On the island of the sun: being blessed by the closeness of the sky

The Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. My time here, though I still had about 6 weeks left in Bolivia, was already feeling like it was winding down. I suppose that, after almost 9 months of traveling, my trip is indeed coming to an end although, with four weeks to go, of course I also feel more involved and used to life on this continent than ever before. For all practical purposes, yes, I can sense the end-ness of it: I'm planning the last few things; I'm actually the one now, while others are talking about their myriad opened-ended plans for the months to come, that is saying that "I wish I could, but I don't have time." But, while I would like to see Cusco, Rio, or Bogata all in this trip, and a part of me is so attached to being the traveler now that I have no idea what kind of rupture the change to being in the US again will bring about, something also tells me that I am ready for this next step. I can and will travel again. Hop on a plane anytime and I'm back in the game..for the next few years, anyway...or forever if I'm passionate about it, right? But I'm ready tomove on now, I'm just about sure. And even if I've realized I can't be sure, I've also learned to be okay with that and make meaningful choices andto stand behind them anyway. I can't damage control for all of the sadness or nostalgia for South American adventures I might feel when I'm studying away at grad school...but I will continue to have adventures none-the-less, and none of the adventures I have had up to now will be gone, really--they will be a part of me, and a part of the flowering of endless possibilities for the future "present day" as it comes to pass...speaking of the present day...that's today...and I am in Bolivia.

Going out with the volunteers in Cochabamba to see another traveler off on the next leg of his journey.


Then she wandered alone. I set off, knowing I had limited time to travel left, to venture to La Paz and then Lago Titicaca , the highest capital city and highest lake its size on the earth, with a rich indigenous Aymara culture and a people that remain living on and around the shores of the lake to this day. I have found that it can be exhilarating traveling all alone, with no one else's thoughts or travel plans but your own to get hung up on...left to the agenda of your will alone, whatever shape it may take. That particular shape can tell you a lot about who you are, I've found.

In La Paz, I met up with some friends I met in Argentina, also travelers. Francisco is actually here in Cochabamba now and Aline is set to arrive later today.

To get to the Isla Del Sol, we had to cross a river and take a small boat "una lancha", while the bus took a different one. Here I am on the dock. I am also just about to meet my friends of the trip, Derek and Liza. They are a delightful couple from Pennsylvania and New York who I was lucky enough to share the rest of the journey with. We ended up going out to eat, finding a hostel, and hiking 5 hours across the Isla Del Sol together the next day. So I wasn't alone after all. I was glad.

Here we are in the Aymara ruins on the island. The sun was incredibly strong, the wind chilly. Perfect for walking and viewing.

It's hard to imagine that people a thousand years ago might have been looking through this same window on the world, seeing it in a totally unique way, but seeing this magnificent lake, all the same. The sun glinted magically off of everything and gave the whole day a surreal air (later in the hostel I would collapse from exhaustion at about 5:30 pm and suspect some sort of sunstroke as the culprit...) but the native people of this place call it home, a place especially designated to worship the sun god "Inti" and the seat of magic and light.

That's it for now. I'll let you know how my plans to visit the Salt Flats, the historic towns of Potosi and Sucre, and, finally Iguazu Falls before arriving back at Buenos Aires go....even writing "Buenos Aires" I expect that I am going to have a lot to deal with on that particular journey...but we'll get there when we get there...and let it all go rolling home.