Lake Titicaca

A Quechuan word meaning "stone of the Puma," Lake Titicaca reminds me of the Aegean Sea with it's vastness and the islands scattered around. We departed from Puno and headed for the first of the 3 islands we would see. Our journey was a short 25 minutes, on a small (maybe 38ft boat) with a top part for some people to sit, to San Pedro which is part of the Uros Islands. The Uros Islands are all floating islands. There are blocks of reeds from the plant that grows (only in this area of the lake) that rise up due to water movement.
These blocks are about 3 meters deep, or so. They are tied together and then reeds are thrown down over them on which to walk. The islands are then anchored so they don´t move too much. When an island is being built, each month more reeds are thrown on top to secure ways to walk around. Houses are constructed out of reeds as well. There were about 8 homes directly where we were. There was an extension of San Pedro that held more homes but in a more private area. The area we visited was mostly for tourists. They use solar panels to get electricity so some families do have televisions, dvd players, telephones and computers. One of the Uros Islands has a telephone for national and international phone calls.


From the Uros Islands we headed another 3 hours out into the bigger part of the lake (although we were always on the Peruvian side--60% of the lake versus Bolivia's 40%)toward Amantani.
This is the island where we were to stay for the night. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by women in traditional dress. This consisted of brightly colored skirts just below the knee that poofed out to give the illusion of 10 layers. The skirts were accompanies with white cotton shirts with embroidery and black sandals. If their legs were cold, they wore, knit tights that were more leggings than tights. In groups of 2-3 we were placed with a family. Christina and I met an Irish girl, Sarah, and the 3 of us decided to be placed together. We met Flora. Flora has 2 daughters who were probably around 6 or 7 and a baby. She lives with her parents. Flora spoke little Spanish and mostly Quechua. Her parents both spoke more Spanish and so did her children because on Amantani, children are taught in Spanish.

Our room had 4 beds and a table in the middle. Although there was wiring for electricity, we had a candle for our light. The bathroom was an outhouse just a few meters from the house. There was a cow who watched our every move every time we headed for the outhouse.
At one point, the cow actually looked at me and mooed! After getting settled, we met the rest of the group in the plaza to head up to the top of the island to watch the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful! We could see part of Bolivia and some mountains that were still part of Peru. The clouds, the moon and the sunset were breathtaking. After the hike, we were to meet Flora for dinner before a dance party they were hosting for us.

Dinner was quite an adventure. We ate in their kitchen. It was a small room with dirt floors and a small fire in a stone area. We sat on a small bench eating soup and then some rice and potatoes. While we were eating, we heard squeaking noises. I thought maybe it was mice or rats. Christina and Sarah didn´t like that idea at all (neither did I, but what could we do?).
Eventually, the squeaking got really loud and we looked at Flora´s parents as a plea to tell us what was going on. It was their cuyes!!! Guinea pigs!! They had 8 adults and 4 babies and as Flora´s father was explaining this, one ran right between Christina and me across the kitchen floor!I watched it´s furry little butt wiggle as it went. Shortly thereafter, we finished eating and it was time to get ready for the party.

We were told we would be wearing traditional dress but weren´t sure what exactly that meant. We each were given a poofy skirt: green, purple, red. We were given embroidered shirts and a black shawl for our heads.
We wore the skirts over our jeans and although we looked ridiculous, headed toward the Plaza for the party. There was a band of boys, the oldest nearly 12 and we danced, mostly lead by the little girls. There´s a lot of running around in circles with a group of at least 20 people crammed into a small room with the little girls yanking our arms back and forth. It was fun. Eventually, the party moved outside temporarily and Flora asked us if we were ready to head home, so we obliged.

The next morning, we waved goodbye to our families and headed off for our last island, Taquile. Such a tranquil place with amazing views. We headed up to the top of the island, right off the boat.
We congregated in the plaza, about an hour after embarking to find a ceremony going on. Peru´s Independence Day was on July 28th so there is a week long party that goes on, on Taquile. Women wore their traditional clothes while dancing and the men played their music.
They did this for the officers of the 8 communities on Taquile. During lunch, we were shown how the dress of the men differs depending on whether or not they are married. What changes for the women is the colors they wear. It was quite interesting.

After lunch, we walked down exactly 540 steps, no not 541 or 539 but exactly 540 (they make a point of telling us) down to the boat for our 3 hour ride back to Puno. I sat on the top of the boat and had a wonderful time. There really is nothing like Lake Titicaca and unfortunately, I do not believe my description has done any justice.