Peru: Day 16, Lake Titicaca

---

Right away when I got off my tour bus and into the lobby of the bus station, a man came right up and asked me if I needed a taxi. Usually I go past the first ranks to the less pushy guys, but I was exhausted. So I said ok: he didn't know where my hostel, Cozy Hostel, was located but I showed him on a map and agreed to the price. Then he asked if I wanted to set up a tour of the islands. Again, tired, but also want to get this taken care of before I go to bed. So, he actually had an office at the bus station and I felt much better about the whole set up. Plus, the price he gave me for the tour was the same I had seen when I was looking up tours the previous evening. So, I booked a full day tour to visit the Uros Islands and Isla Taquile.

Then he had a guy give me a ride right to my hostel. This was by far the worst of the places I stayed…. well, aside from the ones included on my Jungle Trek; the worst of the ones I personally booked I should say. It was not terrible, but it was definitely geared toward a younger crowd. There were lots of people around, though no receptionist to be seen immediately. When she gave me my room key, I went right up and initially was happy with the layout, but then I realized I was right next to the stairs, where they have a phone line installed so people can call the US and Canada for free. This meant most of the night I heard people on the phone with their families. There was no towel in my room, so I could not even shower. It was just very loud and strange. So, I planned to take a night bus the following night and get out of dodge.

First things first, I needed some dinner. So, I walked the three blocks up to the main square, where there was a lovely church and lots of people hanging out in the park. I found a restaurant right next to the church and got a good vibe. I had a lovely meal of grilled trout with mashed potatoes and vegetables, along with a glass of red wine, which was my first drink in 10 days (aside from the Inca tequila on the trek). Afterwards, I went back to my room and actually passed out pretty easily despite the noise.

I was picked up (a little late again) the following morning and taken to the port to start my tour. We were supposed to be given a slow boat to the island, but we got a speed boat instead. That was supposed to be another S/35 ($12), but maybe the low season meant that they had boats available. Whatever, I was happy. As the guide said, it meant we would spend more time on the islands. It took a while to get out of the little Puno harbor, but then it was open. I looked back to the city on the shore, which is much bigger than I thought it was. According to the taxi driver the previous night (practicing my Spanish with him the whole way), there are about 170,000 people. The homes are also all along the hills lakeside - it is pretty from afar, but very run down up close. During the first part of the journey, the guide told us some facts about the lake. One thing is that if you turn a map of the lake upside down, it vaguely resembles a Puma chasing a rabbit. This is where the name comes from: "Titi" means puma and "caca" means rock in Quechua. They also joke about how Peru is the "Titi" and Bolivia is the "Caca" as "Caca" in Spanish means poop. (I also knew this because this is what my French speaking brother in law says to my nephew who is potty training).

Our first stop were the Uros Islands. These are approximately 42 different floating islands made up of reeds found in the shallows of this part of the lake; it was neat seeing them all in different locations as we sped along in our boat - each tour group went to one of about 10 islands that are open to tourists. This was the main reason I came to Puno and I was quite excited. I was also pleasantly surprised at how open the people were to receiving visitors. When we stepped off onto the island, it was like stepping onto a stiff mattress (kind of like the bed I had the night before…). So cool!

Our guide had us sit around and pay attention to the "president" of this group of people (Alex was our guide and Alex was this guy's name, making them easy to remember, especially for me!). Speaking in Aymara, with our guide translating, President Alex showed us how the islands were made, each one takes about a year to complete. First, they dig up the roots of the reed stalks, place them in the desired location, drive large sticks to anchor them and then tie them all together. Then they place many layers of reed stalks on top in alternating directions for an island thickness of about 2m. Then they construct their homes, including one particular house that is the "kitchen" where they place rocks in order to have their fires without burning the dry reed islands down. They have to add new reeds every few months or so, but the islands ultimately last 30-35 years. Then they showed us some of their diet, including a few types of fish and the end stalks of the reeds, not recommended for people who do not eat these as part of their diet. They also use the water from the lake as their drinking water. In addition, he said they do some hunting, mainly of some of the many birds seen around the area. This particular island had five families living there; the president and his wife had two young children.

