A view of the Lake and mummies

We all slept about 12 hours last night. The altitude has made us a little sleepy. We walked down to the shore of Titicaca this morning, shopping along the way. While I was waiting for Kim and Jessica, a local alpaca farmer struck up a conversation with me. When I told him where I was from, he provided me a history of alpacas and llamas, starting with the fact that the animals in South America, actually originated in Colorado and Utah. They slowly moved south, about 10,000 years ago. He also let me know that Colorado has the best alpaca wool in the world, with the exception of a special type that live in France. News to me. Anyway, the people are friendly and all seem to tolerate my awful Spanish. We've enjoyed seeing the local women in their colorful sweaters, loose skirts, and hats.

We spent the afternoon in the altipanos, high plains, at a location called Sullistani. Three civilizations have buried their royalty there. The earliest use goes back to 1500 BC. The next period started in 600 AD, and then the Inca were the last to utilize the area. You can easily tell the Inca architecture from the earlier groups, due to the precision. Where the earlier people seemed to stack rocks orderly, the Incas cut the rocks, so the stones fit perfectly together. The Incas funerary towers were built in a conical shape, engineering for the known earthquake hazard. Our guide also explained the mummification process, which they used, before lowering the dead into the structures. Interestingly, they were placed in a fetal position, so they would be prepared for their rebirth in the higher worlds.

Kim and I capped the night at a cafe a few blocks from the hotel. All I can say is that I have just had the most amazing hot chocolate ever. I'm talking hot...chocolate. As in liquid chocolate. It is possible I may experience an insulin coma any time now.Read more