Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is one of Peru´s greatest sources of pride. In fact, they are greedily seeking a nomination as another wonder of the world, which to be honest I feel is a bit over the top. Its a big lake, very high in altitude, but its not so wondrous as to count as Peru´s second submission into the pool.

Our tour leaves at 6:45 am and thankfully we are both rested because the frigid cold immediately saps abot 50% of your energy reserves. We get onto a boat to head to Los Uros, the floating islands that have been the primary focus of this Lake´s notoriety. Titicaca means Puma-Rock, which we will come to find out is only one aspect of the ridiculous symbology that the ancient people saw in just about every inch of the lake. The people of Los Uros are an odd sight. On the one hand, they are just like any other native Peruvians, carving out their existence anyway they can in the grim reality that seems to be Peru´s economical situation. Considering the vast natural resources bestowed upon this country its sad to realize that their indigenous population isn´t seing one bit of that money come back around. The meager existence they can eke out from tourism barely manages to cloth and feed their children. The overcommercialization of the islands is heartbreaking because there was genuine miracle here at one point. The inhabitants basically created these islands out of the local aquamarine plant called the totora reed, in its various forms (dried, fresh and in-between) they have managed to built an extensive network of 50 islands, complete with 2000 inhabitants and a fairly modern tin-roofed school house for their children. The houses, boats, look out stands and ground to walk on are all made of totora (with the exception of a wood ladder used to climb the lookout tower). Each family has their own little village, most have a motorized boat now, and they spend their days shuttling tourists around their islands and shoving their ¨crafts¨in our faces. Its not that I dont appreciate handicrafts, but if you live on a floating island entirely made of plants, theres no way in hell you made that ceramic pot.

After listening to a talk on the history and traditions of the Uros people, we take a Puma shaped boat made of totora reeds across to another floating island. There we see that most of the reed houses are warmed my solar panels hooked up individually to each structure. Its such a striking contrast of remoteness and modern technology.
For future reference, so I dont forget, there is one vital piece of information one must know when understanding the Incan past. The Incas believed in the holy trilogy made up of the puma, condor and serpent. The condor represents heaven- he is the god of grace and wisdom, peace and tranquility. The puma represents earth, he is the god of war and keeps things in line. The puma has vast energy stores needed for keeping up with the happenings on earth. The serpent is the god of the underworld, he represents the afterlife as well as the dark side of the universe. These three elements must be present for order and balance in the universe. Peruvians can intrepret ANYTHING; and I mean anything you can think of, as a puma, condor or serpent. Our trip so far contains daily references to rocks, leaves, lakes and pieces of yarn that supposedly resemble one of these three creatures.

Next up, we are treated to a 2 hour talk on the history and statistics of Lake Titicaca. The interesting part about this is that about 5 minutes were about the lake and the rest were a personal sermon from our guide Marita about spiritual energy, sexual experiences and balance in the Cosmos. It was absolutely unreal, there were four of us American girls on the boat with everyone else being native spanish speakers (the other two girls were a bit younger then us from Redlands, CA). She seems to be directing most of the preaching at the four of us and I have truthfully never been more baffled in my life. We were attempting to stifle hysterical laughter for most of it but towards the end it got so ridiculous that resistance was futile. As I am the tallest the rest of the girls escaped scrutiny but she could clearly see my crinkled cheeks and watering eyes but kept on going! Here are some highlights:

First it starts out innocently enough with mentions of colorblocking in our bodies, how a mans spine was made to be in the symbol of a serpent, and the presence of negative or bad energy in the Peruvian government. She also throws in a plus (a serious one) for ¨Marita as President, 2010¨. She then goes into what the Incas saw as the three kinds of sexual intercourse. There is NEGATIVE or dark sex- this is the kind where people with psycological illnesses engage is sexes with animals, dead people, innocents and members of the same sex. These people are not right she says, and mentions beastiality and negrophelia several more times. After this BAD sex is NORMAL sex, where you make nice babies with your husband or wife at home in your bed. The last kind is SUPER sex (also known as superior sex), which she says was probably engaged in by Jesus himself. This is when you transcend yourself and bodily needs to another plane where your sexual experience blends with mother and father universe in perfect harmony. After the triple sex definition she moves on the likening the waters or Lake Titicaca to the semenal waters and sperm-filled raindrops or sexual energy. She says when the sun sets HIS energy upon MOTHER earth, she produces energy as he fertilizes her with his warmth. The rest of the islands are very interesting and beautiful but inevitably the lake experience has been forever eclipsed in our memories by Marita´s passionate soliloquy (she never really intended for audience participation or engagement)...

God, South America is a blast

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