Lago Titicaca

Peruvian side

27.09.2009

At first glance from the shores of Puno, I didn't see what all the hype was about. We boarded a tourist bus where we saw an Argentinian couple that we had met in Peru in the Sacred Valley.. The boat ride was relaxing and we dozed off since we had to be up at 6am. The first island we visited was the Floating Island of the Uros people. They are a small tribe that have their own language but also speak Spanish and Quechua (Inka). We were socked when we stepped onto the island. It really was just floating. We sat around as the President of the island gave us a demonstration of how they build the island from the roots of reeds and how they have to make a new reed “floor” every few months as the old one degrade. Its pretty amazing how they made this island. There are 8 families living on this small island. The guide joked that if they didn't get along they could get a saw and break away to their own island. They live in reed houses, some of which have television. They make their living making handicrafts so we bought a few things. We then took a ride in a reed boat which is remarkable sturdy!

We sailed on to the next island. Taquile. Again the native people have their own language and customs. The guide explained how the different colors of the knit hats we to show if the men were married or single or an authority figure. The women wore full black skirts and black shawls over their heads. The size of the colorful yarn pom poms told if the woman was married or single (full = single). The island had beautiful views of the Lake. The clouds were little cotton balls lingering in an otherwise blue sky. They looked as if you could grab them. We had lunch with the people from the tour.. A very nice group of people from all over sharing stories. A polish couple I may meet up with in Argentina. On the menu trucha or omelet. Still sick from my last trucha experience I opted for the boring. The locals performed a dance for us. During the second dance they pulled people from the group. Karl got picked to my delight. Dancing with a little girl barely over 3 feet. Quite a sight!. Getting back into town we decided to go for a quick bite at the first place near our hotel in Puno since I still wasn't feeling well. It was a pizza place which was anything but fast food. Nor tasty. We called it an early night since we had another 6am wake up. No nightlife in Puno which was alright by me.