Hi, my curious fellows!

It was 4 in the morning; I woke up and felt so energetic. Today is the day to see the real of Peru. Lima was very city life and did not have much of an indigenous culture. We were looking forward to flying to Puno. Melanie and I packed a little and then went downstairs to meet the group. The hotel provided us with a brown bag of breakfast. We were in a hurry, so we hopped on the bus. We drove for about 40 minutes, and most of us slept on the bus because it was 5 in the morning. We entered the airport, and we found our gate. Also, we stopped by Starbucks to order a drink and needed to break down our money (100 sol to 20/10 sol). The flight was about 1 ½ hours, and we slept all the way. 

When we arrived, we felt lightheaded because of the high altitude. Keep in mind that the altitude in Puno is pretty high. It’s about 12,000 feet from sea level. Jami’s dream comes true because she wants to walk down a ramp deplaning. It was pretty cold in Puno, and we wore a jacket. We walked to get our bags, and then Kristen reminded us to take coca leaves to help us have less altitude sickness. I personally don’t think it works, and it is very dry. I have to chew it and then get the juice. It was too complicated for us, and it tasted weird, too. All of us prefer coca tea over coca leaf. We noticed that most people are darker skin than Lima, showing us that all people are completely different between urban and agricultural. We got our bags and then met our tour guide. We have two tour guides: one is a hearing guide (Guido), and the other is a hearing interpreter (Lidia). They’re very nice and sweet. We got in the nice van, and we drove to Sillustani Ruins. During the drive, Guido (our tour guide) overwhelmed us, and he gave us many good information. We learned a lot, and I will share what shocked me the most. Puno has three different languages ( Ayamara: pre-Inca, Quechua: Inca, Spanish: influenced by Spain). What shocked me most is that Aymara and Quechua are not written languages; they are spoken languages. I asked myself how that was even possible. I also think that ASL is not a written language, but it would not be here without English. We drove through Juliaca, the biggest city. Guido explained their economy, saying that mining gold and agriculture are most important for their emoticons. Also, there are 350,000 people living in Juliaca, and only 30,000 people work for taxis, services, and transport. We did go through the festival for a dance competition. Their clothes, makeup, and hair were so pretty. Unfortunately, we missed the festival, but at least we got the idea to see what it looks like. 

After a long drive, Guido wanted to show us their indigenous home, which was very interesting. We saw llamas, alpacas, guinea pigs, and a cute cat. We only stayed there for around 15 minutes. We finally arrived at the Sulliustani Ruins. Sulliustani Ruins is a place that has different towers for funerals for important family members. We had to walk for a short time to get there, and the funny thing was we walked too fast. We felt dizzy, and our hearts beat too fast. Guido told us that we should walk so slowly and take a sip of water often. To be honest, we walked slowly, but it did get better. We walked uphill, and we were tired easily. We yawned millions of times, and it is because we don’t have enough oxygen in our bodies. All of us didn’t feel good. Some of us vomited, and some of us had headaches. It was awful, but we pushed ourselves to the top. We stopped to see the beautiful lake in front of our faces. The water was blue with pretty mountains behind it, and the air was so fresh. The lake is called Umayo ( lagoon island) and is 153 feet higher than Lake Titicaca. We took many pictures because it was really beautiful. Guido guided us to where we could see different towers. There are 82 funeral towers and some pre-Inca (funeral towers called chullpas). There are two different kinds of towers (tombs): Collas and Inkas. What is different between Collas and Inkas? Collas is a small tower, while Inkas is the big tower.  One tower per family, Collas can fit 2-5 mummies, and Inkas can fit 5-12 mummies. Most towers are restored, and only a few can’t because it’s not good anymore. They only used two tombs during the time of the Incas, but now they have 82 tombs. We saw one big tower called the Lizard Funeral Tower. Lizard Funeral Tower is the tallest and nicest tower out of all towers. About 14 years ago, they found 12 mummies in the Lizard Fundral Tower. After a long walk around the Sillustani Ruins, we were so ready to go back and sleep. Altitude sick is such a thing! We got on the bus and slept so fast as if we hadn’t slept in a few years. 

We drove about 1 hour to Puno. Puno is where we stayed, and Lake Titicaca is where we stayed. Guido went the other way, and Linda came with us. She will be with us for a long time. Anyway, we arrived at our hotel, and it was pretty nice. Lani and I are roommates for Puno, and it is really cold outside, so we turned the heat on. The best thing we’ve done. Linda took us to one place for lunch, which was really good. Linda forced us to eat soup or chicken instead of dairy, fatty, or greasy food because it would make us feel sick. All of us get soup except for Jami. Jami gets a chicken with fries because she doesn’t like soup. I love my soup; it tastes like chicken soup. It was really good, I approved! We felt so lightheaded, headaches and nausea. We decided to go back to our hotel and have a nap so we could refresh ourselves. It seems like the nap helped some of us, but it didn’t help some of us. I had a bad headache all morning till after my nap, but I felt better. 

It was time for dinner, so we went out to dinner at the same place because it was cheap and delicious. It was raining hard outside, and most of us used layers, beanies, and raincoats. It was really cold outside, which meant we had to prepare more for tomorrow. Back to the point, we entered the restaurant, and of course, I had to get their soup again. We can’t eat fatty, greasy, or dairy, so our choices are limited. All of them get chicken with fries except for me. Sean, Kristen, and I got chamomile tea; it tasted very herbal. I added some sugar, and I enjoyed it. It is supposed to help less with nausea. Kaelyn didn’t want to eat at all and just slept all the way. I love seeing that we all support her in different ways, like a vlog, getting water for her, etc. After a delicious dinner, we stopped at a small store to get some snacks and water for tomorrow. Right now, we are working on a blog/vlog. As of right now, I’m typing, and the power went off. You probably read this on March 10th. We are ready to sleep; good night! 

Stay curious, fellows!

-Malinda