In honor of my 30th b-day, I slept in 'til a luxurious 7:30am. After making use of my trickle of hot water, I ventured out to greet the day. First stop was an internet cafe where I found emails from ... my dad. Shame on the rest of you for forgetting my birthday! :)
I was distracted by running across a market along Tacna street and somehow forgot to grab breakfast before leaving the tourist area. There were so many people and so many strange food items being sold. There are over 300 varieties of potatoes commonly sold in Peru. I saw an alley in which about 12 different varieties were on offer. I never knew that our potatoes in the US are so boring. Let's trade the basic Idaho potato for the cool orange, red and pink striped one. Much more interesting. The ladies selling the 'taters didn't appear to appreciate being immortalized on my memory card and started miming throwing potatoes at me, while laughing hysterically. I booked it out of there.
I bought a banana for a snack at a street stand after verifying that it really wasn't a platano. It was great, but now I was left with a peel. I looked around and couldn't see any public trash receptacle, so I approached a little shop and asked the proprietor if she had anyplace I could deposit my trash. She bustled out, clearly marveling at the stupidity of foreigners and showed me the place to put my banana peel...duh! the gutter! :) After that, I roamed down to the port where I planned to catch a boat out to the floating islands. I was still hungry and was keeping an eye out for a restaurant. Lo and behold, there was a sign: Desayuno (breakfast) S/2 (60 cents). Sold! I ended up with french fries, eggs, and coffee; a slight case of indigestion; and great photos of the cook's 2 granddaughters playing with their lamb. They assured me that the lamb was not actually tonight's dinner, but I had my doubts.
After breakfast, I treated myself to a styling new sweater. It had been sunny and warm an hour earlier, but now the wind was picking up and the clouds coming in. I had an easy choice between being cold or spending $8US on a throwaway sweater. Well, it was my birthday after all.
The ticket out to the islands cost 10 soles with a 3 sole departure tax. Unfortunately, I was the first person on the boat and had to wait for at least another 7 people before the captain would set off. The first to arrive were two adolescent boys who were doing a school report on the Uros Islands. The boys looked about 10, until I mentally adjusted for Peruvian height standards. Then, it became clear that they were more around 14, which explained why one of the boys had quite a fondness for me. I was congratulating myself on how good I was with children until I remembered that this was just a short teenager who would be fond of anyone with breasts.
Next to arrive was a German family made up of a young volunteer at a Bolivian social work center; her parents; and her aunt. They all spoke both English and Spanish and were good companions. We were still short at least one person. This was remedied by the arrival of a French family of 5, one of whom was a 4 year old boy who joined us by trying to step out onto the algae surrounding the boat. That was the first of around a hundred rescue operations to keep that kid out of the lake. I think we should have just let him fall in. It was like fighting fate.
Off we went in our in-no-way-smog-compliant boat. I felt lightheaded from the emissions while sitting outside. Inside, it was impossible to breathe. So, we all crowded together in the outdoor, rear section of the boat. The ride out to the islands passes through about a mile of the bright green algae. It seriously looked just like astroturf. Amazing. This seems to be good algae though, because it was supporting a whole host of birds. These were the happiest birds I have ever seen in my life. Chirping, flitting, eating, hanging out in the reeds. Have you ever seen a brown duck with a black head and a chalk blue beak? I have! Lake Titicaca must be an ornithologists dream.
It seemed no time at all until we were puttering up to Puma Island. There, the headman gave us a lecture on the history of the Uros people, the lake and the islands. The Uros began their odd lifestyle in an effort to remain separated from the Incas on shore. They decided to live on islands in the lake. There must not have been any unoccupied islands at the time, and so they made themselves some. The islands are made up of 11 anchoring sections of reed root mast, over which about lake reeds are laid in cross patterns until they reach a thickness of 3-4 feet. The resulting island has a lifespan of about 30 years. It is a little hard to walk on, and small objects are easily lost, but it is the most comfortable surface I have ever laid down on. Culturally, the men make the islands and the reed boats and the women do everything else. Seems like a pretty standard division of labor.
Factoid: Lake Titicaca is in the shape of a puma eating a bunny rabbit.
After the lecture, we were given a chance to eat a little of the white portion of the reeds that make up their islands. This is mushy, fibrous, and bland and forms a major part of their diet. Then, two children sang songs in German, English, and French. The English song was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. After sitting through that, we got to explore the island and buy useless crap, otherwise known as artisan-made handicrafts. Yes, of course I bought some. They are all so cheap and brightly colored!
After we'd bought as much as we were going to buy, we were given the chance to buy a ride to the next island on a traditional reed boat. I was first in line. Very cool. The island we went to was Flamingo Island and was one that people actually live on. There was a school, a boat that served as a convenience store, a church and a main cooking area. Also, most reed huts had solar panels to power their TVs, etc. A group of women was gathering reeds having a great time. When I snapped a photo, they invited me to help cut reeds. I regretfully declined and joined the other tourists in the boat. We'd been there for about 2 hours and it was time to head back to Puno.
