A Fairytale Island
Trip Start
Mar 02, 2005
1
21
28
Trip End
May 07, 2005
Lake Titicaca,
Peru
Friday, April 8, 2005
I had heard that the islands of Lake Titicaca were amazing, and I am happy to report that they didnt let me down. The boat left from Puno at 7am and our first stop was at the Floating Islands. These islands are made of reeds that are tightly packed together in bundles about 6 feet thick. The people who live on these islands are called the Uros People, and they ended up living on these floating islands a long time ago because they were basically chased off of the shore of the lake by rival tribes. These floating islands vary in size from only 10 square feet to maybe 10,000sq ft. Its quite amazing to see. They even have an elementary school that floats on the water for the kids who live there. But for secondary school the students have to take a boat over to Puno.
From the floating islands it was another 2 hours by motorboat to Isla Taquile. This island is right out of a fairytale. The colors are so brilliant because of the altitude (4000m, about 13,000ft). The entire island is terraced and looks like a giant topographical map because of all of the stone walls that follow the contours of the hills. There are 2000 people who live on the island, and they wear brightly colored clothing that they make themselves.
Taquile - View from Casa
The most distinctive item of clothing on the island are the hats that the men wear. These hats are long wool caps that are pointy at the top and are very long, so they fold over in the back - think of Santas hat. Anyway, men who are single wear hats that are red on the bottom and white on top, while men who are married wear hats that are completely red.There are no hotels on the island; instead, visitors who wish to spend the night can stay with a family. I asked the guide on the boatride to the island, and he led me to one of the authorities on the island who then led me to Julians house (sorry apostrophes arent working on this computer). It was a simple house, made of wood and mud. The bathroom was an outhouse with a hole in the ground and not even a seat. They cooked by making a fire on the dirt floor. My room was actually quite nice. I had a comfy bed with a straw mattress and lots of llama-wool blankets. And from my window I had a view across the lake to the snow-capped Cordillera Real mountains of Bolivia. For dinner the family gave me a soup with vegetables and local grains, and they made me an omelette with eggs, potatoes, and tomatoes. In the morning they cooked me pancakes. When I was at the beach in Ecuador I had bought a beach towel that I had since been carrying around with me. I wanted to give this family a present, so I left them the towel, which they seemed quite happy to receive.
I walked all the way to the southern end of the island in the afternoon and found a sandy beach so I decided to take a swim. At 13,000 feet above sea level, it was the highest swim Ive ever had. The water was cold, but no colder than the beaches in Maine, and it was totally transparent. It was very shallow - I walked about 100ft out into the lake and the water only came up to my waist.
I climbed up to the highest point on the island to watch the sunset over the lake. From there I had a 360 degree view of the entire lake and the mountains that completely surround it. West towards Puno I could see the sillouettes of the floating islands of the Uros People. To the northwest was Isla Amantani, which is a lot bigger than Taquile. To the North and east was just an enormous expanse of water with mountain peaks just poking up at the horizon. Because of the altitude, the air is very thin and you can see over 100 miles across the lake.
Also, there was a fiesta the day I visited the island. From noon until 7pm hundreds of villagers danced in the main plaza. They wore bright costumes with colorful headdresses, embroidered robes, and even furry bear costumes. Plus, there was a large marching band with mostly brass instruments playing upbeat marches as the villagers danced about. It reminded me a bit of an Pueblo Indian Pow-Wow I once saw in Taos, New Mexico.
