Lake Titicaca – February 11-12, 2011

We left Puno early in the morning for our boat ride on Lake Titicaca. Our guide told us our limos were waiting and when we went out there were a group of tuk tuks waiting to take us to the harbour. That was a fun ride and mainly downhill so at a reasonable speed. There was little traffic so it also seemed quite safe, unlike similar rides in Vietnam!

Lake Titicaca is 8,500 square kilometers and shared by Peru (60%) and Bolivia (40%) and ranges from 3 metres to 275 metres in depth. It is one of the highest lakes in the world at over 3,800 metres above sea level and definitely the highest navigable lake. (The caca at the end of the word is pronounced with a guttural ch sound so it doesn’t sound exactly like caca but the Peruvians joke that the Titi or puma part is theirs while the caca part belongs to Bolivia.) Lake Titicaca is considered the cradle or origin of many civilizations in South America and people have apparently been living in the area for over 2,000 years. Many of the tribes, including the Incas, consider Lake Titicaca their source of origin. Jacques Cousteau conducted an underwater investigation of the lake and found many interesting things. Apparently there are stories of underwater cities, roads and treasures. The lake rises about 80 cm every rainy season but overall is losing about 5 cm per year.

70 million years ago the lake was one deep ocean and sea fossils can still be found on the land now. The islands are tectonic formations where the earth’s movements have forced the ground to rise. The lake is now glacier filled with twelve rivers emptying into it. Although it was once very salty there is literally no salt left in it now. Originally there were no animals on the island but now domesticated animals such as cows and pigs have been introduced to some islands. And in some cases the pigs swam to other islands. There are cats allowed on the islands but no dogs. I guess the cats serve a useful purpose of catching and controlling the rodent population but the dogs are not considered as useful and, if allowed to run wild, can harm the livestock.

The average temperature of the water is 9 degrees Celsius but it may be 7 degrees now. Catfish are a main fish in the area and they can grow as big as 30 cm in length. Trout from Canada were introduced in the 1950’s and kingfish from Argentina were also introduced at some point. While these introductions have been beneficial in some ways, they have also meant that the native fish population is disappearing as the kingfish are eating them. Only fishing boats and tourist boats are allowed on the lake. I don’t remember whether that was a law or whether it was just accepted that no one in the area could afford a pleasure boat so there were none on the lake. The fishing boats only go out at night as they use nets and the fish can see the nets during the day. The first part of our journey out of the harbour was through a dredged channel but the rest of the lake is open.

The boat ride to Tequile Island took about 3 hours. The lake was very calm so the ride was very pleasant. We had a large boat which could have handled about 40 so there was lots of room for the eight of us. It was somewhat overcast and a bit windy so not many people were up relaxing on the sun deck. However, most of us were sitting outside at the back of the boat. The views were very nice with the mainland and several peninsulas and islands within view. There were also occasional water birds entertaining us throughout the journey.

We landed at Tequile Island where we were to have our lunch. Before we could do this though, we had to climb up to the restaurant. It was only something like 500 metres and it wasn’t a terribly steep climb but I still struggled all the way up. Just before the top where the buildings finally started, I really felt sick and had to stop for a while. I eventually made it but this short climb certainly made me question whether I should be doing the Lares Trek. (I mentioned that to our tour guide who said I had to do it now because it was too late to change. In retrospect I should probably have been more forceful but with the help of my friend, Pedro, I made it anyway. Of course that’s all documented in that blog.) Regardless, the start of our 500 metre climb was at 3,820 metres above sea level and the top was over 4,000 metres above sea level so breathing was just a tad difficult for everyone. Along the climb the guide would pick fresh peppermint and have us crush it between our palms and then breathe in the smell deeply. This is supposed to open the airways and it actually seemed to help all of us. It may have just been our perceptions but we didn’t care as long as it made the trip easier.

