Advertisement
The ride to Puno on the western shores of Lake Titicaca, went without any problems - we ditched the problematic bus company Ormeño and went with Cruz del Sur - a comfortable option with the added bonus of onboard Spanish Bingo (helps with the numbers)!
On arrival in Puno we were met by numerous three-wheeler tricycles (of the pedal power variety) offering us lifts to wherever we fancied. Our driver (or should that be rider) seriously underestimated the combined weight of our bags. Once he reached the uphill section shouts of "muy peso" and much puffing and panting were heard - he really earnt his 2 soles (30p)!!
Puno is quite a large sprawling town with narrow, almost claustrophobic streets that cover the hillside on the Titicaca banks. Most people who visit simply use the town as a base for Lake activities where peace, beauty and tranquility can be found, in contrast to the town.
Just a quick note on the pronunciation of "Lake Titicaca". Firstly the name means Mountain Cat ("Titi") and Rock ("caca") and is derived from the local indigenous languages of Quechua and Aymara. The "Titi" part is pronounced exactly as you would think (women
have two!). The "caca" part is not however - each "c" is pronounced more like a combination of an "h" and a "c" like you´re coughing up phlegm and clearing your throat. Pronouncing the word with a "c" like in the word "car", actually means "shit" in Quechua and the Peruvian guides joke about how "Titi" is on the Peruvian side of the lake and the "caca" is the Bolivian - oh they love that joke! No doubt the Bolivians have a reverse view for theirs. Such japes!!
For our Lake Titicaca adventure we opted for an overnight trip including a stay in a family home on Amantani Island. The trip covered three island stops with Amantani being the second and largest both in size and in population (4000 people).
The first stop on the boat tour was at the floating islands of Uros. The journey to them is only 30 mins from Puno and takes a winding tour through watery passages between the reeds. Its those same reeds which are used to construct the islands - through an intricate process of tying together reed roots to create a base, then through laying reeds up to 2m deep
Reed Boats
Tethered to the floating reed island of Uros Pachamama on top of this base, the spongy but perfectly solid island is created. The islands are anchored to eucalyptus branches to stop them floating off but remove the anchors (and get a few boats and paddlers) and the people of Uros can move their home to a new location very easily.
The islanders of Uros are very proud of their traditions and their special floating inhabitance. They still live the same lives they lived hundreds of years ago and shun almost all aspects of the modern world. The only time they venture to dry land is to trade. Unfortunately because of people like us, their lives are now very much linked to tourism and the islands are filled with local handicrafts which the Uros people attempt to flog to us camera wielding observers. Still that appears to be the only pollution of their traditional existence.
The second island, Amantani is outside the bay of Puno and takes almost three hours by boat to reach. It is very raw and has only had tourists visiting for the last 5 years so the normal lives of the islanders are relatively unaffected. As you can probably tell, we are tourists who
Safety First
Appearances second! don´t like tourists - it´s a weird paradox but I think it makes sense....
Our night on Amantani was very special - living with a real family, sleeping in their mud brick adobe house (without comforts like electricity) and eating with them in their small kitchen was a real eye-opener and unforgettable. We shared laughs and danced the night away in traditional costume with the community and also witnessed a beautiful and tranquil sunset. The island has no roads, which means no cars. It also has no electricity and so the sky at night was completely unpolluted and billions of stars (normally completely hidden) were visible. For us, this was one of the most incredible things we witnessed - seeing one star on the London skyline is a bonus!!!
The final day took us to Taquile island which has had tourism for 30 years and it shows. The island is beautiful and stunning views of the Lake can be seen from the rugged paths that circle the island but you still feel that the influx of tourists and the restaurants, street sellers and souvenir shops that that has brought, spoils the experience somewhat. It is sad that Amantani
will probably be the same in 20 years or so but such is life - best to visit sooner rather than later if you want the real view.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.043s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0235s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Auntie Heather
non-member comment
Cumpleaños
¡Que un día encantador en sus cumpleaños - desee que estuviera allí! Adore Brezo de Tía Auntie Heather