Then President Alex and another villager took us around the island in their handmade reed boat for S/10 soles. The women, and one little girl, sang us a "thank you" song for the money we were paying them. The inhabitants are greatly dependent on tourism and I did not mind parting with my money, including quite a bit I paid for a handmade textile from one of the women - she showed me the story that she depicted on the cloth; I especially like that the tour group stayed out of this - they encouraged you to give some money, but didn't require it, and all the money went directly to the islanders. They showed us inside their homes - very simple, basically just a bed laid on reeds of course. They also all walk around barefoot all the time. The kids attend schools early on within the island communities, but when they go to high school, most go to the mainland, probably Puno. I wondered what they thought of the tourists coming every day to go through their stuff, but then I am also a little jealous of their simple, humble lifestyle.

We left and had an hour and a half journey to our next stop: Isla Taquile. When we arrived, it was basically a straight up hill climb. Lake Titicaca is at an elevation of approximately 3,800m (~12,500ft) and where the village is is about 3,950m. So, not terrible, but the higher you are the harder it is to get your breath, and the difficulty increases as you are higher (for instance, the difference between 11,000 to 11,500 ft is not felt as greatly as 12,000 to 12,500 ft). Needless to say, many people struggled up the hill. However, guess who was first. Yours truly! I guess the jungle trek hardened me up! Along the route up were many people, mostly kids, selling trinkets like handmade bracelets and necklaces. I was oh so tempted! Apparently, these people are not Aymaran like the other island but Quechua. There are no roads or cars on the island, which is divided into six different zones. They have terrace farming, growing plants such as potatoes and corn. There were no horses or mules, but plenty of cows and sheep. The sidewalks throughout the island were quite impressive and were in great shape.

Our next stop on the island was to go to a local family home for lunch. A little more uphill climbing and we were there, at a lovely out door picnic table overlooking the lake. While they were cooking, one of the men demonstrated some of their local customs. First, he showed us his knitting process. All the men on the island, and only the men, knit, starting when they are about 8 years old. They make their own kitted hats - red hats mean the man is married, while red and white hats mean he is single. The work on the single men's hat is generally more intricate as they are trying to show off their skills to prospective brides. They used to make the hats primarily out of sheep and alpaca wool, but the synthetic material is cheaper for them now. Next he showed us his (for want of a better term) back brace, which each of the men have. While the women don't knit, they do weave and each of the back braces were covered in a woven front unique for each man and made by their women. The men made the braces themselves, out of alpaca and sheep wool and women's hair. Next he showed us how he used a plant and crushed it to make a detergent. He demonstrated its usefulness by cleaning a piece of alpaca wool. Impressive.

By now it was time to eat and we had two options between a vegetable omelet and a grilled fish. I picked grilled fish. Of course, we all had soup to start. Friggin soup man. It was good, but I was so tired of soup; however, they came out in impressive pottery along with ceramic bowls. The fish was delicious of course, and we paid them for our meals.

Our guide next gave us the option of returning to the boat or walking "la via larga" (the long way) up to the village and meeting the boat at another port. I walked up more; probably half the group returned to the boat. We had about 20 minutes to explore the fairly empty town square, which had an impressive view over the lake. I also practiced more spanish with Uruguayan guy who spoke zero English. He said he was impressed and we had good conversation. Then we walked the long way back to the port. It was almost all flat or downhill, and I was once again in the lead. Woot woot. When we got back to the boat, the people there were basically passed out and the rest of us followed suit on the almost two hour journey back to Puno.

All in all it was a good day, but I was exhausted. However, I was still determined to leave that evening, so my hostel set me up with a bus. I wanted Cruz del Sur, but they set me up on Transzelo. I figured it didn't really matter as long as I got my VIP seat. I got to the bus station at 9:30 after being told my bus left at 10, but it turns out to not leave til 10:30. Ugh. I saw the Cruz del Sur bus counter and wanted to go, but this bus didn't seem much different and was actually cheaper. When it was time to get on the bus, I tried to leave, but apparently I had to go back to the embarking station for a S/1.50 stamp - yeah, no one told me this. But I did and was out the door, putting my back pack in storage and boarding the bus. First thing I noticed, besides the fact that I did not have a VIP seat, was that there was a weird smell. But the seats were fine and I had the back row all to myself, which was nice. First class is on the first floor and the other seats are not eh second floor of the double decker buses; it didn't seem like anyone was downstairs on this trip. The hostess, who sat across the aisle from me, gave me a blanket and a cup of tea as we started. After doing a bit of reading, I fell asleep a bit. However, I would often wake up and see the incredible sky - there were so many stars and I could make out the Milky Way pretty easily. It made me happy. So, while I didn't sleep great, I was happy with my decision to get to Arequipa early...

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Reed islands
We loved the beauty and friendliness of this part of Peu. Isla Taquile was a wonderful day.