Today we got out of the city of La Paz and traveled about an hour to some ruins near Lake Titicaca called Tiahuanaco. These are the people who built a civilization on the shores of Lake Titicaca before the Inka. They had a really long civilization, it lasted 24 centuries! We saw the Sun Gate and some statues that represented different things to the people. The symbolism in the statues was really cool. Every carving meant something different, for example, the way the statues hands are represented their place in society. A statue of a governor would be carved with his hands out stretched, a priest would have his/her hands together in front of the chest, and a wiseman would have one hand over his heart and one over his navel. The Sun Gate was really important – the Tiahuanacans did everything be the sun, told days and season based on the way the sun hit the Sun Gate at different times. The Tiahuanacans placed a lot of emphasis on duality – sun and moon, earth and sky, male and female.
The ride out to Tiahuanaco and back was really cool, we got to see the countryside and how people live outside the city. There were mud brick houses scattered all over the valleys and hills, and each house had a small mina house, a courtyard, and a few smaller houses attached. Just by the way the houses were set up, you could tell how important family and extended family are to the people. There have also been dogs, everywhere! And we saw cows, sheep, donkeys, and alpaca in the countryside. The people live right next to their animals and the fields they farm. It is harvest season, so in the fields I could see wheat and quinoa being harvested into stacks to dry.
Tomorrow we are riding the bus, all day, to Cusco, Peru! We are all doing well, and having a good time. The altitude here is very high, so we´ve been feeling a little off from that, but when we get to Cusco, which is lower, we should feel better. Ciao!
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Hey! We made it! After 30 hours of travel, including a 13 hour layover in Lima, Peru, we arrived at our hotel in La Paz! We are staying in a great little place (it has hot water!!!) right in the heart of the city. The sounds of the crazy traffic on the street and upbeat music filter into our hotel window. We got here yesterday, and had a wonderful dinner together (I am traveling with Ms. Mauch – she teaches 8th grade literature, and Ms. Brown – she teaches 8th grade math). We went to bed pretty early – we didn´t get much sleep in the Lima airport the night before.
Today we explored the “Marcado de Hechiceria”, or Witch´s Market. It isn´t scary, Halloween witches, but traditional medicine and folklore. We saw dried llama fetus, which are considered good luck to bury under new houses.
We´ve also been able to practice our Spanish. It´s amazing how quick you can pick up languages when you are surrounded by people speaking them!
So far the only things I miss from home are my husband and Lhotse! I am enjoying traveling on a continent I haven´t been to before, and being immersed in a culture I haven´t experienced!
Tomorrow we are going to try to explore some ruins called ¨Tiahuanaco”, and then on Monday we are going to travel through Lago Titicaca on our way to Cusco, Peru!
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Parents – Another great year of 7th grade comes to an end! I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each and every student, and I know they will be very successful in 8th grade!
Students – I will be traveling to South America this summer, and I will try to blog here as much as possible. I really hope that you follow my blog and leave me some comments! I will be leaving Denver on Thursday, May 28, traveling to Bolivia and then Peru for about 3 weeks. I’ll return to Denver on June 16. I can’t wait to share my experiences and pictures with you, and I hope to hear from you throughout my trip!
Categories: Newsletters · South America
