Lago de Titicaca

The highest navigable (whatever that means) lake in the world is Lake Titicaca, take that Tahoe! Lake Titicaca is a massive lake bordering Peru and Bolivia. On the lake lies one of the most fascinating pieces of architecture; the floating islands. Years ago outside of Puno city on Lake Titicaca there was an unusual amount of rain. The solution? Create your own islands of course! Using what they call 'Totora reeds' the Uros tribe, who predate the Incas mind you, the people living near Puno literally wove flood resistant islands that floated on the lake. I thought it was wonderful, and as our tour guide pointed out if you didn't like your neighbor well hey just cut him off your island and there would be no more disputes! Today the island is extremely touristy with a couple of restaurants, and the locals desperately attempting to, almost forcing you to buy some of their goods. The architecture and the engineering of the place still blew me away and I loved it although some of the people in my group were a bit annoyed. I rode a woven boat across the islands while two ladies rowed about eight of us across. Not only was this physically impressive but the boat was fascinating, which like the islands themselves are woven out of plants.







After riding the woven boat across our more modern boat took us to another island called Amantani. On Amantani we docked and a group of local women were awaiting us and essentially bid on, or were assigned to some of the tourists. A very sweet middle aged lady took my friend Matt, a lovely British lady named Eve, and I to her house. She prepared us an incredible vegetarian dish and after we rested we went on a hike with our group. After the hike our house mom gave us some traditional clothes which we put on and we headed to a fiesta where I did my best impression of what many would refer to us dancing (twas not pretty).





The morning after consisted of us waking up at 6:30, having another vegetarian meal and then heading to our boat to head to the third and final island of our tour; Taquile island. On Taquile Island we took a beautiful hike and enjoyed a nice lunch with an incredible view of the lake and surrounding islands.

Machu Picchu... a day I will never forget and never want to repeat

I absolutely loved Machu Picchu. The end of the Andes and the beginning of the Amazon is home to one of the eight wonders of the world, the ancient society of Machu Picchu. The views were unbelievable, the history shocked you, and the architecture and engineering of the Incas baffles you. However, this is NOT a family vacation, I repeat NOT. If you are based in Cusco like I am or travel by plane into Cusco here is the ridiculous route you must embark on to capitalize on the complete Machu Picchu experience. First you take an hour and a half ride on miserable roads in a crowded van, yay! Once you arrive to your destination, Ollyatantambo you must take an hour and a half train ride to Aguas Callientes. From there you should wake up at 3 am the following morning and take a bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu. Once you are there, you want to quickly acquire Huayana Picchu tickets so you can hike that while you are there. You will also want to hike Machu Picchu of course and from there potentially to the Gran Cavern which although miserable to hike, was fascinating. I say it isn’t a family vacation because you are hiking a ton and you will feel it the next day. We also opted to hike down instead of take the simple bus ride which was awesome but my legs are still crying,

The experience itself was once in a lifetime and I can’t express the euphoria I had once I reached the top of Huayana Picchu and viewed Machu Picchu (after walking through Machu). Why on earth was this society, 10,000 feet in the air even here? It’s hard to say but the best reasons seem to circle around Protection from invaders or the ability to study all types of astronomical phenomenon. The Incas had stones arranged such that during the summer solstice it would shine right through these two thin rocks on that day and that day only. Perfectly marked stone compasses, and stones that outlined the Milky Way perfectly only begin to scrape the surface of the Inca’s incredible history. On top of that the llamas strolling around get checked on by veterinarians every two weeks, better health care than most Americans!

I ate a guinea pig, sue me

Don’t judge me for eating Cuy (Guinea pig) it was highly recommended and I didn’t know it was going to look exactly like a rat with the head and everything. Aside from that it tasted like fish and chips.

Jugamos basquetball todos los dias ahora!

