Titicaca

Puno has steep hills trudging up from Lake Titicaca. It’s a bustling spot. Cosmopolitan in a poor, dejected kind of way. We arranged an early tour to Uros islands, when we checked in at our hotel. The Uros people have lived on these islands for hundreds of years when they left the land to avoid the hostilities of the Incans. First they lived on their boats and then they developed these series of floating peat and reed islands lashed together to make a large floating community. 

Example of islands' construction

The community is comprised of several small islands of 3 to 5 families each. Each little island elects a president once a year. They once made a livelihood out of fishing and hunting birds, but today I believe they make more from these tours. The islanders stand in a brightly coloured line to welcome you. "Camisaraki" (hi, how are you?). "Wikiti" (good thanks). The islands’ president puts on a little show and tell, explaining their history, culture, and the engineering of the islands. Once thats done you’re invited to look around the island.

The president and his wife singled Jen and I out, probably because the cameras, and invited us into their home.  This was a thinly veiled attempt to sell their over priced crafts. We tried to bow out gracefully, explaining we were backpacking and hadn’t room for their beautiful tapestries. We did submit to try on their clothing for photos. We also supported them by paying for a traditional reed boat ride to a neighboring island. They seemed genuinely gracious hosts even singing a little song as we left. I was left with a ting of disappointment that these people only make a living off of tourism. While I appreciated the opportunity of visiting this unique culture I felt the business of it cheapened the whole experience. I was encouraged though, to see the use of solar energy on the islands.

The cutest saleswoman

Learning to paddle