My Temporary Family

---

22 Mayo - Isla Amantani
I am in a magical place, an island in Lake Titicaca. This island was entirely terraced by the Incas and is inhabited by a simple people. We just got back from a hike to one of the main hills called Pachatata, or Father Earth. The sunset was beautiful and serene. We enjoyed Andean donuts and Muna Mate for one Sole, the equivalent of about $0.30. This place has an ambience, an aura about it that is very soothing. And the ruins at the top of Pachatata, coupled with the view, has a noticeable energy to it.
The most amazing thing, or at least one of the most amazing things, is that we are staying with a native family for the night. We are living their life for a day. It is like a dream, very surreal, and for most, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am loving every minute of it. There are three small children and they are great. Very friendly, cute, happy, and healthy. The mother and father are great too, young, happy, healthy, and hospitable. The island is magical, beautiful, and very peaceful. There are no roads or vehicles. There is little electricity and no running water.
For dinner, we ate and sat and watched as the family ate and interacted separate from us. It was kind of like watching a documentary video, like we weren't even there. Nikki said the exact same thing. Bizarre.
The views are remarkable from our house and the hills, containing great views of Lake Titicaca, the surrounding islands and hills, and the snow-covered Cordillera Real mountains in the distance. And now that the sun has gone down, the stars are shining bright, very bright. I thought they were bright in the rain forest, but I think this has them beat.
The islanders had a dance for us. We all got dressed up in traditional dress, me in a poncho with a pointy stocking hat, and the girls in layered dresses with all kinds of garb. The dance was accompanied by a local band playing traditional instruments and the locals teaching us how to dance. Kate calls it ¨The Washing Machine¨ since all you do is move your arms back and forth. Repetitive but fun. I had been craving a campfire, since it has been so cold on our travels, and was pleasantly surprised when they lit a bonfire outside the dance hall. I led a train around the fire for a while and was then content just listening to the band and watching the fire and those incredible stars. ¨Wow¨ is all I can say. What an experience!
Earlier today we visited the floating islands, what a surreal experience too. These islands are constructed entirely of reeds, as are the houses and boats that these people use. That was an entirely different world. Their story is that there were fighting tribes on either side of the lake and these people moved out here to avoid the conflict. They live a peaceful life and until tourism, completely subsistence. They created these islands solely from the aquatic grasses that grow around them and they are continually replenishing the reed bed from above since they are decaying down below.
Tomorrow, we visit another island and then head for Copacabana in Bolivia.

Photos of Lago Titicaca, Isla Amantani, Isla Taquile, and the Floating Islands:
Lake Titicaca

---