The Highest Navigable Lake in the World

Trip Start Dec 16, 2007
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Trip End Jul 09, 2008


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Saturday, February 2, 2008

So we left Cuzco for the port city of Puno on the beautiful lake Titicaca which is the highest navigable lake in the world and also South America´´s largest. We only stayed there one night and were off bright and early the next morning for our homestay on one of the islands in the lake. On our way we stopped at the island of Taquile, the island itself was beautiful even if it was a bit touristy with all the handicrafts. Howver we had the most fantastical lunch ever of deliciously fresh trout...mmmm. (Culinary sidenote: I have now eaten goat, llama, alpace and guinea pig... yes i am serious...the alpaca and goat were quite good) While we were on this island we also learned about the traditional dress of the island. FOr example, there``s different hats for married and single men which they actually knitt themselves to show off thier knitting skills...so all over the island you can see young boys knitting, also married men carry coca leaf bags so they can swap leaves when they greet eachother alarm clock
alarm clock
 . Women identify their status by the pom poms on their shawls...large ones for single women and small ones for those that are married. So that was pretty interesting.

After lunch we headed for the island of Amantani for our homestay, also a Quechua community. (Just when I was starting to get the hang of spanish) The host mamas came to meet us at the port in traditional dress and took us to their homes which were very basic (no plumbing, running water, electricity etc.) The house was quite small and had chicken and sheep roaming around the yard. Since we happened to be there at the time of their local fiesta for their patron saint there was a great party downtown, with parades and music and lovely costumes. Such a bonues. Dinner was delicious and literally cooked on a fire...it reminded me of the kitchens I``ve seen in pioneer villages. It´´s hard knowing that people live like this but they all seemed really happy. It``s ridiculous how much we take for granted. Then after dinner they dressed us up in their traditional dress and we went to a welcome party that was lots of fun with lots of dancing...which is a lot more tiring when you``re that high up in altitude.

Then the next day we toured the famous floating Uros Islands. These islands are completely made from reeds that grow in the lake. There are 42 of them and they are really interesting. We learned the process of how they``re built and got to tour homes. Everything including their homes, boats and crafts are all made from these reeds. I``ve never seen anything like it, kinda otherworldly...they just float in the lake. Even though the original inhabitants were the Uros people today it is only Aymaras, another indiginous group. The islands of Lake Titicaca was such a great experience.
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