couple hours and then began our tour of the islands.

Uros Floating Islands: We made our way to the boat docks and took maybe an hour’s boat ride to the floating islands of Uros.  There are 87 of them in total, and they are inhabited year-round by the Uros people who predate the Incas.  The islands are created by utilizing the buoyancy of totora roots and layering totora reeds on top of that (1).  Houses are built on these islands, as well as restaurants and little shops, too.  There we were given a demonstration on how some of their traditional artisanal goods are made, explained about the fish in the lake, and got to eat some of the plants there.  One of these plants (I cannot remember its name) is supposed to be very good for your teeth, and the people on the island claim to have very few dental problems due to their high consumption of this plant.

Amantani Island: Upon leaving Uros we had about a 3 hours boat ride to the island of Amantani.  It is one of the bigger Islands in Lake Titicaca.  There are 10 communities on this island and about 4,000 inhabitants in total.  There are authorities on the island who decide all matters for the families.  We all stayed in host families with about 3-4 people staying per house.  The food was delicious… lots of locally grown potatoes, delicious cheese, great soups and local bread which was kind of like funnel cake without the sugar.  After lunch we went on a hike to two temples located on the two highest peaks on the island.  On the Pachapapa temple there is a tradition allowing you to make a wish if you walk around the temple counterclockwise three times and make an offering of three coca leaves.  There were also two storms coming in from either side of us and lots of lightning which was really cool to see. After dinner we were all invited to a party held by the local people.  They dressed us up in traditional clothes and we all went to the community center where there was lots of singing and live music.  It was super fun.  Luisa, my host mom, was especially fond of dancing. The women on the island all wear the same traditional outfits regardless of their marital status.

Tequile Island: The following morning we ate breakfast and then took a 1:15 hour boat ride to another nearby island called Tequile.  From the harbor it was about a 45 minute walk to the main plaza.  This island, unlike Amantani, only has four communities and around 2,000 inhabitants; however, the traditions here are more unique.  To begin, the civil status of everyone is made public by the clothes that everyone wears, especially the hats.  Each hat represents something different: young child, single, married, authority, etc…  In comparison to the women on Amantani Island, all married women wear a red shirt with a black head-covering whereas single women are allowed to wear different colored shirts.  Also, the island is known for making great natural shampoo.  It is said that the people on this island never develop grey hair and have fantastic hair until the day they die.  We ate a very nice lunch of trout caught from Lake Titicaca and then made our way back to the docks where we returned to Puno.

Hot Springs at Madre Teresa

We took an overnight bus from Puno to Cusco and arrived very early in the morning.  From here the normal Mini Adventure involves taking a bit of a rest, then getting a bus ride to Ollantaytambo and a train to Aguas Calientes; however, we decided to mix it up a little bit and instead left pretty much immediately for a town called Santa Teresa in a small van.  The five hour ride was long, for sure, but the views were spectacular and some of the mountain roads pretty terrifying… in a great way!  We got to enjoy the thermal bathes at Santa Teresa for about an hour before having about a thirty minute ride to our next destination…

Zip Lining with Cola de Mono

We arrived at Cola de Mono to begin our zip-lining adventure!  I had never done this before but heard great things about it by past volunteers at my job at Máximo Nivel, so I was super excited to give it a try.  We got all of our gear on which included a pretty sturdy harness, a glove and a leather hand brake which we strapped onto our dominant hands. We also got to watch a video of others zip-lining and it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.  I was not expecting the lines to be suspended so high nor far across the valley.  I was pretty pumped.  To get to the first crossing we had to hike about thirty minutes up the side of the mountain.  From there we were given a safety orientation and explained how to use the breaks… and then we were off.  I won’t lie, jumping off the side of a mountain with only a harness and cable to prevent imminent death was a bit scary at first, but five seconds in you realize that it is pretty safe and you can enjoy the ride.  On some of the crossings you can even cross upside-down or in the Superman position! The Superman crossing was especially exhilarating, but just be careful that the harness is on correctly and not putting too much pressure on your throat as you could potentially pass out from it… this happened to one of the group members I went with!

Hiking to Aguas Calientes

From Cola de Mono we drove to Hidro Electrico, which as you might have guessed is a hydro electric plant, and it generates electricity for the districts of Cusco, Puno and Arequipa.  From here trains depart taking people to the town of Aguas Calientes which is at the base of Machu Picchu and the launching point for all trips to the famous site.  There is no road access to Aguas Calientes, so the only two ways to arrive are by train or by hiking… we chose to hike!  We walked about 2.5 hours along the railroad tracks, through the valley and alongside a river.  It was very pretty.  Also, the walk is basically flat so not very difficult at all. Along the way a few trains passed us by.  We were also able to see the Inca Bridge, Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu from below, which is super cool and a nice teaser before seeing them up close and personal.  Upon arriving at Aguas Calientes we grabbed some dinner, met our tour guide for the following day and then crashed after a long day of travel and excitement.

Back to Machu Picchu…

We woke up super early in the morning, grabbed some breakfast at the hotel and made our way to the busses which take you up to the entrance to Machu Picchu.  The busses begin departing at 5:30am sharp, and we were some of the first people to get on.

When we reached the top it was super cloudy.  It stayed that way throughout the entire two hour tour of Machu Picchu and we feared that it would stay that way throughout the whole day, but at about 9:00am the sun started blasting the clouds away and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  Machu Picchu was a glorious as ever, and even though I had already been there twice before did not take away from the awesomeness of the site.

We explored for a good five hours before taking a bus back down to Aguas Calientes.  We walked back to Hidro Electrico, this time in less than two hours (!!!), and had a six hour ride back to Cusco to end our trip.

Grade: A

I thought that the Mini Adventure was awesome!  I especially loved seeing new places such as the islands in Lake Titicaca and doing the zip-lining with Cola de Mono.  The group of people I went with was also very nice and fun, making the experience even more enjoyable.  I found the tour guides to be exceptionally knowledgeable and the adventure went off without any logistical delay or problem.  Everything went according to plan and it really did exceed my expectations.  Special thanks to my work at Máximo Nivel and to my friends at Worldwide Exotic Adventure for making this happen.  These are both great organizations.  Please check out their sites at:

• http://maximonivel.com/
• http://worldwide-exotic-adventures.com/

*Note: This trip also includes a full day Sacred Valley Tour and a tour of Cusco and its surrounding archeological sites.  Due to work I did not actually do these two parts of the tour; however, I’m told that they are super fun and a great compliment to the Puno and Machu Picchu legs of the trip.

Bibliography:

1. Hamre, Bonnie. “Don’t Miss the Floating Islands of Peru’s Lake Titicaca.” About. About Travel, n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2014. <http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/topdestlaketiticaca/a/floatingislands.ht