Row, row, row your boat (or Looking for privacy in the reeds)

Greetings all!

I love travel! I believe that travel opens your mind and also puts your life into a very interesting perspective.

A couple of years ago, a friend and I went on an organized trip to Peru to climb Machu Picchu, eat amazing Peruvian food, and meet the locals. The food was delicious, and the people we met were very friendly. Machu Picchu was breathtaking both literally (bring altitude pills because you might be out of commission for days!) and metaphorically because you stand there and realize your own insignificance. Did you know that the Incas built their amazing empire without a wheel, draft animals, or the knowledge of iron? 

Besides Machu Picchu, there were several things that stayed in my mind and made me more appreciative of the comforts I enjoy in my life.

Let's start with a guinea pig! Grilled guinea pig is considered delicacy but I was not adventurous enough to try it. Guinea pigs are also medicinal. Some locals are still following traditional medicine and refuse surgery. Something hurts, they put a guinea pig in a bag, attach it to the body part that hurts, and sleep with the bag (with the guinea pig inside the bag)! Then in the morning, a healer looks at the usually dissected (!!!)  animal, makes a diagnosis, and prescribes herbs. Alternatively, a wriggling guinea pig is rubbed over the patient. I think I prefer Advil for my aches.

Here is another recollection that I often pull from my memory banks when I need a reminder not to take things for granted. We took a boat on Lake Titicaca and visited the Uros floating islands. The islands are man-made of blocks of dirt and reeds and are anchored in the lake. If families on one island do not get along with their neighbors or just want a different scenery, they raise anchor and float away - hence the floating islands. The Uros people use reeds for food and construction, and they also fish and run craft stalls for tourists. The families we met were poor but did not seem particularly sad or depressed. Food for thought right there!

Before we disembarked, our tour guide suggested we visited the restrooms on our boat as there were none on the island we visited! What does one do?  Row the boat to the reeds to find some privacy.

How many of us will survive in such an environment?!  Next time something breaks in your house or another driver cuts you off in traffic, think of the humble Uros people and picture yourself in a boat rowing slowly through the reeds...

What are you grateful for? Send me a comment!