Sillustani, Peru

Sorry, I forgot to post this one.

We did a bus tour out of Puno. I sat next to a young Columbian couple that wanted to practice their English. So we talked the whole day about Columbia and Peru and some about California. They were very well educated. We drove out to a place called Sillustani. The ride out to it was interesting. We watched all the stone farm houses going by and I asked the guide if we could stop and see one so he pulled over and we went inside one. I loved it. This compound was a family compound with four generations living together. They made knitted and woven items to sell and raised all their own food. They were very friendly and offered us dinner. We accepted a small amount of food but we did not want to take all their hard earned food from them. They were poor but very happy and healthy looking. The compound had a garden, an outhouse, a barn for the animals, pigs, chickens, llamas, alpacas, guinea pigs, flowers all around and three living quarters with a stone wall around the whole area. My favorite thing was the guinea pig house. It was a miniature version of the main compound all made out of cut stones with a thatched roof, very cool looking guinea pig house. It was all made by the oldest man living there. All of it was made out of stone work, mostly cut stones that they found around their farm he told us but he had to cut some of them himself when he did not have one to recycle. They fed us a variety of potatoes, red, purple, yellow, white potatoes and some that looked more like carrots or ginger root, some quinoa grain, vegies, pickles, some chicken, breads and cheeses that they made. It was all mostly bland tasting. We talked for a long time and they showed us how they weave and knit. Then we continued on our way.

We arrived at Sillustani and got off the bus again. There was a hike to the site. I was pretty crippled but I made it there. This site is a burial site. The burial chambers were about 40 -45 feet high and about 20 feet in diameter all made from cut stones fit precisely together in a silo shape. The bodies were mummified and place in a fetal position in the center of the chambers. Again the stupid Spaniards destroyed the site and tore down most of the chambers. It was in ruins. The more I traveled around South America the less I liked the Spaniards. I took some pics of the area and then I hiked back to the bus because I was hurting too much.

I made it back to the bus long before it was time to leave so I started to talk to the women selling things in a small market near the bus. A group of them were sitting out in the sun knitting and talking. I started to talk to them and I had fun. They were pretty forward with me and made lots of suggestive comments. I sat down with them and asked them about their knitting. I again showed them that I know how to knit also. They were very shocked to see me knit. We laughed about it. I took some pics with them after they told me all about their lives. They seemed to like to gossip together. Most of them had babies on their backs or were nursing their babies. They told me they started to have kids at about thirteen years of age and have been having them ever since. They were all married but made it clear that they were available. I laughed at their forward comments but again I think they were serious. Finally the rest of the group returned and we climbed on the bus and left to go back to Puno.

I really enjoyed my time talking with the women on the hillside overlooking Lake Titicaca off in the distance. I found the people in Peru to be very open and direct and I like people like that. What you see is what you get. No games just real people. They work hard but seemed to enjoy their life. We should all be so lucky.