Day 45-46, It’s a small world after all . . .

The following takes place between Tuesday, January 11 and Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I have been on the road for about a month and a half. It was bound to happen that I would start running into the same people over and over again. Ben from Lima I met again in Cuzco. Patrick from Arequipa, Cuzco again. The Argentinian boys.

It makes for some good times when you meet up again. Lots of “OMG! How are you doing? Did you see this? Oh, man! That sounds like it was fun.” You’re on this huge trip, away from family and friends. Seeing a familiar face, even one you had only known for a day or two is comforting.

I’m in Bolivia now. It’s still a small world after all.

I woke up early, had breakfast, and purchased my ticket for Isla del Sol(The Island of the Sun). It is the largest island on Lake Titicaca and is one of the most important places to the Inca’s as it is though that the Sun God was born here.

I was still feeling sick this morning, a consequence of the boat ride back on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca. Why I thought I could handle another boat ride, I have no idea. But I went anyways.

This boat was even worse than the one before. Seats were uncomfortable, it was packed over capacity(I bet), and stalled more than a couple times over the 2 and a half hour ride to Isla del Sol. Unfortunately, I think the combination of the cold and sea sickness was starting to take over. By the time we arrived, I was in no mood to do much exploring.

Somehow, I got pulled into a small group with a guide for the north part of the island. We walked along a well worn stone path, viewing the agricultural terraces carved into the hillsides before coming upon the main archaeological site on this part of the island, a structure known as “the labyrinth.”  Very aptly named too, with each “room” having numerous doors leading out and each of the hallways branching into two or three others. Very easy to get turned around.

It was here that the guide, speaking entirely in Spanish, came to a well within the structure. He borrowed the cup off of someones thermos and filled it with water from the well, apparantly from the lake itself. Then he poured a little into someones cupped hands and while they patted their face with the water, he poured a little on the top of their head. It was interesting, even though I wasn’t sure of the entire meaning behind it.

That officially ended the short tour so we were free to wander back to the docks on our own. The boat ride back was the worst thus far and I got horribly sea sick. Back on dry land though, I had a pleasant surprise. There, on the shore, was Vanessa, the girl from Australia whom I had met back in Arequipa. We screamed, hugged, and walked a bit before agreeing on a time and place the next day to meet for lunch. I took my leave back to my hotel and collapsed, completely exhausted.

Vanessa and I were able to meet the next day and proceeded to spend most of the day together, save for a three hour period where we went for respective naps. It was a good day. Fairly relaxing, but it was nice to spend it with someone I knew already. We ended up having supper together as well before bidding each other adieu. The next day I had planned to grab the bus to La Paz so, at least until the next time we run into each other on the Gringo Trail, this was the last time we would see each other.