I had very low expectations for the floating islands, and it ended up being one of the highlights of my trip. Hearing Aymara (the language of the Uros) spoken, riding in a boat made of reeds, seeing a woman feed a flock of lake birds to fatten them for the pot, all of it was just amazing. I highly recommend a trip out to the Uros if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
I was distracted by running across a market along Tacna street and somehow forgot to grab breakfast before leaving the tourist area. There were so many people and so many strange food items being sold. There are over 300 varieties of potatoes commonly sold in Peru. I saw an alley in which about 12 different varieties were on offer. I never knew that our potatoes in the US are so boring. Let's trade the basic Idaho potato for the cool orange, red and pink striped one. Much more interesting. The ladies selling the 'taters didn't appear to appreciate being immortalized on my memory card and started miming throwing potatoes at me, while laughing hysterically. I booked it out of there.
I bought a banana for a snack at a street stand after verifying that it really wasn't a platano. It was great, but now I was left with a peel. I looked around and couldn't see any public trash receptacle, so I approached a little shop and asked the proprietor if she had anyplace I could deposit my trash. She bustled out, clearly marveling at the stupidity of foreigners and showed me the place to put my banana peel...duh! the gutter! :) After that, I roamed down to the port where I planned to catch a boat out to the floating islands. I was still hungry and was keeping an eye out for a restaurant. Lo and behold, there was a sign: Desayuno (breakfast) S/2 (60 cents). Sold! I ended up with french fries, eggs, and coffee; a slight case of indigestion; and great photos of the cook's 2 granddaughters playing with their lamb. They assured me that the lamb was not actually tonight's dinner, but I had my doubts.
After breakfast, I treated myself to a styling new sweater. It had been sunny and warm an hour earlier, but now the wind was picking up and the clouds coming in. I had an easy choice between being cold or spending $8US on a throwaway sweater. Well, it was my birthday after all.
The ticket out to the islands cost 10 soles with a 3 sole departure tax. Unfortunately, I was the first person on the boat and had to wait for at least another 7 people before the captain would set off. The first to arrive were two adolescent boys who were doing a school report on the Uros Islands. The boys looked about 10, until I mentally adjusted for Peruvian height standards. Then, it became clear that they were more around 14, which explained why one of the boys had quite a fondness for me. I was congratulating myself on how good I was with children until I remembered that this was just a short teenager who would be fond of anyone with breasts.
Next to arrive was a German family made up of a young volunteer at a Bolivian social work center; her parents; and her aunt. They all spoke both English and Spanish and were good companions. We were still short at least one person. This was remedied by the arrival of a French family of 5, one of whom was a 4 year old boy who joined us by trying to step out onto the algae surrounding the boat. That was the first of around a hundred rescue operations to keep that kid out of the lake. I think we should have just let him fall in. It was like fighting fate.
Off we went in our in-no-way-smog-compliant boat. I felt lightheaded from the emissions while sitting outside. Inside, it was impossible to breathe. So, we all crowded together in the outdoor, rear section of the boat. The ride out to the islands passes through about a mile of the bright green algae. It seriously looked just like astroturf. Amazing. This seems to be good algae though, because it was supporting a whole host of birds. These were the happiest birds I have ever seen in my life. Chirping, flitting, eating, hanging out in the reeds. Have you ever seen a brown duck with a black head and a chalk blue beak? I have! Lake Titicaca must be an ornithologists dream.
It seemed no time at all until we were puttering up to Puma Island. There, the headman gave us a lecture on the history of the Uros people, the lake and the islands. The Uros began their odd lifestyle in an effort to remain separated from the Incas on shore. They decided to live on islands in the lake. There must not have been any unoccupied islands at the time, and so they made themselves some. The islands are made up of 11 anchoring sections of reed root mast, over which about lake reeds are laid in cross patterns until they reach a thickness of 3-4 feet. The resulting island has a lifespan of about 30 years. It is a little hard to walk on, and small objects are easily lost, but it is the most comfortable surface I have ever laid down on. Culturally, the men make the islands and the reed boats and the women do everything else. Seems like a pretty standard division of labor.
Factoid: Lake Titicaca is in the shape of a puma eating a bunny rabbit.
After the lecture, we were given a chance to eat a little of the white portion of the reeds that make up their islands. This is mushy, fibrous, and bland and forms a major part of their diet. Then, two children sang songs in German, English, and French. The English song was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. After sitting through that, we got to explore the island and buy useless crap, otherwise known as artisan-made handicrafts. Yes, of course I bought some. They are all so cheap and brightly colored!
After we'd bought as much as we were going to buy, we were given the chance to buy a ride to the next island on a traditional reed boat. I was first in line. Very cool. The island we went to was Flamingo Island and was one that people actually live on. There was a school, a boat that served as a convenience store, a church and a main cooking area. Also, most reed huts had solar panels to power their TVs, etc. A group of women was gathering reeds having a great time. When I snapped a photo, they invited me to help cut reeds. I regretfully declined and joined the other tourists in the boat. We'd been there for about 2 hours and it was time to head back to Puno.
I had very low expectations for the floating islands, and it ended up being one of the highlights of my trip. Hearing Aymara (the language of the Uros) spoken, riding in a boat made of reeds, seeing a woman feed a flock of lake birds to fatten them for the pot, all of it was just amazing. I highly recommend a trip out to the Uros if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
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