Puno

Well, I think I officially just did the WEIRDEST tourist thing that you can do in Peru. But since this is my last two days here I figure, it seems fitting. So, I actually didnt see any of Puno itself except the main strip where I had dinner and used the internet. The real draw to come here is to go see Lake Titikaka and the islands. I did a two day tour of the islands. SO yesturday we took a boat (there were like 25 people in the boat, it was a little crowded) first to the floating islands of the Uros people. These were really neat because the people actually BUILT the islands out of reeds and mud and rope...thats it. ANd they live on these huge man made island. Becuase it was made from reeds the ground was very soft. But they also make their houses and boats out of reeds as well. It was really cool. We went for a ride in a reed boat as well.
Then we went to Amantani island where we were paired up with a host family to spend the night. Since I didnt know anyone I paired up with another single girl who I had talked to on the boat and she was Heather...from Edmonton (yes thats right, theres more than one of you). Anyways, we thought that was really quite the coincidence. So basically the women from the island just stand around and we all get randomly placed and then walk to their house with them. SHe didnt speak any English, but I was doing pretty well translating for Heather. We called her our Mom for the duration of the stay, she even fixed a hole in my sweater for me. So we got put in our room and then sat there for like 40 minutes wondering if we should go down for lunch, or if shed come get us...which she did. We had soup and then a big plate of a variety of potatoes and some fried cheese. Lots of Carbs on this island! We all found it odd that there were NO young men on the island that we could see. There were old men, and little boys, but all the women were doing all the work, and we were like, ´where are their husbands?´. It was bizzare. OUr guide said that there were 5 women on the island for every man, so some took more than one wife!
Then we all went for a hike up to the top of the island to watch the sunset. It was quite the climb, but we learned that people fall in love on this island based on the size of the guys radio...interesting. I also spent a lot of time with three teachers from Connecticut, they were all really nice and two of them spok fluent spanish.
Went back to the house for dinner which was a mix of rice, potatoes AND pasta! They also have this tea on the island thats different than Coca tea, but still good for altitude sickness, it was called Munya and you can only get it on this island, which was too bad because it was minty and much better than coca leaves.
After dinner, we got dressed up in traditional Peruvian clothes (yep thats right, dont worry, theres pictures) we had two skirts, a blouse, a belt that was tied really tight like a corset and a shawl/veil type thing. We all looked a little hularious, and the guys only had to wear ponchos! Then we went to a fiesta and did some traditional dancing, but after a while all of the music started sounding the same, and we were all really hot and we wanted to go. BUT the teachers Mom really wanted to stay (cuz she liked our tour guide we figured out) and their mom and our mom were friends, so of course, our mom wanted to stay too. Finally we left, after quite a while of waiting, and we were one of the last groups there.
In the morning we had pancakes (more carbs) for breakfast. It really surprised me that pancakes are so popular in Peru. Anyways, it was funny because everyone in the group got all of the same meals, which we thought was odd. Then we got back onto the boat to go to Taquile Island. There was this one family and it had been the moms dream since university to go to peru. But her husband was stuck back in Puno seeking medical attention, and her two sons got sick this morning...throwing up sick. So she was taking care of the younger one all day (who was only going into grade 6), we felt so bad for them. So we hiked (the hiking never ends) up to the top of the island again and hung out in the main square. I bought a scarf (its this really pretty green colour that we´ve never seen in Peru yet and hand made from Alpaca wool) and this really funky bracelet. Then our guide told us about the different traditions on the island. Like different coloured hats and different sized pompoms denote marriage status. And this is how they fall in love. They fall in love around 16-17 years old and the boys carry small pebbles in their pocket. If they like a girl they throw a stone at her and ask her if she wants to marry him. Then they fall in love over the next 5 hours (im REALLy not making this up). Then she moves in with his family for 5 years to ´prove their love´. During that time they HAVE to have at least one baby, if they dont, they cant get married, if they do, after 5 years they have a three day drink fest to celebrate the union and then they are married for life...absolutely no divorce. We were all a little confused by the process, but what can you do. All three of the islands used to have problems with imbreeding, but they have regulated that all now.
Then we walked to the other end of the island for lunch of soup (of course) and fried kingfish. IT was pretty good. Now Im back in puno and Im going to meet Heather and the teachers for dinner. Tommorow I have a really early bus to Boliva so its my last night in Peru...sigh!