Lake Titicaca and bad fish

Machu Picchu is a hard act to follow, but we had our sights on heading straight to Bolivia after the wonderful excursion. We were told Isla del Sol, nestled in Lake Titicaca, was not to be missed. From Cusco, we took a rickety "direct" bus to Copacabana. After the freezing over night ride, we awoke to a man alerting us to get off the bus in order to make the border crossing. Reluctantly, we squeezed onto a minibus and began to fill out paperwork. As Americans, Josh and I had to pay $130.00 to get into Bolivia (Israelis and US citizens are the only ones who have to pay to enter). During the hectic crossing, I started to develop signs of girardia, a nasty parasite which gives you wicked sulphur tasting burps and horrid diarrhea, and Josh injured his back by lifting his backpack in a hurry. We were a sorry site by the time we reached Copacabana. We decided to press on and take the hour and a half boat ride to Isla del Sol after Josh received some reflexology and brief massage from a rather crazy woman in town.Calcium bentonite clay saved me once again, as the boat had no bathroom. The boat docked on the south part of the island, and we proceeded to climb up the side of the mountain to find lodging. It was all I could do to take a few steps, then rest on a rock (avoiding copious amounts of poop scattered about everywhere) to catch my breath. I kept thinking if we could just get to the center of town I could get my bearings and feel better. There is no center, however, just more steps and winding paths. Josh took off with a teenage boy to find a hostal as I sat trying to get my burps to calm down. We finally found ourselves in a lovely hostal overlooking the Peruvian side of the lake.
Isla del Sol is the birthplace of the Incan empire. The people on the island speak Aymara and some Spanish. Electricity came to the island six years ago, and the tourists came with it. Water on the south island is a big issue, so when we asked the hostal owner if we could do a bit of laundry, he told us to go down to the beach. So down the other side of the mountain we went. The steep rocky path took an hour to descend.
Josh relaxing after a vigorous yoga practice to help his back heal. The laundry dried in the strong sun in about two hours.
The restaurants on the island serve two dishes : trout, quinoa soup. and pizza. We treated ourselves to pizza on our second night. I played some fiddle for the proprietors while we waited for our food to arrive. It is hard to play when your fingers won't warm up. The island is very cold at night.
The infrastructure on the island is not very developed, and many of the locals we encountered didn't seem very excited about our presence. Most people I saw seemed totally bewildered that we were there. They have no point of reference to relate to us, and it is quite puzzling to them, I'm sure, that we have the resources to come to their country and spend the same amount of money on a meal as they may spend all week. We were told routinely not to use any water where we were staying, and obtaining something as simple as hot water seemed to inconvenience and annoy. On our fourth day, we decided to head to the north island, where we heard we could stay right on the coast.
Our new spot, the Pacha Mama, was right on the beach and we immediately started to feel better about the island. We spent the afternoon on the beach playing frisbee with the local kids and watching them catch trout in the lake. The process was quite amazing to watch, as the kids circled up and splashed the fish into the net. Their excitement was incredible when the came up with a huge load of fish to take home for dinner.



Josh gave yoga lessons to some curious boys.

After a lovely hike, we went out for trout, as this is the only thing semi-vegetarian available option on the north part of the island. Josh's trout was undercooked, and he contracted a wicked case of food born illness. He spent the next day and a half in bed or in the bathroom. It was not a very fun way to spend our last two days on the island. We left Isla del Sol bewildered and weary, similar to how we felt when we arrived. I think we may have had a better experience sans digestive issues, but we made the best of it.
After siphoning gasoline by mouth to start the boat, our captain navigated the entire ride back to Copacabana with his foot. We played chess and fiddle with friends and looked forward to La Paz.

Machu Picchu

Words can not describe the beauty and wonder we felt as we walked and yoga'd throughout this awesome place... so we'll let our pictures do most of the talking.

We stayed the night in Aguas Calientes (the nearest town at the base of the mountain ruins). The town is accessible only by train, which we enjoyed taking after waiting a few extra days in Cusco for the train strike to end.

We awoke before the sun, ate a tomato, onion and cheese sandwitch (the first of eight throughout the day) and started the steep two hour hike up to the entrance of the park. The park rules state that no water and no food can be brought into the ruins, but if we had listened to them, we would have either spent fifty dollars on food or passed out from hunger by nine in the morning. Sometimes you have to break the rules.

The day passed quickly as we covered the grounds of the park, taking time to explore some of the further away ruins, make friends with llamas, and practice yoga.

The clouds began to clear up as the day progressed.

The flowers were as stunning as the ruins!

Josh in unsupported headstand.

Za working on her alignment.

