nuevos dias, siempre!

Everyone's gotta have that bus ride sometime, right?

We arrived last night at midnight in Cusco, Peru. We though we were going to arrive at 8. Instead, we were on a bus without soles (peruvian currency) and without food, being harassed by Peruvian border police, trying to ignore the smell, and rubbing elbows with the surplus of people crammed into the aisles. Hell in a metal box on wheels.

Cusco is incredible. I feel like I can just stop telling you how beautiful the places I go are, because they are all beyond belief, each with their own charms and grand vistas. We spent most of the morning gazing at the city, which spill up onto the hillsides with its cobbled roofs and simple buildings. When it was discovered by the Spanish, Cusco was in the shape of a puma, which is the spiritual symbol of power for the Inca. Their other main worship symbols are the condor for peace and the serpent for wisdom. I also found out that Titicaca (the beautiful lake we spent time on after La Paz) despite having an awesomely fun name to say, actually means "puma lying on a stone." Maybe not so unusually, this description is almost perfect for the sensations the lake gives off.

I think the last time I updated we were in La Paz. As much as I loved it, we didnt stay very long. Kira and I will be back. We fell too hard in love with Bolivia. Instead we took a short bus to Copacabana, hippie haven of Bolivia, on the shores of Lake Titicaca and on the border with Peru. The whole town was like the lounge of an amazing hostel, and we met some very incredible people. The first afternoon was spent with Atahuallpa (which is the name of the son of the Incan king) and Kia, an artesan who's been traveling for 13 years and the Texan student who met and fell in love with him, respectively. They were refreshing and relaxing to talk to, as was Sven, the Swiss wanderer who never spends more than 6 months in his own country, and who passed the evening playing poker and Jenga with us while jamming out to live Colombian music.

I climbed up the mirador above the city for sunset, and was ever glad I did. It was amazingly beautiful, great to get some exercise, and peaceful to have some time for myself. Even a mindless traveler's gotta think sometime!

We also spent a night on Isla del Sol, a somewhat small island off the coast of Copacabana, reached by 2 hours of slow travel by boat. Much better than a bus. Now, here is the "interesting facts" portion of my entry. Lake Titicaca is the highest lake in the world (La Paz is the highest capital city) and sits at roughly the altitude of Mt. Whitney's peak. 14000 feet. We've got our packs, which aren't two heavy, maybe about 30 pounds. When we get off the boat to la isla, the first thing we have to do is walk about 30 minutes to our hostel. Not bad, right? Except imagine the stairstepper from hell. Only the fantastic views and prolific llamas saved us.

The lake also has a lot of religious significance for the Incans (we went to the museum today... that society is incredible. I want to be them.) It is said that the Daughter of the Moon and the Son of the Sun rose from the waters at the north end of the island with a golden staff and begun their search for the heart of their civilization, where the staff would stand up in the ground. They continued north until they reached present-day Cusco. There, in the Sacred Valley, they began their civilization. For this reason the area is known as the 'bellybutton of the world.'

The first thing that strikes you about the island (besides how freaking gorgeous it is) is the people that live there. They are simple, with their food or water or children wrapped in colorful shawls on their back. Their faces reflect the wisdom of their lives and of their history, of the profundity of their existence spiritually. The only thing they say to you is "Comprame." Comprame means buy from me. Tourism has affected their lives in such a way that even a three year old can only tell you to pay for the picture you just took, and look at you with unbelievably deep confusion and hatred when you say you have no monedas or caramelos to give him. How can you react to that when it's all because of you and your history?

On a happier note, we're climbing Machupiqcho in two days. I am very excited. The place looks incredible. We hope to be up at the top before sunrise. It is also getting very close to the solstice - on the 24th in Cusco is the festival Inki Raymi. They're already celebrating! This trip has been wildly full of growth and questions and change and belief... I hope Machu Picchu will bring either closure or clarity, or por lo menos a very beautiful and powerful day.

You all have to come here one day. That's a requirement.

I still have a month of travel. Our plans just changed somewhat drastically. That tends to go with our trend of doing what we want, in the moment, without obligations to anyone but ourselves and our plane tickets. Simply breathing here makes me feel free.

Oh, and PS - I cut my hair. It is now very short, and very easy. I no longer have a rats nest at the end of the day!

The Tari the other day (a Tari is an Aymaran who reads the future or your luck in coca leaves) told me that I would spend the majority of my life outside of my own country. (Sorry Mom and Dad) Can I live in Bolivia?

My Chilean mother is also sending me emails checking up on me, harrassing me for not writing and letting her know what's up, and trying to convince me to move in for the rest of the summer. They of course come nowhere close to matching my real family, but damn, it is going to be so hard to really leave them at the end of July. Now I know I've got at least a few days with them, but then? Weones, no me olvidenpo!

Well it's about time for another ridiculously cheap but party-in-your-mouth delicious meal. I'll leave you all with yearnings to join me in this traveler's paradise, and enjoy the uncomfortably hot days of North Carolina! (or wherever you are..) Love you all....