Adventures of YB125 in Peru, part 8

The smell of the sea, the blue and the absence of land on the horizon, the frame of cultivated fields and neat motley beds, the cry of seagulls and some predatory birds. We liked lake Titicaca immediately.

People inhabiting the villages on the shore of Lake Titicaca were terribly hospitable. For the first time so much people were shouting greetings to us))) But mostly men and guys are shouting, and grandmothers and women are always busy. How much yarn can be spinned when all life is on foot. Beautiful!

Near Titicaca there are also ruins. For example, amazing family crypts chulpas. The oldest burials of this kind are not even attributed to the Aymara, but to the culture that existed in 800 BC. Later, the tradition of such burials was adopted by the Aymara and during the heyday of Koya's kingdom, the most impressive chulpas were erected, later in the 15th century Incas appeared in these parts, they worshiped local traditions and erected similar things for the burial of the deceased nobility.

Silent hulks. Despite the fact that the peninsula of Sihustani on Lake Umayo is essentially a pre-Inca cemetery, the atmosphere is very pleasant. None of those who used this tradition believed in definitive death. Death was for them only a transition. The are the symbols of rebirth everywhere: entrances oriented to the east, lizards, made high and low relief, and so on. It's a pity that many of the chulpas were smashed (sometimes blown up by dynamite) because of someone's greed to other people's treasures.

On the way, we spent the night in Huli. The beautiful shore of Titicaki, thunderstorm over the lake and tea with munia, the chulpa on the cliff of the hill and ... just a gigantic architectural treasure. Four grandiose Dominican-Jesuit cathedrals (almost all of them were ordered and started by the Dominicans and ended by the Jesuits), the house of the Inquisition and the incredible beauty of the sunset on the steps of one of the churches. It was an easy shock :) because the entrance to the village from the highway did not promise anything - ordinary brick boxes with protruding releases.

As it turned out, between Peru and Bolivia there are no agreements on border crossing on transport. Therefore, we can not enter on Peru moto in Bolivia on this crossing. There is an option for $ 200 USD and a 2-week waiting for several documents, but this did not suit us.
The next day we reached Tacna. If you go to Tacna from the north, it may seem that our planet has long been gutted by wars or aliens, people now live in cellophane tents and cartons, picking up trash from ruins, and somewhere beyond the hill, the crazy Max is rotting out. Post-apocalyptic landscapes are supplemented with other specialties - a strong smell of garbage, mercilessly scorching sun and flying garbage along the road ... You go on a plateau, and then you find yourself on the edge of a valley, and from this edge you can see Taсna from end to end - small burnt out boxes , strewn with dust, roads and rare islands of greenery. All this is framed by waste, mountains, mountains of garbage.
We looked at Tacna in a special way, the fact is that the previous night a spare canister with gasoline leaked onto a piece of luggage, and we decided that since we have two more weeks at least, we need to extend the same insurance and rent a house for a week , relax, wash things, have plenty to eat and then go, because in Chile all of the above will cost a pretty of money (a week of rest in Chile and even with a grand wash of backpacks will be really expensive). That's why we looked at Tacna as a place in which we will live. And from the mountain of garbage the prospect did not at all seem rosy ... we were sure only in one thing - a place like this, always rich in food, will have the necessary - insurance office, motor servis and in general everything that is needed in the way. Gathering our spirit, we began to descend!

In the heart of Tacna, an unexpected meeting happened. Alfredo, a musian from South America, told us: "During my travel to Europe, a lot of people invited me to visit their home, live or relax. Do you want to eat? Eat with us! Do you want to shower? There's a shower over there! And now it's my turn to work out karma "(laughs)
In general, at first a stranger, and then a friend, Alfredo, offered us the keys to his summer house, and we agreed. This is the best gift at the most suitable moment!

The house on the shore was quite simple, but it had everything we needed (and even a blender). You can get rid of the smell of gasoline in only one way - after washing, ensure a good airing (where, if not at the ocean?) We did not have any neighbors at all, and fishermen fished 50 meters from the house in the afternoon, so we bought cheap shiny fish.
To live by the ocean, so that its noise and the cry of birds could be heard even in the toilet is the most relaxing rest. At night we walked under the moon, in the fog, and our little village seemed like a tiny island of light in the mystical deserted atmosphere of this place.

This concludes the translation about Peru. Peru is forever in the heart, this is a real love, which was before our meeting and will not go anywhere now ...
And then wait for the story of Chile! We already have something to tell, since the 3rd month and almost 5000 km are already over. Stay with us :)