South American Adventure

We disembarked at our designated island and were greeted by the female president of the island.  The president is elected for a year's term by his or her peers.  If a woman is chosen one year, a man must be selected the next.

It was a weird sensation to get off the boat and step onto a floating platform of grass.  The wobbly-leg feeling was the same as when you have a few too many sherbets!  I guess the locals must get used to it!

We were led to a seating area where the president told us all about local life while Freddie translated for her.  She explained that there are 5 families living on her island.  Each family has their own small house, and they also have a communal space that all the villagers share.  This morning, only the women, an elderly man, and one small child were at home.  The adult males were working, either fishing or cutting totora reeds to maintain the island. 

The president told us how they make their islands. The Uru use bundles of dried Totora reeds to make reed boats and to make the islands themselves.

The larger islands house about ten families, while smaller ones, only about thirty metres wide, house only two or three families.  Each island lasts about 25 years.  After that time, water seeps through the reeds, and the inhabitants build a new island and let the old one sink to the bottom of the lake.

The islets are made of multiple natural layers harvested in Lake Titicaca. The base is made of large pallets of floating totora roots, which are tied together with ropes and covered in multiple layers of totora reeds. These dense roots that the plants develop and interweave form a natural layer called khili (about one to two metres thick), which are the main flotation and stability devices of the islands.

Each floating block of khili measures approximately 4 m × 10 m.  The blocks used to be harvested with eucalyptus wedges but are now sourced using 1.5 metre long metal saws custom-made for this purpose.  They are anchored with ropes attached to large eucalyptus poles driven into the bottom of the lake.

Once the khili pallets are tied together and anchored, multiple layers of cut reeds are added.  The bottom layer of covering reeds rots away fairly quickly, so new reeds are added to the top constantly, about every two weeks to three months, depending on the weather.  This is especially important in the rainy season when the reeds rot much faster.  They maintain them by adding a 10cm layer of fresh totora every week.  If they do this properly, an island can last for 30 years.  If they don’t, it might disintegrate within five!

Food is classically cooked in pots on pottery stoves.  These are placed on flat stones to prevent the flammable reed islands from catching fire.  

To relieve themselves, tiny "outhouse" islands are placed near the main islands with simple toilets installed in them.  The ground root absorbs the waste.  Most islands feature a standardised shower building with tile roofs, water heating cells, and a hot water boiler to allow for warm showers.

Houses on the floating islands are mostly made of reeds, too.  Some have corrugated metal roofs.  Few are insulated.  All houses are built on top of an extra 1 metre layer of dry reeds to prevent rheumatism.

We got to try totora.  You peel the stalks like a banana and eat the white fleshy bit in the middle.  It's said to be a superfood with lots of beneficial minerals and nutrients.  It tasted the same as when a chew on a blade of grass!

We also tried some freshly made bread.  This was much more palatable!

We then watched an embroidery demonstration by one of the ladies.  They all learn to sew at a young age and create amazing designs on cushion covers, table runners, wall hangings, and other items.Read more