One thing I touched on when I last spoke about working with the orphans down here is how similar they are to kids everywhere; they are just looked at different. I’ve been working on teaching the kids basketball and it has been troublesome to say the least. The skill level isn’t always pretty. The kids are much more skilled at soccer but by watching me, many have gained a keen interest in learning how to play better. With many kids this age you have to get them interested by doing something other than telling them. It’s fair to say that half the kids are more skilled than me at soccer so it’s hard to get them to listen during futbol, however with basketball it’s been quite nice. All of the kids want to learn how to dribble between their legs, make lay-ups consistently, and shoot without heaving and praying towards the rim. There has been some progress. I have a handful of kids who can now shoot and dribble pretty well and actually want to play basketball instead of futbol! On the flip side one of the boys bit my kneecap the other day, I spotted some head lice on one of the boys, and if I ever bring my iPhone to the orphanage World War III erupts and it usually ends with one of the bigger kids hiding in the bathroom stall (so he doesn’t have to share) playing angry birds. Still, they have begun growing on me beyond them just being cute…

Cock fights? Unlike anything I have ever seen (video not for children)

On my way back from giving a quick city tour to a few new volunteers and additions to our house I noticed one of the most surreal things I have ever seen in my life. A miniature death ring that appeared to either be for Midgets or roosters. Curious as ever, I crept over to the open door and found a lady next to the inside of the door. I asked her "Cockfights? and her response was "Yes cerveza and cock fights 15 soles." For 5 bucks I could watch cockfights and have beer? Shell shocked, mesmerized, and horrified I skipped to our house which was right across the street to inform the boys we were off to see cock fights. 45 minutes later we showed up and were the first people there (We would be the only white people there all night.) Grabbing prime seats in the front row we gazed at the cocks. We felt bad for the ones in the cages yet sized them up for competition as well. I hate to admit it but any moral stance I had against cock fighting went straight out the window when the crowd increased to between 75-100 people. It was brilliant. There were two dozen kids, men who had servants pouring their beers for them, people standing before the first fight wagering 100 soles per fight. That place could have got Mike Vick to retire from football and pursue a new career. There was more energy in that building than any NBA, MLB, or NFL playoff game I have ever been too. The fat cats dropping 100 soles per bet (and sometimes they would have 2-3 bets per fight) also included a mere 5 sole win over my friend Matt. The place was dazzling; farmers after a hard weeks work, children neglecting their homework, woman cheering as if they were watching their kid at a little league game, man this place had it all. There was a "welcome to cock fighting moment" round one where I was coerced into a 10 sole bet. Right before the cocks fought they would be put face to face and they would stand each others ground as if they were being told 'okay you have to fight' then a 2-3 inch silver blade that could have sliced my body off from my man parts was tied to each of the cocks left legs (I'm not sure if they had any idea a blade was there, I mean they couldn't see it, they are one of the dumbest types of animals in the world, and aw hell I'm speculating.) Anyways back to round one; The cocks stabbed each other simultaneously one getting it in the gut the other the side of the head, one shit itself and they collapsed next to each other. In awe of the situation and horrified at the same time I jumped to my feet screaming "Yes!" (I am sorry okay). Overcome with a shallow and perhaps disgusting interest in this horrifying yet addicting sport I high-fived about five strangers, grabbed my beer and waited for the next fight. The characters at the event were impeccable. The PA announcer got yelled at it relentlessly for taking too much time in between fights, the trainers we're intensely serious and acted like they had been doing it for years, the judge was a strict old man who maneuvered and maintained the situation as if it were meant to be serious (If I ever see a resume that says cock fight referee on it I will hire him instantly.) We starting giving nicknames to not just the roosters but the trainers. One trainer was el nino for being just 14 years old. One cock was 'El Blanco Mortar' aka 'The White Death' because, well, he was white and was either going to die or kill someone. Some of these cocks looked like turkeys who had just lost a loved one (massive, pissed and the angriest looking mother ******* I have ever seen.) This place would never be allowed to exist in America, but I hope they have one in hell! The fight of the night can be seen in this video below (Yes I took the video, don't judge me, don't watch it if you don't want to see it, or say that it isn't the most bad ass video you have ever seen, enjoy!)It reminded me of a craps table mixed with ultimate death match.






