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Published: November 8th 2007
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Village Centre
Everything made from reed - eco-heaven After a few days relaxing back in Cuzco following our jungle expedition we hopped on a bus and headed down to Puno (near the Bolivian border) - destination Lake Titicaca. This is one impressive expanse of water sitting at 12,500ft above sea level and covering over 8,000 sq km, it is both the highest lake in the world and the largest lake in South America. Fed by five rivers that flow from the snow capped peaks of the Andes mountains that surround it, its waters are considered sacred to the locals and refered to as the 'Womb Of The World', its western shores spread across Peru and its eastern side borders with Bolivia. Puno is the gateway town that sits on the Peruvian side of this Lake and to be honest its quite a ramshackle affair, the Lake steals all the beauty points around here, humankind just happens upon its shorelines in a dirty industrious way, spoiling the picture perfect scenery - what we do best really!
We were picked up after alighting the bus by a local hotel tout and taken in town to Don Tito's which turned out to be a comfortable but unremarkable hotel which we could
Glow Sticks At Dawn
We actually ate the white part of these peeled reeds - stringy and nutritious call home for the next few days whilst lakeside. As time was of the essence we booked our excursion onto the lake the following morning and for just $20 USD a whole day out was arranged. Starting out at 7am we were picked up bright and breezy and shuttled down to the harbour for our pre-planned pleasure cruise. The craft was a luxurious affair and had big fat seats, something that would be a god-send later in the long day ahead. We headed out with a full compliment of travellers which included four South Korean documentary film makers, who were very funny from the off. After chugging away for about 40mins we caught sight of the amazing scene of reed constructed floating islands, all bunched up and creating a sort of township with aisles of water seperating the different families home islands, thatched roofs and also tin roofs for major buildings were interwoven with watch towers and elaborate decorative flourishes - uniquely identiflying the seperate families who populated each floating island. It is certainly a spectacle to behold, our boat pulled up to one of the Uros Islands, and we were greeted by local ladies in full costume dancing in
Amongst The Reeds
Locals going about their day a line and singing our welcome.
We were quickly off the craft and onto the reed island, yep 100% natural these constructions, in a process which has gone unchanged for millenia - the locals harvest the local reed for building and maintaing their homes, and use the reeds root ball as the main bouyancy aid, threaded through with sticks it is built upon with reed bundles that are fastened to these reed bases and piled high to a depth of a few feet, enough for the islands to be fully traversable without going through (well one lady did unfortuantely find a weak spot and managed to get a wet leg when we were present) so nothing is fool proof. The islands were only opened up to the tourist masses in 1965, and although a number of the indigenous peoples have chosen the mainland as a more sustainable way of life 44 families remain and cling to their age old way of life. These peoples are master fishers, and have tamed wild birds for their eggs and meat - they trade these commodities along with reeds and handwoven textiles with the neighbouring shore bound folks for, breads, potatoes and other
essentials which they can not cultivate mid lake. We were offered fresh reed root to eat, the white at the base of the reed is very nuturitous and tasted a little like a stringy banana, we were allowed to wander around the small island and inspect there reed built huts, the only sign of modern living came in the form of a single solar panel on one roof and a tiny TV set inside the hut - very surreal.
Following the walk around we were treated to a boat ride across to one of the other families islands, the boat also made from reeds - was happily rowed by two adorable kids and one adult - the children merrily singing national nursery rhymes to the assorted foreign tourists, made everyone smile. The boats actually look very serpent-like, due to their being made from long bundles of reeds - this fact ties in with the ancient myths about the civilliser god 'Viracoacha' (similar to the Mayan Quetzalcoatl legend) who came and civillised the lands and people before setting off on the seas on a 'raft of snakes', here the imagery all comes to life and you are witnessing these vessels
first hand - the way they have been made since time began. It is said that these people are the original humans and have witnessed the coming and goings of many a conquest from their unique vantage point. The Incas learnt the secrets of fishing and fish breeding from these amazing people and later the Spaniards attempted to enslave the Uros and put them to work away from their beloved lakes - they managed to flee their captors and return to their way of life. Since then the Uros have been cautiously watching the steady, so called progress of mankind from the safety of their floating islands - the lands that time forgot.
Following a quick visit on the neighbouring floating island we were picked up by our cruise boat and said our farewells to the locals and again were given an improptu departing dance by the ladies. Next destination was the island of Tequina which happened to be a fair jolly across the lake - some 2 hours later we had finally arrived at the shores of this most ancient island and dismbarked to a strenuous climb upto the islands summit and town centre. Terraced farm land, and
Fowl Play
Tamed island birds beautiful stone walkways led up to the top and heart of this ancient farming community town/village centre, no motor transport or telegraph poles here. The views were pretty spectacular from this vantage point and there were plenty of cute, adorable local children dressed in traditional costume asking for soles for having their picture taken, we were also treated to a traditional lunch in a lovely little stone built house overlooking the countryside. Following lunch we journeyed down the other side of this small island and embarked for the return journey back to Puno. The island was very pretty but having spent much time in quaint villages this was nothing really too exciting for us and I would have much prefered to spend a whole day in and amongst the more enigmatic Uros Island Folk - thats definitely something you don't see every day!
We decided to stay another day in Puno following the full day out on Lake Titicaca and due to our close proximity to Bolivia, decided to hurry over and visit the salt flats in Uyuni - This turned out to be a big rush around and a frantic few days were to follow - but hey
we are that close to the border, why not make a dash for it.... So until I have the inspiration to write the next installment - take care everyone and catchya soon. Adios Amigos :o)
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charliehotel
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Amazing photos
What great photography...you have a great eye!!!