Titicaca

Titicaca.  My friend Sai laughed like Beavis and Butthead every time he heard the name of the world’s highest navigable lake.  Can you blame him?  Obviously, it was an absolute must on our whirlwind trip to Peru.

To tell the truth, I think it was partly the name.  For a pair of supposedly mature adults, we spent an inordinate amount of time laughing over it and coming up with alternatives (Boobypoopoo comes to mind.)  (Come on, tell me you weren’t thinking exactly the same thing!)

The lake itself is a deep beautiful blue, perfectly reflecting the clear sky above and stretching away to the horizon where the snow caps of Bolivia looked like distant, unchanging cloud formations.

The first stop on our tour was probably the weirdest place on Earth.  Isla Flotante Uros Balsero is one of a cluster of 42 artificial floating islands made of reeds.  Home of the Uros people.  “Home” as in they permanently live on these massive rafts and have apparently been doing so for many generations – according to our guide, since they took to the lake to hide out from the Spanish Conquistadors.  That’s a long time to hang out on a raft. 

A demonstration in island-building

Of course, these floating islands are much more than mere rafts.  They are made out of totora reeds that grow thickly on the lake.  Each island is made from reeds stacked or woven up to make a dense, spongy sort of “ground” that’s about a metre thick.  They need to maintain the islands by throwing new heaps of reeds on them as the bottom bits rot away…… Walking on it is like walking on a slightly sturdier than normal bouncy castle.

The reeds are also an important food source.  Peeled, they taste a bit like a mild radish.  The women on the island we spent most of our time on were chewing them almost continuously.  They also farm fish and hunt ducks. 




She offered to swap outfits...

  These days, many of the lake dwellers have some modern amenities (like electric light) out there in the middle of the lake thanks to solar panels and approximately 360 days of sunshine a year.  One of the women took me by the hand and led me into her house – also made of woven reeds – and offered to let me try on her traditional outfit of a bright pink multi-layered skirt and the pom-pommed sombrero hat that (I think) singled her out as either a new bride or an eligible bachelorette.  I declined the generous offer as politely as possible.

It was fascinating and mind-boggling to imagine living on these little floating oases in the middle of a freezing cold lake.  How do they not drive each other completely stark staring mad? You couldn’t even go for a walk to blow off steam, since the largest of the rafts is no bigger than the average school gymnasium.  

The truth is most of the Uros people have abandoned their traditional way of life and headed for shore. The few that remain on the lake are mainly there for tourism. I’m just glad I had the chance to see their floating homes and meet them while they are still there.