Look, I understand the moral argument against this but different cultures have different customs, traditions, and interests to some its inhumane to others it's innocent entertainment. Of course it is illegal in America, but murdering 100,000 Iraqi's in a dozen years is, so what's worse? Either way I found the cock fighting matches an incredibly fascinating part of Peruvian culture.

Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9FuDFcNQbk

Starting my volunteer work

I knew going into this trip that while I would have a lot of fun, the volunteering aspect would be difficult, and after one week I can already tell this will be hard, not only emotionally, but because boys will be boys. I am working at an all boys orphanage on the outskirts of town. The boys range from 6-16 years old and they truly are adorable. At 'Hogar de Menores Jesus Mi Luiz' the children are all there for a particularly sad reason; they were found on the streets. Either the boys have found their way to police or police have found them alone and they admitted not having anywhere to go. The goal of the orphanage is to reunite the children with their parents as soon as possible, but this I was told, almost never happens. Such is the case for a few reasons; either the parents have no proof that the boy is theirs or are unable unable to find them, or the more likely reality, that they left their kids. Cuzco is not a wealthy city by any means and many of the children come from rural families who live on the outskirts of the city or in the mountainous area of Cusco. Often times parents can not afford to raise a child who can not work yet, and instead takes up food. There are a handful of disabled kids at the orphanage and it is assumed that they were left by their parents because of their inability to work some of the jobs their parents do. As sad as these circumstances are, you would never guess it by only knowing the children. All of the boys are, well, exactly like any other young boy. They constantly want to play, they laugh, they fight, they blow snot all over themselves, and any sign of authority is enough to put them in tears or to have them go running away. What is remarkable is how these kids never show the least sign of depression, even the older ones who may be more aware of their situation. Instead basketball, thumb wars, yarn, or any type of electronic I bring whether it be a camera or my iPhone is enough to make their entire day worthwhile. The language barrier still affects the way we can interact, however, all of the boys are as good as teachers as I could hope for, in some ways quite inappropriately. When I arrive at the orphanage each day I am greeted with 25 "Amigo! Amigo's!" and I am near assaulted by these kids, but about halfway into my three hour day when I have broken up about seven fights I become the bad guy. However, that will all change when I arrive the next day...

First week in Cuzco

After just five days in Cuzco I have fallen in love with the city. The city sits around 11,200 feet above sea-level and is surrounded by mountains on every side of it. The mountainside are filled with houses, ruins, wildlife and scenic hikes. The city itself is an old Incan capital and has Incan and Spanish ruins throughout the city. The architecture is phenomenal as many of the buildings are built with stone, and one can only imagine how stenuous that would have become to build. One could have spent his whole life building one of the churches or old government buildings and died before it was completed. Some of the most beautiful churches in South America surround the Plaza De Armas and directly across the street from the Volunteer head quarters is an old Incan stone government building that used to have gold surrounding it. When the Spanish arrived they built an ugly white addition to the building and stole all the gold, imagine that!

As for me I live in a Volunteer house with about 10 other volunteers or international students at the moment from Australia, Chile, New Zealand, England and a few from elsewhere in the states. The city has tons of clubs and some great food,although much of the food is quite different from anything I am used to, I can't wait to try some Cuy (Guinea Pig)!

Lima and Miraflores

Cibiche! Cibiche is a local favorite and was recommended by just about everyone whom I spoke with. It consists of raw shrimp, squid and fish with lemon and spiced with peppers. It is definitely a unique taste but one that you must try.

The coastal area in Miraflores is incredible. Miraflores sits on a cliff and we had to hike to the beach but no complaints there…





I only spent a couple of days in Lima but it was easy to notice how beautiful the scenery was. I stayed in Miraflores which I later found out was “the nice are” in Peru and that was easy to see as well; Range Rovers and other luxury SUV’s were aplenty. Miraflores was in stark contrast to the central area in Lima where pollution, trash, and poverty were widespread. Our taxi driver even rolled up our windows when we drove through certain spots as tourists and cabs have been known to get mugged quite often. However, don’t let that confuse you Lima’s downtown area and the Plaza Del Armas are quite spectacular.