South America Day 35

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16th February

The minibus arrived at 06.45 am to take us to the docks where we would board a boat for the day trip on Lake Titicaca. The boat this time was impressivley comfortable with coach seats and an upper viewing deck. But again the boat was pretty slow however we had a tour guide to keep us occupied.

The first stop after 1 1/2 hours sailing was the Uros floating islands. The boat docked and we were allowed to walk around these ingenious creations. The islands are built up with layers upon layers of thick reeds which grow on the shore of the lake, the whole island is floating and ancored to the bottom with long stakes. The Uros people live their whole lives from the islands fishing, hunting ducks, replenishing the reeds on the island and trading with the mainland. Their whole existence relies on the reeds which they build their houses with, burn for fuel, and even eat them! To walk on the island was a strange experience as it felt like walking on a sponge with the water all around.

Next stop after another hour on the boat was the island of Taquile, this time a real island. The boat docked and we took a 2km walk along an ancient Inca path trough into the middle of the island where we were met by the locals in the square. The islanders have maintained a pretty traditional way of life based on farming and weaving with colourful social symbols. Married men wear red hats whilst unmarried men wear red & white hats with a similar system for womens clothing colours. All the islanders including the men from the age of 5 learn how to make their own hats and clothing. After lunch of freshly caught trout we headed back to the boat down another steep Inca starway for the 3 hour trip back to Puno.

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