The Islands of Lake Titicaca

After taking a night bus from Cusco to Puno (where we were told it would arrive at 5am and that we could stay on till 6, but instead we arrived at 4 and were told to get off the bus, leaving us to nap some in the terminal, á la Mendoza) we began our exploration of Lake Titicaca. At about 3800m lake Titicaca is billed as ¨the highest navigable lake in the world.¨ After sleeping for a few hours in the bus station, thankfully without incident, we were aproached by a travel agent describing a one night homestay, three meals, and boat ride to some of the islands; we agreed and were quickly off on a new adventure.



We visited a floating island on the lake that was created by first cutting 2m by 2m squares of reed roots, then lashing them together in a grid maybe 20 meters across, and finally laying cut reeds on top of the blocks to create the surface of the island. On this island there are small huts where about 10 people live.

Floating Island:

The next island, Amantani, is where we met our new family that we stayed with for the night and who cooked our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Each meal was simple but tasty; both lunch and dinner were served with a spectacular soup, one of quinua and the other of noodles, and a second dish of rice and potoatos. Breakfast was a piece of bread and a delicious pancake. The island was beautiful and simple - it was made up of small villages that surrounded the two peaks, Pachamama and Tatapacha (Mother Universe and Father Universe in Quechua), which stood about 4200m tall. We hiked up Tatapacha at the end of the first day and watched the sun set over the lake which was spectacular, despite being approached a dozen times each by the same five little kids trying to sell us the same bracelets.

The next morning we said goodbye to our new family and got on the boat to head to the next island, Taquile. When we arrived our travel guide gave a great explanation about the history and the culture of the island and then let us walk around and explore before meeting up again for a traditional island lunch. The views from the island were breathtaking and this island was bigger then the last and was more developed, with a Plaza de Armas and electricity unlike Amantani. Lunch consisted of a quinoa soap, and trout with rice. Then after lunch we headed for a three hour boat ride back to the port.