Lake Titicaca, which is sometimes spelled Titikaka, but correctly pronounced Titi-ha-ha. It is at 12,500 feet altitude, the highest navigable lake in the world and South America’s largest fresh water lake.
We took a boat to the Uros floating islands. The islands are completely mad-made structures using the totora reeds from the lake to build the islands and the houses.
The people fished for a living and it was just organic that they decided to live right on the water which provides their incomes.
The islands are about 4 feet thick with totora reeds. The reeds eventually rot and disintegrate, so every month new, dry reeds are added to the top of the islands. In addition every 6 months the houses are reinforced with more reeds.
This island houses 20 people in 4 families. They have a president who makes the decisions and every year the president changes by simple rotation — how democratic!!
Several islands are tied together. If people of an island start trouble, they are asked to leave, they are untied and pushed out into the lake — the entire island — not just the people.
This particular family makes money by making hand-made clothes, runners and pillowcases. I am now the owner of a too-bright pink hand crocheted pillowcase for $20 USD.
Too funny. I don’t think the woman on the right with the hat lives on the floating island. There is no DIRT on the islands!! But it does remind me the story of the ladies’ hats. Each type of hat indicates their heritage and what their bloodlines are. They wear them with pride. Certain bloodlines have more status than others.
They cook outside most the year, except during the rainy season.
THEY WATCH TV!! with electricity they gather from solar panels.
Their houses are tiny and used mostly for sleeping.
Their traditional boats are made completely of totora reeds.
There is an entire island for retail, including a coffee shop. Jane and Joanie couldn’t resist.
Of course, they have created a way to make money off the tourists. These homes are on a floating island and are B&B’s rented out to tourists who want ‘the full experience’. Of course, you see they have water, and probably heat and AC and the amenities that most First World Travelers demand.
One of our travel partners volunteered to paddle us to the coffee shop. And Jane and I were happy to sit up top of another boat alongside the Peruvian Flag.
This was considered the Fertility Temple. However, these ancient cement artifacts were gathered from a much larger area and put inside these walls. Yes, they look like penises; but then another story tells us they were representative of the hallucinogenlike mushrooms (ayahuasca) used in religious ceremonies.
But. we voted it was a big penis. WOW! What a guy!
I remember this from Bolivia. These llama fetuses were thought to be good luck. (I don’t know why.)
This is animal fat that people from the floating islands use to grease (waterproof) the bottoms of their reed boats.
Yes, it’s what you think. In Minnesota we called them cow pies. They are purchased as fire starters. Why cow pies and not llama poop, etc.? Because cow pies are easily transported, easy to handle and big!!
More potatoes …. several of the 100’s of varieties grown in Peru.
These are bags of clay purchased from a street vendor, gotten from the ground somewhere. People make a dip of this clay and eat it with potatoes, as Jane and Joanie bravely are doing. It provides healthy and necessary minerals for a person. Yuck!
Wild potatoes naturally contain higher levels of toxins called glycoalkaloids. Low levels of glycoalkaloids can cause gastrointestinal discomfort such as abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Higher doses can lead to severe symptoms like paralysis, and in extreme cases, death. There is preliminary evidence that clays from Andean highlands can detoxify potatoes by absorbing their toxic chemicals.
I just love the color found in the markets. Please note these bottles HAVE BEEN REFILLED with other than soda! Where is the safety and cleanliness oversight?!
Puno is a very high altitude pretty town. The inlaid tile designs were everywhere but I never could get a good photo without the shadows. Have I mentioned how HOT that sun seemed at such high altitudes.
The two lines on the ground in the colorful photo of Puno is the dividing line between who uses the two original languages – Quechua or Aymara. Most Peruvians speak all three languages and also English.
We had a well anticipated lunch here at Mojsa. And, yes, they served alpaca.
Since I like my coffee see-thru, I don’t often order coffee out. But my travel mates enjoy their caffeine. Aren’t those coffees BEAUTIFUL?
At the end of the trip and still puffing slightly to get up this hill to the tombs. And that sun is wicked.
This was the Sillustani Tombs, a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo. The tombs are built above ground in what are called chullpas, vestiges of the Colla people before they were conquered by the Incas in the 15th century.
Those people knew their astronomy. When the sun shone at a particular time of day or year, it would highlight the cement little animal on one of the chullpas. They also put a little door at the bottom of the tomb and, again, a certain time of day or year (the equinox?) sun light would light up the inside of the tomb for the dead.
The island in the background of this fearsome foursome is a breeding ground for one of the endangered breeds of llamas. When I asked if the llamas come to the mainland, our tour guide looked at me like I had two heads and told me of course not. Now, I have seen deer swim AND rabbits swim, so I figured the llamas would swim off the island.
A darling way to protect the driver’s windshield. Any driver worth his salt regularly cleans the bus windows. There are thousands of photos taken every week through those windows and it’s a shame when they contain dirt, raindrops and bird poop in every photo that may last a lifetime.
Last blog page coming next, I promise
Happy travels.