it´s raining...it´s pouring (or...have i really left rainy san francisco?)

annette and me on las islas flotantes de los uros

this is one of the floating islands we visited (there are over 50)...where everything, including the ground is made of reeds...

one of the reed huts on the islands Pretty Lake Titicaca

well...we were supposed to be in machu picchu today, but instead we learned one of our most important lessons in traveling: be prepared to not get what you want (but maybe what you need?). little did we know, tomorrow is a peruvian holiday so today they shut down all trains, etc. so we could not get to aguas calientes, which would then lead us to the hike up to machu picchu. so instead we hopped on another bus and went to puno...the ride was only 8 hours, which felt magical after spending 22 hours on a bus to cuzco from lima. the cool thing is that puno is the port city near lake titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 3800 meters...you do the math to figure out how high it is in feet..i also found out that¨"titi" means puma and "caca" means gray, which really seemed to take all the fun out of my perpetual laughter upon reading or hearing that word...but now i am more "educated", whichh should shortly translate to maturity. although, still, it is kind of a funny name...gray puma or not. also it is called that because when you look at the lake on a map, albeit upside dowon, it looks like a puma eating some animal it trapped...look at it and tell me if you see it...
so today we took a boat trip on the lake and went to the islas flotantes, which are so crazy. the indigenous uros people live there and have built these islands completely out of reeds (I have attached pictures) and although these islands are pretty stable, they are also prone to movement with a strong current on the lake or an earthquake. it is really an awesome experience being on this lake and being surrounded by these islands made of reeds (also the houses and bathrooms are also made out of reeds, which is quite cool).

i also learned that you are supposed to bargain with the people here when buying crafts, after buying a necklace for 7 soles (which translates to about6 dollars). according to annette it is disrespectful not to because of cultural blah blah blahs, but i still have a hard time talking someone down when i have enough money to pay and they could probably use the money more than i could. although, that is one less beer i can drink...damn! ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

so now it is pouring rain and i mean pouring...perros y gatos...luckily the rain started after we had already gotten off the boat from the islands...although it was still pretty sunny there even after we left...i have to say that i feel that rain follows me a lot, as egocentric as that is.

today i also had my first experience in frustration...not being as good in spanish as i want to be. this is the first time i have travelled with someone who speaks spanish so much better than i do and sadly, i eventually just stop trying. it is really pathetic, but i get so flustered, especially because annette speaks so fast that by the time i try to get the words out, it is already too late. silver lining though...i understand almost everything that is being spoken around me. i just need to buck up and stutter through a conversation. especially since we are here in south america until december. well..i have extended the amount of time i can sit at a computer before wanting to destroy something...so, hasta luego, amigos...