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Published: November 30th -0001
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We arrived at Puno ready for our excursion to the famous Lake Titicaca. We had a local meal with some of the guys and headed for bed. The next morning, we awaited our ´limos´ as promised by our Lake Titicaca tour guide. It made us laugh to see a long line of cycle-rickshaw outside the hotel. We picked up some supplies at the port, and began the long boat ride to the first island in the lake. The idea was to hike and have lunch on the island of Taquile, and then stay the night with a local family on the island of Amantani, where we would also have the chance to play the locals at football, and catch a stunning sunset view over the lake.
First, the island of Taquile, where we made our way to a pretty square to peruse the numerous stalls selling traditional woolly hats and other beautifully woven articles. We trouped up a short hill for a group lunch, where we had soup, grilled fish and coffee. We then headed back to our boat, down hundreds of steps.
Some time later, we arrived at Amantani, and met with our ´mothers´. These ladies would be
our guardians for the next twenty hours or so. They wore traditional costume (not just for effect) and span wool continuously on a large reel, even as they walked. Each mother led her small group of tourists up the long, steep hill, puffing and panting all the way, due to the altitude. Eventually, we were led into a basic, but charming house, and we dropped off our belongings. We introduced ourselves to the rest of our family and produced our gifts of rice, sugar, pencils, notebooks and fruit. Although the islanders grow much of their produce themselves, there are some items which have to be brought in from the mainland.
David went off to play football with the rest of the boys in the group, against the locals. The latter had a real advantage because of the altitude, but fun was had by all anyhow. Louise, meanwhile, hiked up a hill with the rest of the group and saw a beautiful sunrise, while consuming coffee and delicious doughnuts. We waited for our mum to collect us, and were just beginning to worry that we´d be left there all night when along came dad! We were easy to recognise by
the knitted hats we had been given to wear for the duration of our stay. We were soon on our way home for a meal of potato soup, potato with rice and weeds tea, mmm!
The cultural exchange was spoiled a bit by an accident in our room. The only light being a candle, Louise placed ours in front of the mirror to double the light, but due to the cold glass being heated by the flame, the mirror shattered! A few tears, and many an apology later, we were all happily sharing the vodka, lime and lemonade we had brought with us, and the man of the house set about finding out how much all of our possessions cost; head torch, football, vodka etc; he was clearly after some pressies!
The time had come to get dressed up for the discotheque. Louise was helped into a green skirt with petticoats, an embroidered blouse, sash and shawl. David was given a red poncho to wear with his hat. Suitably attired for a night´s raving, we headed to the village hall where the sound of a band emanated into the night. The large hall was packed out with dressed
up tourists and their designated mothers. Traditional dancing abounded, and about two hundred people held hands as the crowd snaked and weaved around the floor. A local band played on and on at the end of the room, and we danced and giggled throughout. David was feeling a little fatigued and had to watch some of this spectacle from the sidelines, but Louise was in fine fettle, and kept up with the best of them (partly thanks to a little bit of vodka). At about midnight, David had to escort his ´tipsy´ girlfriend back up to our little house to sleep off the festivities.
We awoke to a breakfast of one dry pancake, and trekked back down the hill to get on our boat. After a long ride, we pulled up to the fascinating reed islands of the Uros people. These unique islands, bound together by posts and string, have to be re-created every thirty years or so. We visited two such islands, and on the second, we gathered round for an interesting cultural lesson. The communities living on the islands value their peaceful, traditional existence, and the ability to move the islands, and sometimes even split them in
two. The younger children go to school on one of the reed islands whilst the elder ones travel to the mainland to continue their education. Some of the makeshift islands are powered by solar panels, and surprisingly, some houses have TV, and even DVD players! (Internet, we´re told, is also on the way!)
The women of the islands wore traditional clothing, and their long plaits were weighed down with huge woollen pom-poms. Local handicrafts were for sale as usual, and we also got the chance to look inside their houses. We then took a short ride in one of the reed boats. David had a go at manning the vessel, while Louise sat on the top deck taking in the view across Titicaca, the world´s highest navigable lake (we´re not sure exactly what that means).
We later took a bus back to Puno, had a coffee, and bought some fabulous cake which we enjoyed in our hotel room in front of a film. We followed this by ordering take-away pizza. This was a very lazy thing to do, as the restaurant was just round the corner. However, we wanted the challenge of it, making the phone call etc.
A challenge it really turned out to be, too! We made the crossing to Bolivia the next day.
So it was goodbye to Peru, a great country where we enjoyed so many memorable experiences.
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june&graham
non-member comment
'ave it 'hats! (is at all good in the hood)
We 'perused' this blog with some amusement -particularly at the outfits. We have mixed feelings now - is Eastenders and MOTD going to be too mundane after all this excitement? Or will it be like putting on your favourite old jumper and slippers? xx