LAKE TITICACA

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Our tour bus picked us up at 7.00am and we headed off with a group of other tourists to join a boat tour of Lake Titicaca and the islands within it on the Peruvian side.

First we visited the floating islands of the Uros people. It was a fascinating experience to walk on the manmade islands. The islands were made of reeds and they were soft and spongy to walk on. You felt like you might go through them if you were unlucky. The chief explained how the islands were made and how people live (translated by our guide). Then the women and children took us to their huts to show us how they live, then got us to dress up in their traditional costumes. Andy and I agreed to get dressed but surprisingly Amy refused! So, we looked pretty silly while Amy took photos. Then the women set up gift stalls hoping we’d buy something - however nothing tempted us. Instead we took a boat ride on a gorgeous reed boat across to another island which gave them some money. Also we had taken boxes of pencils for the children and we gave those to the chiefs of the islands.

The whole experience there was very touristy and didn’t feel very “authentic” but it gave us a good insight into how they once lived. There are still a few families that live on the floating islands, with about eighty children attending the school. We were serenaded by the women and children on the island, singing twinkle twinkle little star in 3 different languages (including English) and then sending us off with an “hasta la vista baby!” It was very funny. In spite of mass tourism the Uros people seemed lovely, with very gentle mannerisms, so we really enjoyed meeting them. Amy had fun taking pictures of two little girls and then showing them the photos on the camera and making them laugh.

Next we went to Taquile Island. A much bigger, natural island. After a very steep ascent to the village at the top of the island, huffing and puffing the thin air, we arrived to an interesting sight. There was a procession of the islands most important senior people who governed the island. They were setting out their plans for the coming year in the main plaza. They were all wearing beautiful clothes, the men and women. After we had a good lunch of trout, fresh from the lake, then had a very steep descent down some 500 steps back to the boat.

Early the next morning we took the bus to La Paz, via Copacabana. The bus followed the lake for most of the 10 hour journey, over the border to Bolivia, then crossing Lake Titicaca on a ferry. The ferry was very basic, a simple platform which they pushed along with a pole before turning on a very small motor engine to cross the lake. We went on a passenger boat across it, taking about 10 minutes.

We arrived in La Paz late afternoon, checked into our hotel and hibernated for the evening, exhausted.

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Photos

Taquile Island Men
Lake Titicaca