Discovering Lake Titicaca, Puno, Peru
Titiqaqa – Quechua spelling – is known as ‘the highest navigable lake in the world, with surface elevation of 3,812 meters (12,507 ft).’ [1] The Titicacas’s name is interpreted as ‘puma’, due to the shape of the lake. Temperatures are influenced by the high altitude rather than the tropical latitude. The locals joke to have the cold season and the colder season; the cold season being the dry one and the colder season being the rainy one. The temperatures rarely get over 15°C during the day and the drop below the freezing point at night. Sun rays are very strong in this high Altiplano location, so 50+ sunblock is a must. A pair of comfortable water-proof shoes too.
Get a Taste of Uniquely Peruvian Expressions
After our blog about Runasimi/Quechua we realised that there are many uniquely Peruvian Spanish jerga (or slang) expressions that were too funny not to share. Enjoy making yourself sound local. Here is our finest and 100% locally verified selection:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Quechua
Most importantly Quechua speakers refer to their mother tongue as runasimi, which means ‘human speech’.[1] It is one of the 47 original languages spoken in Peru. Quechua is also spoken in Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.[2] With the Inca conquest of more and more territory Quechua spread in a similar way Latin did in Europe with the Ancient Roman expansion. ‘Today there are approximately 24 dialects of Quechua […]. All of these varieties combined are spoken by approximately eight to 10 million people, making Quechua the most widely spoken indigenous language in the Americas.’ [3]
Here in Cusco Quechua is more than alive and kicking. You can hear it talking on the cell phone while going by bus. You can see it advertising Cusqueña the local beer from Cusco on TV. And also Oro (Gold) bubble-gum yellow soda in several witty TV commercials as if from the Inca times – don’t miss the twelve-angled pizza delivery one. Quechua studies at a university. It is taught in schools, language institutes and universities in Peru. Even foreigners living in here are learning this Andean language in workshops and courses organized by institutions like Dirección Regional de Educación de Cusco. What’s more Quechua is also taught at universities and language institutes outside of Cusco, outside of Peru and even outside of South America.