May 20th, 2018 - Kylie Keifer


I started off the day not knowing if it would be good or bad. We had another hike and the one from the day before I couldn’t finish on my own, so I wasn’t looking forward to yet another one. But, even before we left the island of Amantani I tried to look at the bright side of things. I was stepping outside my comfort zone being here and I get to see so many beautiful sights while here. Now the hike up the hill on Taquile wasn’t as bad as the day before but I still had to stop multiple times to catch my breath, but it was so worth it. Looking down at the lake during the day was amazing. I even stepped further outside my comfort zone and sat on the edge of the cliff even though I’m scared of heights. After the hike and some relaxation on the top of the hill we went on to see a traditional wedding ceremony for the Quechua people.

For this ceremony Jake and Ashley stood in as the bride in groom. It was cool to see how men and women change their clothing styles based on age and marital status. We also saw how a man would attract a women’s attention by shining a mirror and throwing small rocks at her. It’s just so different then our ways and the fact that people were already saying to throw rocks at her before we found out that was an actual thing made me laugh. At the end of the ceremony there was traditional music and dance. I’ve never been much of a dancer or someone who would join in on an activity with a bunch of people but when I was pulled to my feet to dance I went along with it. After our celebration we ate lunch where we conversed about movies and video games. Its always fun when people try to recommend games to me or get in little arguments about how good/bad a movie was.

Now the last thing that really stuck out on our adventure today was where people decided to jump off the front of the boat into the water. That water was freezing (right around 9 °C or 48 °F) and I just knew that by putting my legs in it I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to those that jumped in. The even more adventurous/crazy of the bunch jumped in a second time. I don’t know what they were thinking but the important part was that they had fun. I think we all had fun and that’s the important part.


Standing at the top of the hill we climbed at the island Taquile. Look at that view

 Jake and Ashley dressed up to show a traditional wedding.
The group that jumped into the cold water.
From left to right- James, Marie, Cayla, Taylor, Jake, Brandon, Jakob, and Dante

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