At the top of the island there was a town square or island square with a city hall, church, market and other surrounding buildings. The locals in their colourful costumes were selling their wares in the market and around the square. City hall is not actually staffed as the mayor and other positions are elected but not paid so the people have to keep doing their other jobs instead of sitting around city hall. The hall and square are used for special occasions though. Elections are held here and everyone from the island gathers together to elect their new officials. The ladies sit on one side of the square and the men stand on the other side. This arrangement is so the men (or the women) don’t try to influence the other’s decision. The official simply picks five or six people as nominees to be mayor and they all happily accept as they have to and because it is a great honour to be nominated. Then the people have a chance to discuss the candidates and then the vote is simply done by a show of hands. Everything is over within an hour or two at the most. Tequile Island is totally autonomous from Peru. Although the government does pay for the teachers who work on the island, the islanders pay no taxes. The 2,000 people on the island are responsible for their own community decisions and their division of work. The education involves two years in kindergarten, five years in primary and normally five years in secondary but few attend school for that long as they are working and getting married so young.

The views from the square were quite spectacular with terraced fields and small homes. The walk ways were stone and the cows and sheep were along the sides. At one point on the way down we actually had a bull coming up rather quickly and unhappily while we were trying to go down. At that point the walkway seemed very narrow! Fortunately for me, a local person came along and got the bull to veer off the path and up into a nearby field. The restaurant was further up above the square and it was very nice with another great view. The food looked great but I just had some soup and bread.

The costumes on the island are very colourful and related to the sex and marital status of the individual. The girls marry at 16 and the boys at 18. Divorce is not allowed. Some outsiders are now coming in through marriage as the numbers of the tribe are dropping. The average age expectancy of the group is 75 so they lead a very healthy life. They actually all work very hard and they have a very fair society or division of labour. The main occupations are market traders, farmers or restauranteurs. You are assigned or choose one or the three and that’s what you do for the rest of your life. The market traders make clothes, other products and souvenirs and sold them to the locals and the tourist. The restauranteurs made and served lunch for the tourists (and locals I suppose). And the farmers work their farms and sell their produce. I thought the farmers had the hardest job but they seemed to all view it as fair. The diet on the island is mainly vegetarian with some fish so very healthy. They have community or island rules and I don’t remember them all but the first three were: don’t be lazy, don’t steal, and don’t lie. The rules seemed very logical and easy to follow but the guide did make some comment about the don’t lie rule being changed or dropped because they were all watching too much western TV and it was influencing their behaviour. Too bad.

The boys on Tequile wear long knit hats that are white on top and coloured at the bottom. They also carry one as well and carry a mirror. They use the mirror to “flash” at a girl they are interested in. The girls also carry mirrors and if she’s interested in the boy she flashes her mirror back. If not interested she covers her face and looks away. And eventually a really interested girl will grab the spare hat that the boy carries. She takes it home and examines it to see if he is a skilled or lazy boy as the men do all the knitting in this society. She fills the hat with water and if it is well knit the water won’t run through and she knows the boy is a hard worker and will be a good provider. If the water runs through then she knows the boy is not a good catch. If the two become serious the young couple and their parents will meet with the shaman who decides if it is a good match. If yes, they live together for six months and then have their marriage ceremony. If it’s not a good match the two are to split up and go looking for a better match. The guide did say that sometimes now if it gets this far and the shaman says no, the couple will leave the island to live together regardless.

Following our lunch, where the sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful, we walked down a different route to catch our boat again. (Luckily it was cloudy when we had the walk up or I might never have made it!) We had about an hour ride back towards Puno and stopped at Laquina, a small community on a peninsula outside of Puno. It was here that we were to stay for the night at a local homestay. When we arrived at the dock we were met by a local greeting committee all dressed in their traditional costumes. They even had a band (drum, guitar, flute, …) to greet us and walk us up to the community centre. 85 families live in the community and most of them speak Amaya as their first language and then Spanish. English is not spoken at all so conversations were definitely at a minimum.

