Lake Titicaca, Peru
Trip Start
Jun 08, 2007
1
19
26
Trip End
Sep 03, 2007
Puno,
Peru
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Bring Back Phil Collins
Our bus ride to Puno (the major town on Lake Titicaca) was a whole new experience. A quasi-official heath spokesman gave us an hour lecture (in Spanish) on the benefits of eating and drinking healthy things (apparently french fries cause cancer). He spoke so loud and for so long without interruption that we found ourselves wishing for Phil Collins on the video!
We spent our first day in Puno in the town centre.
Reed Canoe at Floating Islands
On our 2nd day we went on a tour to Isla Flotanas (Floating Islands) and Isla Taquile.
The Isla Flotanas (commonly known as Uros Islands after the Uros people that inhabit them) are entirely made out of reeds, and the inhabitants build reed houses and live on these islands. The set up for tourists however is extremely commercialised and quite scripted with the inevitable sales pitch at the end (souvenirs and a boat ride). It felt awkward for us and we felt awkward for them. Apparently the Uros people do live on other islands that (fortunately) the tourists don't visit.
Andrea and Fraser
Floating on Lake Titicaca
After a slow 2 hour boat ride (to save gas), we arrived at Isla Taquile. Despite our time in Arequipa acclimatising, we were both still struggling for breath (Lake Titicaca is at 3,820m in elevation) when climbing the steep steps to the top of the hill (the extra 1,000m makes a large difference). From the top we could could look out and see the lake surrounded by hills and in the distance, snow-capped mountains.
Local Festival on Taquile Island
There was a festival in the main square which we watched, and while it was very colourful, it did not seem to be very well choreographed, as everyone seemed to be doing their own thing. Heading down to the boat took us down a steep stone path occasionally framed with stone gateways (complete with kids asking to have their photos taken for 1 sole... another harmful aspect of tourism that has appeared).
View from top to Taquile Island
