Thursday, March 25, 2016, WTRD 76
Tucked away in between the many small villages around Puno are the ruins of Sillustani. These ruined towers are set on a beautiful peninsula near Lake Umayo, built by a preInca civilisation hundreds of years ago. The Sillustani Indians built several 'chullpas', funeral towers. Each tower would have contained the remains of noble men, buried together with offerings to secure their comfortable passage into the next life.
Today is another long day in the mini-bus as we travel from Arequipa to Puna on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Again we pass by towns that are very poor and through a changing countryside from dry to and brown to that of brown mixed with highland greens. We travel upward today.
The curse of the Guinea Pig!
The start of the day has not been healthy for the guinea pig eaters, all three are experiencing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, others are feeling a bit off, but not sure why...maybe altitude sickness or something they ate.
I'm feeling well enough for the moment having given away my cold to Russ. But given our last bout of something in Patagonia, it's a bit like waiting for a bomb to drop. We keep taking our altitude sickness pills, but some of the group are not taking them and they don't feel well.
We pass by some guanaco playing in the dunes.
The start of the day has not been healthy for the guinea pig eaters, all three are experiencing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, others are feeling a bit off, but not sure why...maybe altitude sickness or something they ate.
I'm feeling well enough for the moment having given away my cold to Russ. But given our last bout of something in Patagonia, it's a bit like waiting for a bomb to drop. We keep taking our altitude sickness pills, but some of the group are not taking them and they don't feel well.
We pass by some guanaco playing in the dunes.
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| About 13,000 feet! |
We make a few more pit stops than usual so that those not feeling well can get outside, take photos of the countryside, and arrive at a Sillustani Indian Complex, started 200 years BC and having gone through many changes, from their own migration too the area and their farming practices of terraces and lakeside irrigation, to conquerers of another tribe from Bolivia who were more interested in changing the landscape of the land to bury their dead, to the Incas who continued to bury dead, and now has reverted back to the hybrid indigenous who benefit from many tourists who visit the complex.
Before hiking to the top of the burial ground in the complex, we pick up our lcal gide Franz and stop at a local farm house that is now both a farm house and a lunch room. The father wears a chef hat in a nice clean kitchen.
The mother and daughter serve the food. Some of the group is just eating the starter of vegetable quinoa soup because of their upset stomachs. The soup is excellent. Russ and I both have grilled chicken, rice, and cooked vegetables.
After lunch, we buy a little hat for our next grand-baby that Mama Isabel has knit from alpaca wool.
We take photos of some of the farm animals including the guinea pigs. Franz says that perhaps it was not a good idea to eat guinea pigs and meat in restaurants in Arequipa during holy week as meat is not eaten. Perhaps, the meat we ate the restaurant was old.
The mother and daughter serve the food. Some of the group is just eating the starter of vegetable quinoa soup because of their upset stomachs. The soup is excellent. Russ and I both have grilled chicken, rice, and cooked vegetables.
After lunch, we buy a little hat for our next grand-baby that Mama Isabel has knit from alpaca wool.
We take photos of some of the farm animals including the guinea pigs. Franz says that perhaps it was not a good idea to eat guinea pigs and meat in restaurants in Arequipa during holy week as meat is not eaten. Perhaps, the meat we ate the restaurant was old.
From the farm house we drive a few kilometers to the cemetary. Two of the 10 stay on the bus, while 3 of us that feel well, and 5 others who are marginally well hike up to the top of the hill with Franz.
He explains the round tombs that were started in the ground and grew upward over the years. By the time the Inca's arrived, the tombs were already high above the ground. The Incas built stairs up to the grave yard and perfected the tombs with refined Lego like blocks that locked together in circular towers, narrower at the base and wider at the top.
Today we can say that we walked on the steps of the Incas.
Today we can say that we walked on the steps of the Incas.
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| Male and Female Fitted Blocks used by the Incas |
Dead bodies were treated with herbs and mints to keep them from attracting insects, placed in a fetal position (the way they came into the world), and wrapped in lama and alpaca leather and buried in a circular rock tomb. The Indigenous believed in reincarnation and wanted to keep the body whole with all of its organs, unlike Egyptian mummies.
This was an interesting stop, but has become quite the tourist center. This little girl was posing for photos with her baby alpaca. Our guide told us later that paying children was not a good idea because they would think they could make a living from their behavior and not go to school.
By the time we left the complex, the sun had set. We drove the rest of the way, another hour and half to Puna, in the dusk and dark, arriving at 7:00 pm at our hotel. Four of us ate light dinners, the rest went straight to their rooms to rest and take care of their ailments.
By the time we left the complex, the sun had set. We drove the rest of the way, another hour and half to Puna, in the dusk and dark, arriving at 7:00 pm at our hotel. Four of us ate light dinners, the rest went straight to their rooms to rest and take care of their ailments.
Tomorrow will be a full day starting at 5:30 with breakfast, 6:30 to the Port of Puna, and the rest of the day on the lake visiting islands. We'll have to see how the day develops based on the health of the group.
All is Well with the Worrall Travel R's on the Shores of Lake Titicaca
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