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Published: September 18th 2007
Lake Titicaca
Our first site of Lake Titicaca, said to be sacred to the Inca´s.Week three of the tour took as to The reed islands, an overnight stay on Amantani Island and a visit to Taquile island.A bit about each....The Reed islands are islands literaly made of reeds. The homes are made of reed, the boats are made of reed and even their sun shades are made of reed, the reeds are also a source of food. Everything they make from reed however only lasts three months so as they finish making their homes and boats etc from reed they start making them again as it takes three months to complete their creations!!!!!!!! The people who live there are amazing ..they still hold all there traditions which havnt been influenced by western society at all. Some of the island even refuse to have tourists visit however most rely on the income tourists bring from selling finely woven products.Amantani Island we aquired a mum and a dad and some of us even gained a brother and sister or two. Here they believe everyone is related even if they are not blood related they still refer to others as their brothers and sisters. They are descendants of the incas so they dont speak spanish they speak ketchwa
Lake Titicaca
The funeral towers. In inca times heads of the tribes where buried in towers like this one.. that still stand. which is a totally different language .. luckely for us though our dad spoke spanish so we could converse . Men and women finish school at 15 and work the land .. both sexes help eachother in any chores that need to be done.. so as the women help their men on the land so do the men help the women in the kitchen!!!! ... We arrived on the island and our family was waiting for us at the shores, we had aquired three brothers and a sister and so we wer shown our room and we settled into our new home after playing some soccer with the local kids. The second night we went to a local dance and our second mum leant us some traditional clothing so that we felt the part. We had a fantastic time and although we were only around for two nights .. it was a sad goodbye. Taquile Island are on the international heritage listing because the materials woven here are so fine that one belt takes them 3 weeks to a month to make!!!.. what makes this island so unique though is that the men on the island do all the weaving
and knitting! I brought a belt there which is possibly one of the most expensive things iv brought and mum and dad have it so have a look! The belts they make have the life story of their relationship through from meeting their partner to marrying making babies etc etc they are very intricate and the workmanship is amazing. The island also have many other interesting traditions such as all the men wear these pointy hats that are red with white tips that they weave themselves and from when they are young they wear them and depending on which side the pointy bit flops tell the women on the island whether they are available, unavailable or not looking!!! i think its the left side is ¨im available¨, if it flops to the back they arent looking and to the right is that they are taken..and the married men have a different kind of hat that is all red with intricate designs on it that flops to the right also.... After 16yrs all are on the market!!!.. Also when they meet someone they must live together for one year as friends, theres to be no hanky panky and at the end
of the year either partner are free to say no thakyou or yes please and get married!.. very interesting stuff...S that pretty much completes our adventures on tour and of course ended it with a big bang on the last night where we all said goodbye to eachother and went our ways... all in all a fantastic experience and a great insight into the traditions of some of the communities in south american... have a geeza at the photos....
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Mum & Dad
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Photos
"Looking my best" is the coolest photo and takes 1st prize. IT SAYS IT ALL. It is all inclusive of the qualities that are You. The rest of the photos are great, informatiove, enteraining and they are never enough, mind you, we are your (tall) parents, who also live in a.....house, (with a big door). Love from your parents (whether short or tall). xxoo. XXOO.