Puno and Lake Titicaca

Saturday the 13th of November 2010
The bus ride to Puno was exhausting, but brought us through some marvellous landscapes. The last stop before Puno, a "fixer" got on the bus and recommended a hostel and some Titicaca lake outings to us. The hostel was cheap and looked great and also the trips the guys offered looked interesting to us. Half an hour after arriving in Puno we were thus on a boat to Las Islas de Uros. These islands are also called the floating islands. It is a group of about 60 islands floating in Lake Titicaca at 20 minutes from Puno by boat. We docked at one of the islands where the locals were waving us to their homes. On the islands some kind of puppet show was put up for us to explain how the people built these islands. The bases of the islands are large clumps of floating roots (1-2m thick) of the long grassy plants that grow in the lake (what are these called again?). These clumps are tight together and covered with the grassy plant. Finally the islands are anchored with long sticks to prevent them from floating too far away. On the islands all facilities are present, little huts, kitchens, a small green garden, a pond with trout, etc. The islands can only be reached by boat. Similarly you need a boat to get from on island to the other, or for example to school (also on an island). Every island (5-6 families, or approximately 20 persons) owns a few boats, bigger ones (mainly to transport tourists), smaller canoes and a small motorboat for fishing. After learning how the islands were constructed we could walk around on the island to see the huts, the kitchen, etc. Soon, however, the locals drew our attention to the artefacts they had prepared and were selling. We didn't buy one of those, but decided to go on a short boat trip in one of the traditional boats, which offered great views on the Uros islands at sun set. The trip was too short, but very relaxing thanks to the very quiet manpower propulsion. Later we made a short stop on another island with hotel and restaurant before returning to Puno.

Sunday the 14th of November 2010
On Sunday we left for a two day tour to the different Peruvian islands in Lake Titicaca. We first stopped at the Uros islands that we had visited the day before. We docked at a different island this time, but the story was exactly the same, as were the souvenirs. After the obligatory stop at the island with the hotel and restaurant we sailed off to Amanti, the largest Peruvian islands in the Lake.
It was a long journey (3h) to Amanti, more due to the slow boat than to the distance. On the island we were welcomed by some local families that would be our hosts. We would stay with the family of Florencia and Eusebio. Their youngest daughter led us to their house. The hour of free time before lunch we used for a short dip in Lake Titicaca that at 3800m above sea level was filled with surprisingly warm water.
After lunch we met up with the group of tourist we were on the boat with at the main square for a walk to the top of the island. The views on the Peruvian and Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca and its Andean shores from up there were astonishing, as was the free sunset.
We returned to our family for dinner, but came together at night for a "cultural" experience in the local meeting house. Everyone, including all tourists, was dressed in the local traditional outfit and was dancing on the tunes of a local band, playing traditional instruments. After the party we returned home guided by the bright moonlight and a night sky like I had never seen one before.

Monday the 15 of November 2010
We spent what must have been the quietest night of our trip. There is no traffic on the island, you can get from one place to the other only on foot. Early morning (6h15) we were already enjoying the fresh lake air and saw the island slowly wake up. Breakfast consisted of what I can only describe as "smoutenbolle" which is the Flemish name for it. Greasy, but nutritive! At 7h30 we took place in our little boat for a one and a half hour trip to the next island (Taquile). There we walked to the main square on a path that took us in a large half circle around the island, constantly exposing new views on the Lake. On the square we witnessed some local tax inning, cash and with large notebooks, and had a nice coffee before meeting in a restaurant. There we were finally explained why all the guys were wearing hats/beanie and these oddly looking clothes. The Taquile people are well known for their textile and the hats and clothes immediately tell the matrimonial status of the people that wear them. Additionally the clothes tell you if the guy wearing them is in the local politics, has a police task, or just doesn't care... The clothes make the man. After lunch we set sail for Puno again. The trip was long, very long. Happy to be back in Puno we soon went to bed, because our bus to Copacabana, Bolivia, would leave at 7h the next morning. We would leave Peru. It had been amazing!