A Journey Through Peru - Part 5 - Lake Titicaca

 We leave Chivay and after six hours by road we arrive in the city of Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 3,812 metres and the source of many a schoolboy chortle in geography lessons. We’re here to visit the people who live on the islands and, in particular, the floating reed islands of the Uros people. Our first stop is to visit Taquile Island (not a floating one, just good old terra firma) where the Aymara tribe live.

Incan terracing on Taquile Island

The matrimonial eligibility of the men of the Aymara is based on how good their knitting is whilst the women focus on weaving.

An Aymara man knitting a hat...


...whilst the women weave

From this (land) island we travel to the less conventional floating island of Isla Titino Shaman (population 26) and are greeted by the island’s president, César. The islands of the Uros were first made from reed boats lashed together to provide a defence mechanism where the island could be moved away from the shore and further onto the lake to evade attackers.

A floating reed island

Eventually the islands became more sophisticated and are based on blocks of roots cut from the bottom of the lake by hand; an arduous process given the cool 11 degrees centigrade temperature of the lake near the bottom. These roots form a kind of cork material and the blocks provide the floating foundation for the layers of reeds and buildings on top.

Our host, President César, demonstrates how they build their floating islands

Cooking using a wood-fired stove on a flammable island must be a careful business!

César is an engaging and funny presenter and we are honoured to be invited to see inside his simple home before we leave. We buy some of the items the islanders have made and know this will help them fund their lifestyle, which is slowly dying out. Their children leave the islands to go to college and university and very few return to live back on the islands. Our guide tells us that soon these islands will be just for show and only occupied when the tourist boats arrive. We feel privileged that we have seen this remarkable way of life whilst it still exists but, despite the amazing time we've had, we can't help but feel a little sad.

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