Lake Titicaca - Uros Islands and Llachon
Trip Start
Dec 29, 2008
1
22
77
Trip End
Mar 22, 2009
Llachon,
Peru
Monday, January 19, 2009
There are about 50 floating islands made from the reeds that grow in Lake Titicaca. The island we visited was part of a group of three that were separate from the rest of the islands. The islands are made by tying together clumps of roots of the reeds (which float like corks) and then layering reeds on top. A new layer of reeds must be added to the top every two weeks and the houses they make from the reeds need to be re-made every three months. The islands need to float because the level of the lake changes between dry and rainy seasons. The islands we visited were in quite shallow water (about 5m) and if an island hit's the bottom of the lake it has to be abandoned
Tuk tuks to the wharf
. We spent some time on the island and I was dressed up in the local traditional clothing. We also jumped onto one of their rafts (also made out of reeds) for a trip around the island. The local children came with us and sang in every language they could think of (English, French, Spanish, Japanese...).
Next stop was our home for two nights - the Llachon peninsula. We were staying in a 'remote village', but were pleased to find running water and electricity when we arrived. Sonja and I were billeted to the 'local authority's house, and we given a delicious lunch of quinoa soup with cheese, potato and rice for mains. We got to try munan(?) tea, a strong mint plant used to help altitude sickness.
After a nap in our comfortable twin bedroom, I awoke to darkened skies. Our new Mama was waiting outside our room, to take us up to work. We puffed our way further up the hill to one of the Oaka (sweet potato) patches and dug between the rows to create irrigation trenches and pile more soil around the plants. A few blisters and an aching back later, we'd completed the patch between the three of us - Sonja, our Mama and I. Further down the hill we watched our Papa digging rocks out of the paddock to create more land, while our Mama worked on her knitting.
Soon we were back in the kitchen, helping to peel and dice potatoes and carrots for dinner
Floating Island constuction
. We wished we'd brought potato peelers as one of our gifts, as they only had knives. Our family was lucky though; they had gas cooking instead of a fire. Out the window a stunning display of lightening was illuminating the lake.Just before dinner our Mama cam up to us with a traditional skirt, top, belt and hat to wear for the party that evening. Sonja and I were given long, woollen, frilly hats to wear, which indicated that we were single. I wished that we'd gotten into our outfits after dinner, because after eating soup and a massive plate of pasta, potato and rice, my belt was getting pretty snug!
My family had a huge dining hall, so it was the location for the party. The rest of our group soon showed up; the boys looking like cowboys in brown ponchos and cowboy hats, and the other girls in married black. Some local boys started playing music and our Mama and Papa took to the dance floor. Soon we were all grabbed by a local into the energetic, bouncing dance. There was partner dancing as well as the group dancing together round in a circle. I sill had my normal clothes on underneath my outfit, so I was roasting hot by the time we finally finished up an hour or so later.
