Celebrations on the worlds highest lake!
Trip Start
Dec 14, 2007
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171
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Trip End
Mar 16, 2009
Puno,
Peru
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Puno which was founded in 1668, is a short six hour bus ride from Cusco through beautiful landscapes of grassy plains that rise up into tall snow capped peaks. Since Puno is situated on the shore of Lake Titicaca it serves as the main entry point to the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca which is divided, 60/40 between Peru and Bolivia.
We'd arrived in Puno together with Donna and Susan who had been with us on the Inca Trail who were co-indecently also visiting the area. It was great to have them there as we were celebrating our one year travel anniversary. It was hard to believe but one year ago we set off from Dubai on a trip which has flown by in a flash and now we were nearing the end of the trip. We had a lovely dinner in a little restaurant with Donna and Susan and thankfully Inge-Marie was feeling well enough after contracting her little stomach bug to enjoy a little Chilean wine for our anniversary.
Lake Titicaca is very important in Andean mythology since, according to legend, the children of the sun god and founders of the Inca Empire magically emerged from its waters.
Landscape between Cusco and Puno
Peru and Bolivia share sovereignty over this lake high altitude lake which sits at 3810 m above sea level , covers and area of 8,559 square kilometres with a maximum depth of 283m and chilling average water temperature of 9°C to 11°C in summer. On the Peruvian side of the lake there are many natural islands and even a few man made reed islands. Since we were limited by time we chose to take a two day one night trip to three of the islands in the area. Our tour group consisted of about 17 passengers and was lead by a very knowledgeable and highly energetic local tour guide called Marita.
After a setting sail from the port we sailed between totora reed's teeming with birds life before arriving at the first floating reed islands built by and inhabited by the Uros people. The islands consist of around 20 floating man-made islands made using the abundant source of reeds and age old techniques. The Uros call themselves Lake People and their origins go back to eras before the Incas and being a peaceful tribe inhabited the island to escape war between the tribes on land. Now days they still hunt wild birds and maintain traditional fishing methods.
The men are skilful handlers of the totora reed boats and the women expert knitters and mothers judging from the amount of children running around. Inge-Marie amazingly won a necklace as a prize when she correctly guessed that the depth of the lake below the reed islands was a staggering 18m. The families on the island live a simple existence and seem to make a large part of their income from tourism which puts their children through school.
Freshly shawn
So we didn't mind so much we paid S/5 (US$1.5) for a reed boat ride from one island to the other. It was amazing to see how stable and quick the primitive boat was even loaded with 18 people.After the interesting visit to the floating islands we headed deeper into the lake towards an island called Isla Amantani. Once we had sailed out between the two peninsulas jutting out into the lake we entered the largest part of the lake. The waters soon changed from a slightly green due to the high concentration of algae to a clear blue. It's hard to describe the sheer size of the lake but often there were times where as far as the eye could see there was only sky and water.
After a slow three hour cruise we arrived at the tiny nine square kilometre island which is inhabited by eight local communities who generally make their living from growing crops like potatoes, corn, lima beans, green peas and other agricultural products. The friendly inhabitants of the island who maintain many of their customs and traditional clothing are easily distinguished in their colourful and detailed dress. Since no hotels or hostels exist on the island all visitors stay with local families on the island. Our host was lovely lady called Francesca and together with a sweet young South Korean girl we were graciously welcomed into her comfortable but basic home.
Like most of the homes on the island the bedrooms, kitchen and lavatory are all separate buildings and it seems as they acquire more money or the family grows they build on.
Long flat, straight roads
As we were not quite sure what to expect in regard to the sleeping arrangements we were pleasantly surprised to find our room had a proper bed and bedding. Although very basic it was adequate and comfortable for one night on the island. All the homes we wired for electricity but since the power was generated by an expensive petrol or diesel generator none of the residence could afford the service as had to resort back to candles.Once we'd settled in we were served a hot traditional lunch which is just about always vegetarian and consists largely of soups and potatoes, I was surprised that fish wasn't their staple diet since they lived on a lake. Later the afternoon the whole group met up at the village soccer pitch where we started our accent up to the highest point on the island. As usual the climb was not the easiest as we soon reached an altitude of 4000 m.a.s.l. but we pushed on through the breathlessness and burning muscles and were rewarded with a great view.
From the top of the hill which peaked just over 4100 m.a.s.l. we had great views of the entire lake and the distant mountains surrounding the lake. The idea was to watch the sunset from the pre-Hispanic temple built on the peak but the weather took a turn for the worse and soon an icy wind was just about blowing us off the peak. All we had time for was a quick walk around the temple and a few photos before the rain came down.
We raced back down to avoid being soaked and made it back to Francesca's house just in time to miss the rain.
Puno Cathederal
Once again we were served a very tasty vegetarian meal before we met up with the rest of the group once again but this time at the village community centre for an evening of traditional music and dancing. The music was provided by the local community band who were playing an assortment of different guitars and reed flutes with a big drum pounding out the beat. The local dance was quite simple to master with the help of our local host and turned out to be loads of fun but also very exhausting!Next morning after our farewells we headed off to a nearby island which was slightly smaller that Amantani but one of the most visited Peruvian islands in Lake Titicaca. This island was used as a political prison during the Colonial period up to the 1970's. As with Amantani the inhabitants maintain their cultural traditions and traditional clothing. Our guide, Marita explained the significance of their differently coloured garments as well as the symmetrical decorations and symbols that reflect their way of life, customs and Andean beliefs. It was also very interesting to learn about their subtle but simple communication methods between young men and women, who by wearing their pom-poms on the ends of the hats or scarves in various positions told whether they were single and interested or attached and unavailable.
After a fantastic lunch of once again vegetable soup and a delicious local trout we set sail back for Puno where our trip was concluded. The two days gave us a wonderful insight into the culture and daily lives of some of the lakes inhabitants. We were delighted to see how many ancient traditions were still practiced in a world that is increasingly becoming modern or western. Our tour guide, Marita was a wealth of knowledge and often had us in stitches with her witty sense of humour and jokes.
Since we arrived back in Puno late the afternoon we decided to spent one more night in Puno to be able to catch the morning buses. Since we were so close to Bolivia, only a few hours away, and had heard so many great things about the country, we decided to take a chance and see if we could get into Bolivia without a visa. So here's holding thumbs!!
