Lake Titicaca

Our bicycle taxi to the port

Our welcoming flutist--playing the
Beetle's Obladi Oblada no less

Rudy caught some of the fruit
that fell out of our bag on the taxi

 At over 3800 meters above sea level, Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. It is also home to the Floating Islands, islands made of reeds that literally float on the water and need to be anchored with ropes to avoid drifting from spot to spot. People originally started living on these islands 600-700 years ago to avoid being conquered by the Incas. Nowadays, there are about 2,000 inhabitants on the 135 islands, though 30-40% of these people have moved back to the islands to take advantage of the tourism there.

The Floating Islands

The floating community has developed over the years—today there is a floating primary school, a floating medical center, and even a floating post office! They also have begun using solar panels for electricity. (As the islanders live in houses made of straw, the panels were a big improvement over candles!)

Model of island

Our visit began with an explanation of how islands are made. (They start with blocks of reed roots which they tie together. After two years, the blocks will grow into one large mass.  The islanders then layer dried reeds on top of this base and build their homes on top of the dried reeds.) We then explored the island. The ladies of the place were kind and very anxious to build rapport with us (they were also selling goods), and they offered to show us their straw homes. The one I visited had two double beds in it and a very old TV. There was a separate round straw kitchen next to the house, though the stove was outside—on top of a big pile of straw.

Inside an island house

House and kitchen

After visiting the islands, we continued our boat ride to the grounded island of Taquile. There, we went for a hike and ate a freshly caught trout lunch. The inhabitants of Taquile have a very strict code for living on this island, and they have no police or jail because everybody follows it. Unlike other places in Peru where needlework is the job of women, knitting is solely done by the men here, and they are quite skilled at it. One old woman explained that when she was looking for a husband she looked for someone who could knit well because she knew if he could knit, he’d have a lot of patience. On our hike we also saw men doing manual labor with their wives sitting nearby, a traditional practice on Taquile.

Views from the island

Our lunch water knitting

His wife weaving

Our final Lake Titicaca stop was on the peninsula where we stayed with local families for the night. When we arrived, we were greeted by a band playing traditional music and then challenged by the locals to a game of soccer 400 meters above sea level. We lost the game, unfortunately, but we gave it a good effort! After soccer, our families dressed us up in traditional clothes (five skirts for the ladies, a black top, braided hair, and a top hat) and we danced together.  

Welcoming band

Friendly game of soccer

Team Rest of the World at sunset

Amazing sunset!

First skirt

Braiding hair

Dressed!

The group 

 We then went to our respective homestays for dinner. I have to admit, it was a little awkward. Two girls, Flora and Elisabeth, showed us to our room, and then they sat there and looked at us but didn’t really try to talk with us. I was doing my best trying to make conversation with my limited Spanish, but it definitely wasn’t flowing. Then, Flora left and came back with some little stuffed animals she had made that she was trying to sell to us. My roommate Caroline bought an evil donkey, but I didn't get anything.

Caroline in our room

Finally, it was time to eat. Including Caroline and me, there were nine of us in the small kitchen. There was a table pushed against the wall with two chairs and a bench behind it. They gave Caroline and me the spots at the table, the mother was on the floor next to the table, and then the other six family members were all sitting and eating on the bench behind us, so our backs were to them and they were watching us. Again, the conversation was very limited. Awkward.

The kitchen and our children host. At the right is one chair at the table.

We were dismissed for bed after dinner. The next morning at breakfast we again sat at the table with the others to our back, but this time there were only three kids in there with us. We had been told by our tour guide that we could learn about life on the island and help the family after breakfast if we wanted, but though we offered to help, there wasn’t much for us to do. (This may have been fortunate—other homestays had their guests hauling heavy bricks up a hill, herding sheep, and plowing fields.) As there were no chores for us to help with and there was little to no conversation going on, we opted to do a hike with our tour guide. It’s a very pretty place with beautiful views of the ocean. After the hike, we did “help” the girls get water and watched them water the horses.

Our homestay house. There were four separate rooms.

Although I am grateful for the cultural experience, I was definitely ready to meet the boat headed back to Puno at noon.

This afternoon was a free one and I did some wandering in the town. I decided to head back to the hotel after dinner instead of going out with others in the group, but unfortunately I have a terrible sense of direction and got all turned around. It’s a safe city, so I wasn’t scared for my well-being, but it can be a little disconcerting to have no idea which direction will get you closer to home. Fortunately, I ran into some Mormon missionaries who were very kind and helped me find my hotel.

This is my last night in Peru. Tomorrow we’re off to Bolivia!