Lake Titicaca

At 4000m above sea level, it´s the highest of the world´s commercially navigable lakes and is roughly the same size as Puerto Rico. Our first sight of the lake (and departure point) was from the town of Puno, a grubby port with little beauty or significance, but some really lively odours. Our boat´s first stop was one of the Uros Islands. These are manmade floating islands consisting of mud and reeds. Usually an extended family would live on one island, supporting each other through fishing and tourism. What I found really funny was that if two parties have an argument (usually alcohol related) it is fairly common for them to cut their island in two and go their seperate ways.

We jumped back on the boat, and two and a half hours later arrived at an island called Taquille, boasting an extremely organised self-sufficient society. The first inhabitants we encountered were a few men wearing different coloured hats. Apparantly single and married men wear different colours. Our group was told which restaurant to eat at, and after lunch we made our way back down to the waters edge. We approached a herd of sheep and as we got closer I noticed that each sheep had 2 legs tied together. Our guide explained that if a sheep jumps into a neighbours land, a fine is charged for the return of the sheep.

Our last stop for the day and the island that we´d spend the night on was Amantani. On arrival we were met by the chap in charge of homestays. Jackie and myself were introduced to Isabella and her 7 year old daughter Lisadda and we followed them towards their house, a basic structure overflowing with family warmth. After ´checking in´, we were taken up a narrow cobbled pathway to the football field, where we took on and beat the local boys. Quite an impressive feat, taking into account that we were over 4000m above sea level.

That night, after dinner in the kitchen with the family, granny dressed us in local attire and we made our way up to the main hall, where we engaged in a bit of local dancing.

The whole Lake Titicaca experience, especially the homestay, was awesome. A place and a people that we had never heard of, but will never forget.