Just one of thousands of nooks to chill in.

Beyond the wall, the train tracks at the left show where we started our walk up to the ruins. Parts of the winding road can be seen to the right.

These terraces would have grown a variety of crops for the nobility that lived at Macchu Picchu. Now they grow grass for the noble llamas.

As the sun started to set, the park became less and less populated. Although it wasn't too crowded throughout our day, it was nice to see the ruins without hundreds of people filtering through them.

Happy Birthday ZA!

Happy Birthday to Za!

This past Wednesday, April 8th was Eli(Za)beth's birthday! I left the house at 7am and made it back an hour later with coffee, flowers, and chocolate cake with a Winnie the Pooh candle. Not bad for an hour on foot before most of the stores were open. We had just enough time to eat a quick bite and then we co-taught a yoga class at Yoga Inbound studio.

For lunch, Priyanath and Laksmi made us a scrumptious lunch and shared some awesome stories and advice about traveling in India. We can't wait! Priyanath is a great cook! I love kichiri and ghee!

Later in the evening, we attended an awesome high energy yoga class with Chaitanya. One of the best classes we've had in Cusco. Then Chaitanya led us and a group of fellow yogis and house mates on a Pizza Pilgrimage for dinner (it was soo worth the walk). As an added SURPRISE, Laksmi brought a homemade CAKE that was soooooo DELI DELI.

Thanks to all our awesome Cusco friends for helping make Za's big day so fun!
Thanks also for the love, good vibes, emails and voice recordings from our friends and family back home.

We are so blessed! Love you all!

Three Cozy Weeks in Cusco

When we arrived in Cusco, we didn't know we'd fall in love with the town and end up staying three wonderful yoga and friend filled weeks. Nestled in the Andies mountains, which are very green right now, the town has enough charm, Incan ruins, and food to keep us occupied for months. Although it is very tempting to stay longer, starting tomorrow our travels will continue on to Machu Picchu for a few days and then on to Bolivia.

Top Ten Reasons We Love Cusco and Wish We Could Stay (in no particular order) :

10. Fruit Salad - we've started each morning with a massive bowl of fruit with yogurt, local granola, and maca. Que Rico!!!
9. Coca Leaf Tea - although illegal in the US, the leaf from the coca plant steeped in hot water makes a delicious tea that provides a nice pick me up, but not the let down of coffee. This is also ecommended by the US embassy to prevent altitude sickness.
8. The Yoga House - before we arrived in Cusco, we made contact with a yoga teacher, Priyanath. He recommended we stay at a non advertised hostel he currently oversees. Complete with yogis from all over the world, a spacious room for practicing yoga, beautiful yard, kitchen and hot showers, we've enjoyed calling this spot at 516 Pumacurco home.

7. The Scenery - It seems no matter where you turn in this town, there is a beautiful vista, a winding cobblestone street, or blooming flowers to gaze at.

6. The Markets - We've particularly enjoyed eating at Govinda's lunch counter in the San Blas market. For three soles (about nintey cents), a happy cheerful vegetarian Hare Krishna serves a three course meal. The larger and more hectic San Pedro market supplied us with plenty of fresh cheese, veggies and jugos throughout our stay.
5. Yoga Inbound - Our yoga teachers Chaitanya and Priyanath, and their families welcomed us to Cusco in every way. We took eight classes a week at the Cultural Center where they teach, and ended up teaching a few towards the end of our stay. Both our teachers also took us on day trips to their land, had us for lunch, and even read our Vedic astrological charts. Our practice is stronger than ever now, and we look forward to returning for a visit with other yogis. Chaitanya has started building a yoga retreat center on some beautiful land an hour from Cusco. We are tempted to stay and work to build the center!

4. Yoga Picnics - We ventured out on several picnics in the Sacred Valley to eat and practice yoga with our friends. The surrounding towns, and bus rides to get to them, are quaint and beautiful. Josh is pictured here in a crazy new favorite yoga pose!

3. Friends - We've met so many lovely people here in Cusco! We've spun fire poi in the yard, played a concert with violin and accordian at a local cafe, hiked ruins and made many bakery runs with our house mates and their freinds. Fun!

2. Cake - For some reason, perhaps it's being 11,000 feet up, we've craved carbohydrates on this leg of our journey. The tortas here are simply amazing, as are the breads and mini mango pies. A habit that would eventually begin to show, we've endulged in local baked goodies each day.
1. Day trips - The Sacred Valley has been fun to explore by bus and foot. The Temple of the Moon and Temple of the Monkey are two of our favorites. We went up to do yoga one day, the practice was easy after a strenuous forty five minute hike uphill!