This morning I woke up at 6am and met in the kitchen at 6:30am for breakfast. I had coca tea, coffee, and a pancake w/jam for breakfast. We then walked down to the pier and boarded the boat to Taquile, an island about an hour away from Amanati.
Once at Taquile, we walked about an hour up to the top of the island and spent an hour exploring the plaza and surrounding area. At 10am, we started walking across the top of the island for about half an hour until reaching our lunch spot. For lunch, I had quinoa soup, an omelette, rice, and French fries. Our guide and a local also showed us a demonstration of cleaning using a native plant.
We then boarded the boat for the 2.5 hour ride back to Puno.
Today I encountered a few inspirational people.
- One is an Indian family living in Baltimore, where the father works at Amazon. The family has two sons aged 13 and 11. One of the sons, Rowan, told me that his family goes on at least three big trips every year because “my dad says we won’t have much more time together before we leave for school.” The boy is extremely well-spoken, confident, and already knows that he wants to be a cardiovascular surgeon and attend John Hopkins. This family is so adventurous and these kids are being raised so well and well-rounded
- Our tour guide is about 40-50 years old, knows how to speak five different languages, and is close to graduating from law school, at which time he plans on being a full time lawyer. It’s obvious that he’s someone that hasn’t stopped learning and growing.
Upon arriving in Puno, I dropped off my luggage at Hacienda Plaza Del Armas hotel and walked to a white Incan statue overlooking the city and Lake Titicaca. From there, I walked over to Loving Hut Vegan and had a four-course meal consisting of soup, salad bar, vegetable and bean stew, passionfruit chocolate cake, and a unsweetened herb drink. From there, I walked to La Casa De Corregidor and another coffee shop to use wifi, both of which had weak wifi. After a few hours of walking around the Jiron district (pedestrian walking area near Plaza de Areas) and sitting around in coffee shops, I taxi’d to the bus station to catch the overnight bus to Arequipa.
