Peru Day 7: Lake Titicaca - Floating Islands of the Uros and Taquile Island

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We woke up today to watch the sunrise on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Our hotel, Sonesta Posada Del Inca Puno, is situated on the shore of Lake Titicaca, South America's highest and largest navigable lake. The breakfast, despite the pretty views, was abysmal. I barely ate.

Today was dedicated to a boat journey through Lake Titicaca. We said a goodbye to Dagmar, our tour guide through the Cusco region, last night and hello to Charo, our guide in Puno this morning. Charo is very engaging, funny, and knowledgeable about this area and the unique culture found here. I grabbed a seat at the front of the boat with a nice big open window where the lake breeze could blow in. Lake Titicaca has brackish water which gives the breeze a slightly salty tang. Our boat ride took us through a path that winds through the thick reeds that line the lakeshore. These are the reeds that are used by the Uros people to build their floating islands.

As we were approaching the floating island that we were visiting today, we were greeted by the very friendly and open Uros people that lived on the islands. The Uros people are pre-Incan and they fashioned their islands in order to escape the warring Indians in the region prior to the arrival of the Inca. The island that we visited was the home of only a few families. At the time that we visited, all of the men except the head of the island were out gathering reeds to put down another layer on the island. Speaking Almayan and using an elaborate pantomime, the head of the island demonstrated how the Uros constructed their islands and the boats that they use, completely constructed out of totora reeds. Charo interpreted for us but he was very funny and communicated well despite the language barrier. The Uros drink the water of Lake Titicaca and due to this fact retain a great deal of water, resulting in cherubic faces and chubby tummies. It is interesting to note that the Uros men actually find heavier women very attractive.

Since we arrived first thing in the morning, the children were getting ready for school. They have primary schools on the main island along with high schools and university in Puno. The local university and technical schools are very competitive to get into but the children of Uros prove themselves to be very smart and a disproportionately high number are represented in the schools. This is resulting in a reduced number of young families being raised on the islands since they experience modern conveniences on the mainland and find the simple yet hard life of the islands less desirable when they graduate.

After a visit on the floating islands, we journeyed on the Taquile Island, where we experienced the local culture of the Taquileños. Tackleños are known for their fine textiles and ornate clothing. The collective culture follows closely the Inca code of ama us, ama llulla, ama guilla (Quechuan for do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy). The island is quite steep and they use terraces for their agriculture, carefully rotating crops in order to keep the soil productive. We slowly hiked up the island learning about their culture on the way. The residents dress in traditional clothing that was derived from the Spanish peasants and is very colorful. The hats that the men wear bear much significance along with the skirts of the women. The men weave very fine textiles and young gentlemen must prove how tight their weaves are to the families of the young woman that they wish to live with by having their hat hold water for a specific amount of time without leaking. The women also weave beautifully and craft the belts and pouches that the men wear.

After hiking half way up the island, we stopped to have a lunch of fresh pan-fried trout and rice with a quinoa soup and pancakes for dessert. They then demonstrated a traditional dance for us which was very colorful and fun. After the entertainment, we had the option of hiking to the top of the island or walking back down to the boats. I opted to hike up the rest of the way - not easy at that elevation. The view from the top was quite stunning and the village square was surprisingly quiet. According to Charo, the locals have no worries about theft due to the code that they live by. They do not lock their homes unless they have tourist guests staying overnight.

After the hike up the island, I had a good nap on the boat ride back to the hotel. I decided to stay in for the evening and had dinner at the hotel. I had to thank my lucky stars that their dinner was 10x better than breakfast.

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Photos

Uros Island Inhabitant
One of the very friendly women that lived on the island

Floating Island of the Uros
The construction of these islands is fascinating.

People of Uros
Look at that cherubic face of the little boy - adorable

Reed Boat
I rode on one of these boats between different floating islands. Quite an experience!

Woman of Taquile Island
The women of Taquile Island all wear chuco, a black mantle of sorts, over their hair.

Traditional Dance on Taquile Island
The women whirled in their skirts as the man danced with the pole all in a circle. Percussion instruments provided the rhythm.

Restaurant on Taquile Island
Note the traditional dress of the men on the islands. Little changed since the Spanish colonized Peru.

Beautiful braids
The women all had very long hair - a sign of femininity. The pom-poms worn on the braids indicated marital status. The young lady on the left was single and looking (bright colorful pom-poms)

View From Taquile Island
This is one of the breathtaking views of Lake Titicaca from the top of Taquile Island.