Day 11, Lake Titicaca con.t

This is Amantani in the middle of Lake Titicaca. I had emptied my bottle of water obtained from a spring at Machu Picchu and emptied it into the Lake, thereby connecting them energetically. Male and female energy. I felt a surge of joy! All was well!

It was Sunday, Mother's Day, and we were about to have an adventure.





Though it does not look very steep, but it was quite a climb from our boat to the house of our host family. I was the very last one. My chest hurt. I mean, I had serious chest pain. "Oh, no....please....not here" I was very clear that I did not want to have a heart attack here. Doreen and I had a room to ourselves...and real beds! Hallelujah. I soon learned, that was not nearly enough.

We had lunch soon. Each of us got a bowl of delicious little finger shaped potatoes and tiny fried fishes. I severed their heads and ate the rest. Dinner was served also in individual bowls...the same ones which had been washed out by hand in cold water. I was surprised to see rice, potatoes, and macaroni in my bowl. I was even more surprised that it was delicious! The Swiss man who was not winded and was not cold said that it was good to eat lots of carbohydrates in cold weather. For some reason, I briefly wanted to strangle him. I was not a happy camper. Breakfast for the survivors was fried bread. I heard that it was followed by corn on the cob.



Coming home.....We wished WE were.:-)

There were solar panels, and rough electrical wiring had been done. However, only one of us had a room in which there was a lightbulb. Silvia tried to entertain us by reading coca leaves by candle-light.












In the evening there was a dance at the community hall, and the custom is for each host family to dress their guests up in native outfits, and dance with them. Good idea! Keeps everyone warm....only the community hall was not anywhere near, and tackling the rocky steep terrain in the blackness was not appealing.

It was so cold, so miserable, that it was extremely difficult to keep from whining.....but, I didn't say all that was on my mind...only, "now, exactly WHY was it we wanted to do this?" We agreed that we were both home-sick. As we lay in our beds, I found myself describing my bathroom at home to her in every detail......All we had was a chamber pot for the night. (Oh, my God....I am so rich, so privileged! WHY do I need a bathroom that big?) The out-house was a long ways off, down stairs without railings.....It might as well have been in China. I was very grateful that Doreen was not pretending that she was not miserable, too.











Here is Doreen.....and, even the red roses on the bed-covers could not cheer us. It was COLD. The good news was that we were alive, we were already dressed....having slept in every piece of clothing we had brought....and, we were leaving!
There are some miserable experiences in life which in retrospect are fun. This is not one of those....though I do see the humor in it. Oh, I have a LONG way to go on my spirituality!

I had strong chest pain again, and this time with very little exertion. I was scared, but I did not tell anyone, choosing to keep my mind on calming myself.