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Published: January 19th 2008
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After a very painful five tour bus ride (holding a plastic bag the whole way) I finally arrived in Puno, Lake Titicaca. I managed to find a hostel and promptly crawled into bed for a couple of hours. I only managed to venture out that evening in order to book a tour to Uros Islands (floating reed islands) and a bus to Copacabana for the next day.
After a good nights sleep I awoke fresh faced and ready to face the day. I had decided to only spend a morning on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, giving me more time on the less touristy Bolivian side. My first taste of Lake Titicaca was the very touristy but unique floating islands of Uros. The small Uros tribe began their unusual floating existence centuries ago in an effort to isolate themselves from the aggressive Collas and the Incas, and they made their islands from the reeds, called totora, that grow in the Lake. The islands are constructed from many layers of the totora, which are constantly replenished from the top as they rot from the bottom. It makes for a very springy and some time wet walking experience. I thought the
Uros Islands
Our reed boat islands would be pretty big but they are actually quite small and only accommodate about seven families on each Island. Each family has a small house which is made of totora, some of the roofs are now made of tin and a couple of the houses we saw even had solar panels attached to the top!
Once we got to the Islands we were told all about the history and then got ´free time´ to look around the Island. I actually felt really uncomfortable as the families had lined up in the middle of the island with all their crafts to sell. I didn’t want to buy anything but you kind of felt guilty being there on their island and not buying anything. I did manage to resist, claiming that I didn’t have enough room in my bag for any more souvenirs. Once our free time was over on the first island we hoped on a reed boat for a quick ride to the second island. Once again we had ´free time´ to check out this Island and we pretty much all stood there trying to avoid the gazes of the locals. Soon enough it was time to leave
and head back to Puno.
After a quick lunch stop it was time to get on the bus for the three hour ride to Copacabana. Copacabana is a pretty sleepy little town on Lake Titicaca’s south shore. In the 16th century the town was presented with an image of the Virgin Candelaria (now Bolivia’s patron saint), sparking a slew of miracles. The town became a pilgrimage destination and on any given day you can witness the parade of cars (yes, I mean motor cars - the things you drive) lined up outside the cathedral being blessed by the priest. Once the car has been blessed, beer, wine and any other alcohol you can think of is spayed all over the car in celebration. It makes for a very strange sight indeed.
I checked into a really cool hostel called La Cupula and chilled out for the evening. The next day I arranged to take a tour over to Isla Del Sol (the Island of the Sun) which is the legendary birthplace of Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Huaca, and supposedly the sun itself. It was an early start for the hour and a half boat ride to
totora
These are the reeds that make the Uros Islands Isla Del Sol, and at times I didn’t think we were going to make it as the engine would just randomly cut out. Once we got to the north end of the Island we were met by a local tour guide who was going to show us around the north side of the island for an hour or so. Unfortunately he only spoke Spanish, so I had no idea what he was talking about. The scenery was nice though…
Once we had finished out little tour, me and Carlos (a guy from Argentina that I had met on my tour) decided that we would walk from the north end of the Island to the south (about three hours). Well it was pretty tough going at this altitude (3820m) but the path was very easy to follow and the scenery was breathtaking. It would have been great if the Island had been bigger and then I could have spent a few days wandering around. We made pretty good time across that Island, and we had time for a quick lunch stop before we caught the boat back to Copacabana.
The next day I planned as a day just to chill,
Isla Del Sol
A secluded beach but that ended up being two and a half days of chilling due to the road blocks and strikes. Hey I wasn’t complaining, I couldn’t have picked a better place to get stuck. I met some really cool Irish chicks in the hostel, so we hung out together for a couple of days, drinking too many beers and eating way to much. There certainly some really cool cafes in Copa. Over the next couple of days there was a bit of doubt weather we would be able to get out, but luckily they let the roads open for a day, so off quickly I went on the bus to La Paz.
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Bree & Thommo
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Bless you anna.
Your adventures are great anna and its great to see you're having such a good time. The photos are excellent but we need more with you in them. Keep smiling lovey and we hope you had a merry xmas.