For the past few weeks it has been raining every day over here, and not the gentle rain that just helps everything grow greener and blossom fully. Instead there is lots of thunder and lightning coming with the daily rain and I don't really care to much for this kind of rain, there's no regular pattern to it either. It just moves in whenever it feels like it and it doesn't seem to care if you have outdoor plans during those times or not. This week it doesn't look like there will be any change in this and I'm ready for the rain to go away for awhile. My granddaughter came through her surgery just fine and the allergy testing the Doctor did during this same time shows she just has a few things that she is allergic too. Her Doctor thinks that her frequent ear infections were causing her allergy symtoms too and now that she has tubes in her ears and her adenoids removed we will hopefully see our Luvey doing much better. It was really funny too that one of the first things she said when she came out of the anethesia was: "We need to go pick up baby brother." Most of the time baby brother is someone who is always "bugging" her while she is trying to play, etc. and she does not want to share with him. It's good having my youngest daughter and her family living back here once again but they still haven't found their new home and are living with my middle daughter and her family at this time. So many homes that are for sale over here were flooded last year during the heavy rains and even though they have been totally renovated my daughter and her family do not want to take the chance of buying a home that may have flood problems again. The way its been raining so much again...there is a very good chance of this happening. My daughter really wants to find a home in this one school district (which our cottage is in) but this school district is so popular because of the high testing scores that everyone else wants this district too. My son-in-law wants some yard space and in this school district the new subdivisions that are going up have nothing but a small plot of ground for yard space. The older homes with much more yard space need to many updates which would put them out of their budget range only because young people now days have to have everything at once. They can't seem to grasp the concept that you can do the most important renovations first with the money you have for that...then do the rest as money allows. I should add that the new homes are being built with less square footage too which just will not work either. I'm so glad I am not trying to buy a house today! But I am helping my daughter do research and that is stressful enough at times. Some days I miss just having the time to come and chat on here like I used to do....but then I'm at my grandson's birthday party like this past weekend seeing my whole Family together again...and I feel such joy and peace in my heart that I would not trade the way things are for anything! Things will fall into place and slow down once again and then I will be back here once again chatting away. In the meantime I do hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their lives. And I do hope it's not constantly raining where you are. Have a great day whatever you're up to today.
Good morning to you all I have noticed that with the generally lower level of oxygen in my body, some 20% down, at this very high altitude, though I can walk and function physically, my brain is enfeebled, and making a decision or reading and writing on this forum is a real effort, so forgive me for anything odd I may say or not say. We are back in civilisation in our favourite hotel in Puno, we cut short the island visit to one night, because the amount of climbing and the primitive living conditions were difficult. We left early and walked down the mountain to the main port for the next Colectivo (community) boat due at 3pm, so sat by the lakeside and drank water, prepared for a 3 hour wait. ..........then one of the port officials offered us a ride back on a staff boat, which we took, it was basically a stripped out version of a regular ferry boat, with a couple of beds and a few seats, with 4 women and 1 man, they all took turns to drive the boat, it's about a 3 hour trip... I took a some photos on the island and the boat here are a few....... The custom of knitting by men only is still the norm here, they often knit while they walk, the women sew and weave... For the first half hour a young girl was driving the boat..... Then she went for a sleep......I love this back-lit pic I took from the bed opposite where we were sat.. All the sheep are decorated with woollen bobbles and bands..
Hello @Terry Page , thank you for the pictures. I was wanting to see how the average citizen dressed for daily life. We get to see them in their traditional costumes when National Geographic showcases them, and that is great, but it's nice to see them as they regularly dress. Do you have to go through as much physical adjustment every time you go somewhere, or is this trip the exception? Do people that live in such high altitudes go through similar adjustments when they travel outside their countries? Do the bobbles and bands on the sheep have a purpose, or are they just for decoration? Does each owner do their own sheering and wool works? (I can't remember the term for the procedure before the spinning.). What else besides farming and sheep herding do the local people do for a living? Well I'll leave you be for now, and I hope you and Lisa fair better for the rest of your trip. PS: Each of your pictures tell us a great story, keep them coming when you get chance, but most of all, have a wonderful time.
Funnily enough @Ina I. Wonder we thought the locals were dressing up for the tourists, but no that is what everyone wears, children, workmen everyone........we stayed the night on the non-tourist end of the island and that is where I took the photos of the knitting men etc. The mainland is mixed, in the larger cities such as Lima, Cusco and Puno, the young people wear western style clothes jeans tee shirts and sweaters...............the older generation often wear traditional clothes but not always. As soon as you leave the towns, everyone in the country seems to wear traditional clothes ...the only work on the island is farming and making various knitted garments.....plus in some parts tourist related jobs... I am not sure about the sheep bobbles, they could mean ownership, because the bobbles that men wear on their knitted hats denote whether they are married or not. ........you can't get divorced in Peru evidently, though you can walk away Regarding altitude sickness I have never been to such a high altitude country before Ina, but evidently the body produces more red blood cells to cope with the lack of oxygen which takes about 4 days, and destroys them when you return to nearer sea level altitudes. ......and yes if a local goes to a lower altitude area, they have to go through all the adjustment again when they return....
We have just got back from an afternoon tour to a pre-Inka site with burial towers and a lake high in the mountains, so we went up another 1,000ft but apart from having to breathe more deeply we were ok..... it's almost time to go out for dinner now 6:30pm, so will report back with photos at some stage ..... have a good day everyone.... Here is the cathedral by the hotel here in Puno, that's about the only place of interest here, it's so close to the border with Bolivia that a lot of smuggling goes on mainly electrical goods, cameras, laptops, phones, etc., plus of course drugs, so it is quite a rich place for some
@Terry Page, I sorry for all the questions, but as my avatar name indicates, I have great sense of curiosity. Yes I've heard the old saying that curiosity killed the cat, BUT, satisfaction brought it back. I've never been able to travel afar, so your postings of the different places you and Lisa travel to satisfies much of my need to know. I'm already getting curious as to where the two of you are off to next. I'll really miss your globe-trotting when y'all decide enough is enough. Whatever will you do with yourself when you quit?
Questions are fine @Ina I. Wonder our next destination is Mexico in January 2018, I guess I will be too gaga to be bothered when I quit, I am making the most of life while I still can
A quick hello from a floating island, on lake Titicaca where we are staying the night, we have just been for a two hour trip in a traditional straw boat, relaxing in a deck chair now waiting for dinner at 7pm. This is the view in front of me...