Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest in South America. Our arrival here had us battling altitude sickness, as it sits at about 12,500 feet. Standing up to quickly or walking to fast had us dizzy or out of breath. This also manifested itself in headaches when not enough oxygen reached our brains. But each day of our visit we felt a bit better. Puno is the port for Lake Titicaca tours, with the main activity being tours of the various island people. Puno itself isn’t so interesting, the main square is nice to see, with some churches and other squares. But most of the restaurants are just off this main square and very touristy with prices to match.
We opted for a 2 day islands tour with a homestay on the island. This tour visited the floating islands of Uros, Amanti and Taquile at a very nice and relaxed pace. Our boat carried about 25 people inside and had some space outside to sit in the back or on the roof. Our first stop were the floating islands of Uros. The Uros people build islands and boats from the reeds in the lake. Here we were given some explanation of the traditional clothing and methods of building the islands. Their diet also consisted largely of eating the tender bases of the reeds. They hunted birds and fish and more recently grazed cows and pigs on the reads to further supplement their diet. Today their main income mostly comes from tourism, they give boat rides, sell knit goods and drinks and snacks to the visitors. Despite the tourism they largely still live the same way as previous generations. It was very cool to learn about these people and their unique practices, but the organization of this part was quite touristy and definitely organised to maximise money spent.
After this visit we had a 3 hour boat ride out to Amanti islands. The boats themselves are all pretty old and rickety, there were dozens at the dock and they all looked about the same. The going was pretty slow but this gave us time to enjoy the scenery. As our journey progressed clouds moved in, rain started, the wind picked up, the waves gained height and the boat was forced to slow down. The waves were probably about 6 feet, but the boat really wasn’t built for it, it rocked and rolled quite. a bit, and a few people got sea sick. About this time we realised that we hadn’t had a safety briefing, and no lifejackets onboard. Really not cool, the water in the lake is always quite cold, and any rescue boat would have been slow to arrive, so any issues would have been catastrophic.
Alas we arrived safe on the island around 2, we were assigned to a host family and given some information on life on the island. We then hiked with them up to the house, the altitude made this a litle rough but we hiked slowly. They served us a late lunch of quinoa soup, rice, potatoes and fried cheese. Despite the basic ingredients the food was absolutely delicious. All meals were also served with tea, either coca or muna. Coca helps with the altitude, while muna a local herb similar to thyme helps with headache or stomache.
After lunch we could hike to the top of the mountain, Charissa opted to stay behind and rest, but I went for it. Again it was a slow hike up, but we had lots of time, and our guide stopped us a few times to share some local information. At the top we were rewarded with amazing views as the sun set and we could explore the sacred site the Amanti people used at certain days each year.
Upon return we had some additional free time before dinner. Dinner was a similar soup but with semolina in place of quinoa, then rice with fried potatoes and vegetables. During lunch and dinner we were able to talk with the homestay people, though they only spoke Spanish and Quechua. The other couple staying here was Columbian also only spoke Spanish. Despite our terrible Spanish we were able to learn quite a bit about the hosts and their lifestyle, as well some details about our fellow travelers and Columbia. The Amanti people live a mostly self sustained life, living off of what they grow themselves on the island with very little trading or cash earned. They only eat meat 2-3 times a year. They grow 4 main crops, quinoa, potatoes, corn and broad beans. Through these 4 items they have a very healthy balanced diet, quinoa providing the protein and amino acids. But also by rotating these 4 crops they are able to maintain the health of the soil with out any chemicals or pesticides. They do have some modern comforts, running water and just last month they got electricity for the first time, supplied by a solar array. While I have read that some people have had much rougher stays, we had very comfortable beds and regular bathrooms. Though it was quite cold overnight, we had a ton of blankets to keep us warm.
The next morning after an early breakfast we made our way down to the boat. We crossed over to the next island, Taquile. From the landing we had to take a very steep path up to the main square. With the altitude this was quite tough. The guide shared with us the differences of the people here, the clothing was quite different, and here the men did the knitting. Also they had various levels of hiearchy which was denoted by the different items of clothing the men and women wore. All decisions here were made by couples, with men and women having equal say. It was interesting to see the difference between the two islands. While Amanti was clearly self sustaining, Taquile traded quite a bit with the mainland. They had crops at the doc to ship to the mainland for sale, they had much bigger and nicer buildings and some fully stocked shops. We learned that this island was much more fertile in terms of ground and rain levels, so they were able to export some products for sale and over time become more wealthy.
From here we took a leisurely walk around the island on a flat path. The sun had come out fully now and the full beauty of the lake was uncovered.
After a nice lunch and a demonstration on making soap from a local plant it was time to return. I spent most of the 3 hours on the top deck soaking in the hot sun and enjoying the views. While some aspects of the tour were a bit touristy, I would still recommend it, definitely go for the homestay part as that was the best part. But if you go, definitely check to ensure your tour provides life jackets in case of an emergency.