Up the hill from the dock we met the people we were to stay with and then continued on to the community centre. Once there we were waiting for something to happen (we weren’t quite sure what!) and decided to have a football game against the locals. That of course would be soccer to us Canadians. Three of the tour members, our tour leader, our local guide and two of the guys from our boat formed the gringo team, which called itself Los Condores (or something spelled like that meaning the condors in Spanish). I was not about to play soccer since I could still hardly breathe while doing nothing so I sat on the side lines and became the cheerleader. Three others from the group did not participate in any way. The locals were really good and had all the footwork and passing moves down pat. Our team was a bit less organized and talented. However, we did have a lot of spirit and put on a good show. Katie started the whole thing by doing her yoga stretches to get warmed up. That certainly got the attention of the opposition who were all male. Then Katie and Amanda decided they’d just pester anyone who had the ball. Finesse was not their strong point but they certainly confused the opposition and caused some major turnovers. While we (or at least I) were busy cheering the opposition team members were scratching their heads in disbelief. We actually managed to score first which was quite amazing. Our three male Peruvian team members were actually quite awesome and carried most of the game. The gringo team members had their moments but nothing that could be sustained. How they managed to run around the soccer field and keep going for the better part of an hour is beyond me. They did have to make some quick runs to the bench to get a quick drink and break and the comments ranged from I can’t breathe to I think I’m going to throw up, and you knew they weren’t exaggerating. However, they regrouped and played on. They were great sports and I know the locals really enjoyed the game. Oh, and the locals actually had substitutes on their team since there were lots of them standing around. Our team didn’t have any substitutes so they had to keep playing through. They lost the game by a score of 4 or 5 to 2 but they certainly won the admiration of everyone in the area, especially me since I didn’t have to play.

Following the game our host families reappeared and they had all kinds of costumes for us to wear. I think I was wearing six skirts of six different bright colours plus several colourful vests over a blouse and wide cummerbund. I also had to wear a small bowler had but it was impossible to keep on my head so I held it more than wore it. The locals did a lively dance demonstration for us to the music of the local band. Then they wanted us to get up and do the same dance with some of them. We definitely didn’t do as well as they did but we gave it our best shot. Luckily they didn’t go on too long so we didn’t all collapse on the spot. After the dance we all separated and headed off with our respective home stay families.

Two of us were staying with Margareta and we began our trek up the hill and around the side of the hill. It wasn’t a long trek but I had to take frequent breaks because of the altitude. And I had to get our host to remove my cummerbund since it was so tight and big that I couldn’t get my breath – at least that was my excuse. We just wandered through the fields and up small paths and eventually the small road for a while. Then we went down into our host farm. Margareta and her 16 year old daughter Rhea live at the home. We thought we were with Margareta all along and it turns out we were with Rhea. I guess we were a bit confused on the introduction. Margareta was only 47 but looked much older. She never left the kitchen except to go to bed at night and she spoke very little English. She had several children who were grown and married with children and who lived elsewhere, mainly in Puno. We never knew where her husband was or what happened to him but he was not in the picture. With a lot of guessing, sign language and our Spanish English phrase book, we managed to have very limited conversation with Rhea. We did this while Margareta cooked our dinner and we just sat and watched. We also discovered that they had a cow and donkey and some sheep and chickens. They also had a cat and kitten that we saw quite often as they were around the house. We definitely heard the donkey in the morning as he was very loud. Some of the other animals we never did see or hear.

Our room was very large with three beds and a table with four chairs. We ate our dinner in our room and Rhea joined us. Dinner was a bowl of soup that was huge and really delicious. It had vegetables and grains in it and was very filling. Following that we had some rice and vegetables. After dinner, Rhea brought us some tea and then she said good night. They went to bed around 7:30 and after that we really didn’t want to move around too much or make too much noise. We talked for a while and then we too went to bed, probably well before 9 p.m. Our hosts were up at 5 a.m. and we were up shortly thereafter. We had to be back at the boat very early so we had some breakfast and then headed off to the dock. Breakfast was some tea and a type of deep fried bread that was absolutely delicious.

The homestead had a stone fence around it and the animal pens were also of stone. Within the inner compound there were buildings on three sides. Our room was on the right and, as noted above, it was quite large. The kitchen and bathroom were on the left side and a larger buildings was at the back but we were never in there so don’t know what was in that building. The kitchen was a small room with a clay stove in the corner. The fire on the bottom was continually fed with firewood that Rhea had to keep cutting and bringing in and Margareta kept putting in the fire. There was a pot on the top of the stove and it was always boiling and it smelled fantastic. The room was always full of smoke. There were a couple of ventilation holes over the stove and I’m sure some of the smoke went out those holes. However, most of it seemed to just linger in the room. Margareta simply sat on a small stool while she worked. Behind her there was a cupboard or at least some shelves that had only a few things on them like flour and sugar. At the other end of the room there was a bench and that is where we sat to talk to Rhea.

