Puno and Lake Titicaca

Ive just returned from a tour of Lake Titicaca and its island; Amantani, Taquile - rich with pre-inca ruins, and the floating island of Uros.

It was ok. i guess. Great for the over-50s travellers.... Maybe it was just the cold - it always seems to dampen my excitement.....

It was freezing. We left the cove in Puno and it didnt stop raining for the rest of the day, making it hard to see sites across lake Titicaca.

After 4hrs we arrived on the island of Amantani. Its an amazing little island of around 8000 inhabitants, none of whom are over 5 1/2 feet. The entire town looks like a "lord of the rings" styled hobbit village, with tiny stone walkways, tiny houses with adjoining farming plots.

Our homestay was with a guy who declared himself to be the "tourism minister" for the island. I think somehow it was lost in translation from his native Quecha to Spanish to English.

He led us to this quaint adobe house, where he lived with his wife and four children. I had to bend double to get in any of the doorways. Fortunately the beds were normal size, and i took a short nap before lunch.

Lunch was a meagre affair; 1 egg, 3small potatos and a bowl of soup. I had to remind myself that i was "experiencing" and resisted the temptation to ask for more.

Later, our host insisted on showing us his new pants and tracksuit jacket and watch that he had been given by previous travellers who had stayed with him.... and tactfully wrote down his address "in case we wanted to get in touch".

Dinner was again small, potatos and rice affair, supplemented with slivers of fish for flavor. There was meant to be a party but it was rained out, and instead we sat inside and tried to teach the host´s son a bit of english - hard work, i think he was kind of simple.

I went to bed at 930 for lack of anything to do. These people led such simple lives. I felt bad for being bored, but soon forgot.

TAQUILE
Taquile was far more interesting, but for all the wrong reasons. We arrived at port, walked up a hill. saw some ruins. Ate lunch in a central plaza and had an unusually insightful lecture on the sexual politics of Taquile island, and Uros - the next island we were to visit.

He explained to us that both islands had a tradition of incest. On Taquile, he said, it was generally fathers with daughters, but on Uros, it was brothers with sisters. I felt sick. I and wanted to doubt him, but his explanation was quite similar in both Spanish and English.

ive done a google search but found nothing. i cant verify these claims, the people dont look particularly in-bred....

Anyway, with that in mind, i was more than happy to leave Taquile and be on the way back to Puno.

UROS
Uros was cool. Reeds grow 10m from the ocean floor. The islanders take these reeds and pile them in a criss-cross fashion to a thickness of around 1.5m. The people fish and sell it at the market for rice and potatos. They drink the water directly from titicaca and apparently dont suffer cholera becuase after every meal, they eat the lower part of the reed plant. Again cant verify.

After taking lots of photos, then being asked to pay 1sole (50cents) for each one, we motored back to puno´s port.

PUNO
back in puno. I found a wicked little bar last night with a dj who has an amazing soulful house collection. sat and drank baileys with my new friends Carmen and Alex. excellent.


going to the bolivian town of copacabana tomorrow. Im going to make an effor to get to the solar de uyuni,.. these massive salt plains in the south of bolivia. expecting more excitement. let you know how it goes.

cal