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I left Cusco on Thursday July 3 via an eight hour bus ride to Puno, Peru. The next morning we took Tuk Tuks to the port at Lake Titicaca. Our group boarded the boat and cruised across Lake Titicaca for three hours when we finally arrived at the Island of Tequille. To get to the main area of the island you have to climb up steep stairs and paths for about forty-five minutes to get to the top. The island of Tequille contains about 2000 people who work as a community to run the Island. Some of the people run the restaurants, some run the markets, some maintain the island, and all have to learn to knit to sell to tourists. Also on the Island of Tequille you can tell a mans marital status by looking at his hat. If the man has an all red hat then he is married but if the man wears a hat that is half white and half red then he is single. We left after lunch to go back down to the boat which was going to take us to our homestay at the small community of Loquena. After about a one hour boat
ride we finally arrived at shore of the community of Loquena. We were greated by a portion of the community with a band and were taken to there community center. We were invited to play a game of soccer with the locals and with a bet of a giant beer for the winning team. Now let me tell you that playing soccer at 3900 meters (about 13,000 feet) is not an easy thing to do. The local were completely use to play soccer at altitude but we were not. We ran along the soccer field playing the local huffing and puffing, trying to suck in as much oxygen as possible. We scored the first two goals but the locals won in the end. After soccer we were paired up and shown our family we would spend the night. My family consisted of Francisco the father, Reyna the mother, Karen the five year old daughter, and three boys named Jefferson, Jimmy, and Edson. They lived in a small one story clay and mud brick house. My bedroom for the night consited of a mud foundation covered by reed mats, a thin mattress, and five wool blankets as there is no heating
Dressed up for the Homestay Fiesta
Us dressed up in traditional clothes at our homestay and it gets very cold at night. I was invited into the kitchen for dinner where we had a potato soup followed by a dish of rice and vegetables and ending with tea. The food was simple but nice. After dinner the family provided me with traditional clothes to go to the fiesta they were putting on for our group. During the fiesta the locals showed us several of their traditional dances and then we were asked to dance the traditional dance. We all tried dancing and became breathless from the high altitude. After the party we went back to our families houses and went to sleep. I put on three layers of clothes including my fleece jacket and hat to help ward off the cold and I was warm enough through the night although it was very cold. I was awoken the next morning by the Francisco for breakfast where I was given fried bread and coffee. We then were escorted back to our boat were we said good bye to our homestay families and sailed away to our next stop the Uros Island. After almost a two hour ride to the Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca we arrived
Playing Soccer with the locals
I took a break to catch my breath to take this picture at the man made reed Islands. Originally the Island were used as protection and the families were able to make a subsistance living through fishing and a tiny bit of farming. Now the main source of revenue for the Uros Island is tourism. They show you how they live on the Island and show you around the reed houses and the reed boats that last for approximately four to six months. The families must put a new layer of reeds every two weeks on the Island as the bottom reeds are constantly decomposing. Walking on the Island is like walking on a firm waterbed. We stayed a little bit more and then we headed back to the city of Puno. Tonight and tomorrow moring is the last time I will be in Peru as tomorrow we head out by bus and cross into the country of Bolivia. So I say goodbye and farewell to Peru and the crazy Incas.
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