Our bathroom looked like any bathroom but there were a few differences. There was very little running water in the sink and no water in the shower. There was a toilet but it didn’t always flush because of a lack of water. However, it worked for the short amount of time we were there and it was certainly a lot better than I thought it might be. And it was far bigger than either of the bathrooms in my condo!

The beds were comfortable. We were worried about being cold but we needn’t have worried. There were many blankets on our beds and they were really heavy blankets. The situation was the same at all of the homestays and we all laughed about how hard it was to even just turn over in bed with the weight of the blankets. Overall we were very comfortable and warm and definitely well fed so we had no complaints about our home stay experience, and it was great to see how the locals lived and what their daily life was like. Being the wimp that I am I don’t think I could handle the life. I am definitely too spoiled and enjoy our modern conveniences (like hot water and flush toilets) too much.

The next morning we headed off by boat for our next adventure. Totora reeds grow in the shallow waters of the lake and they are used by the locals to make almost everything the islanders need. They weave the reeds together and anchor them for islands to live on. As the bottom layers rot more top layers are added. They build their homes with them. They make baskets to carry things in and to cook in. They make the boats they need to get from island to island from reeds and replace them every six months. And of course almost everything they sell is made of reeds including miniature replicas of the items listed above. These are the Uros Islands and the Uros people and this has always been their way of life. They are a very heavy set people but that is to be expected since they get very little exercise due to the fact they live on tiny islands that are very hard to walk on let alone exercise on. They sit and do handicrafts for much of the day. They eat very few fruits and vegetables as they can’t grow them. They eat a lot of fish and a lot of reed parts cooked in various ways. Understandably their life expectancy was much lower than other people we met.

Our boat docked at one of the islands. Several islands already had boats at them. On other islands the people seemed to be working and just ignoring the boats. And on other islands the ladies were all in bright coloured costumes and standing at the edge of the island waving and trying to lure the boats in. I guess the boat captains just choose the one they like best for the day. Our island was big enough for about seven homes. Each home was simply a thatched hut and on the inside it was simply reed floor, ceiling and walls. There were reed mats to sleep on and a raised reed platform that I assumed was the main bed. And of course there were reed souvenirs all around the house that I visited. You were definitely expected to buy something from your host but I didn’t and very few on the tour did. Reeds and fish were the main sources of livelihood but now tourism is very important. The islands all get paid for each visit and probably even for being on call in case needed, and they make money off the souvenir sales and boat rides.

We went for a quick boat ride in their reed catamaran, which seemed very sturdy. It is simply propelled by two paddlers at the back of the boat. And a catamaran really just means two canoes covered by a platform. It was very comfortable and I’m sure the design would serve them well for transporting people and goods around the islands. These days it is very hard for the people to survive on the islands. Despite the fact that this is the only life they have known, they are buying plots of land on the mainland in hopes of eventually moving the community there. We sat around in a circle on some logs (no, not reed chairs) while they showed us various components of their lives. It was interesting but went on a bit too long for my tastes as I was burning in the hot sun. You don’t get a lot of shade trees growing on a reed island so you are definitely open to the elements unless you are in one of the homes.

There were some children around the island when we were there as it is their spring break. The school is also on a floating island and it looked quite nice. Children do their elementary school there and then must go into Puno for high school. There is regular ferry service to and from the mainland so the high school students go back and forth that way. Others on the islands do not go to the mainland regularly but have to go occasionally for supplies. We passed a ferry or two and they seemed quite busy. Apparently the ferries run regularly so there is always access. We also passed a few boats where the people appeared to be fishing and a few where the people were collecting reeds.

Once back in Puno we returned to our hotel – by minivan this time, not by tuk tuk as the journey was up hill all the way. And the rest of the stay in Puno is already documented in the Puno blog so I guess that’s it for this one except to note that the people who live at a high altitude like this actually get a similar kind of altitude sickness when they visit places that are at sea level. I didn’t know it worked both ways but I guess it makes sense that it does.