good eats and high altitude

we´re in puno, a hillside port town on the shores of lake titicaca. the elevation of the city is somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,500 feet above sea level. while neither of us have had any serious effects, we can definitely feel it. things are moving a bit slower for us.

we went out on the lake today in a tour group to visit the floating islands of the uros people, and taquile island, inhabited by quechua speaking descendants of the inca people. first we saw the floating islands, which are made and continually replenished from the reeds that grow in the shallow areas of the lake. then we moved on (in a very very slow boat....maybe running on a lawnmower motor) to taquile island. the 2k climb straight up the side of the island was challenging, but arriving at the island top village and having lunch of fresh caught lake fish and quinoa soup (followed, of course, by coca tea), was well worth the effort.

our trip has been full of outstanding culinary experiences: ceviche and bird´s nest beef in lima; potatoes in peanut sauce (ocopa arequepina), river trout (trucha), and meat stuffed peppers (rocoto relleno), which are all traditional foods, in arequipa; and last night, it was alpaca and quinoa soup followed by roasted chicken in puno. papas fritas accompany everything, and we´re not complaining. seriously, there are papas fritas with everything. even inside the omelettes.

tonight we´re off to another dinner adventure, and then another hotel room adventure. marta learned last night that the phrase ¨sleep tight, don´t let the bed bugs bite¨ is not just a figure of speech. the bed bugs bit, and sleep tight she did not. the socks and long underwear defense will be employed this evening.

tomorrow we will depart puno for a day long train ride through the andes and altiplano. it will deliver us to cuso, the belly button of the world. or so we´re told.....