Lake Titicaca

We got up and had a quick breakfast before our bus arrived to whisk us away on our day tour.

We were on our boat for about an hour before we reached one of the floating islands of Uros. The tour guide brought us to one of the smaller ones to give us a more authentic experience. As we disembarked our boat, all of the women were there to welcome us and shake our hands. We were directed to some reed rolls to sit on and were introduced to the President of the island. The president told us that the island was a small community of 6 families of 25 people.

He then gave us a brief demonstration of how they make their floating islands. First, they get the roots of the totoro reed and bind the chunks of earth together with wood and rope. Next, they stack large reeds alternating horizontal and vertical to build up the island. Rope and large wooden poles are then tied around the edges of the island and stuck into the earth of the lake to anchor it. I had been wondering how it doesn't float away! Once the island is built, they use smaller reeds to build up the areas that they plan to build houses. The houses were built along the outside of this small island leaving communal space in the middle. Modern reed houses are rectangular, but used to be more cylindrical.

After the demonstration, they split us up and showed us into their houses. They have room enough for a bed, and are decorated along the walls with colorful fabrics, probably to keep the wind out and for decorating. We were then given some free time to walk around and take pictures. I also had a little look in at the crafts that one of the families had made. They really are beautiful and colorful. I chose a small hanging mobile type thing with a condor, sun, fish, and small reed boat. I feel like it really summarizes our time in Peru. Shortly after picture taking, everyone was directed to go into the reed boat for a ride. Allan and I opted out and instead spent some more time on the island before getting back on our motorboat.

Our next visit was to Amantani island. This island is inhabited by 10 different communities that take turns housing tourists for overnight visits. Allan did one when he visited 5 years ago, but it didn't fit in with our timescale this time around. We had a short walk on the island and saw the top of Pachamama mountain while we were walking. We had a brief stop at the local plaza where we also saw the small primary school. We continued our walk to the pier with some gorgeous views across the lake towards neighboring mountains. We also saw lots of local houses and small farms.

After Amantani, we got back on our boat and headed back towards the peninsula for some lunch. Lunch was either fish, or omelette...luckily the omelette had some vegetables in it making it easier to eat. Out of the window of the small restaurant was a great view of the lake. We then had some spare time after lunch to chill out a bit. Then, it was time to get back on the boat and head for the pier to finish our adventure. I think the floating reed islands were definitely my favorite thing about today. They were so unique!Read more