Nov 2009 Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and FL, Part 2

Captions

With Family on floating island
Reed boat ride
Pat dancing with our hostess
Native dancers

Part 2 Lake Titicaca
We headed to Puno, which sits on the shore of Lake Titicaca, via the Tourist Bus. It was a ten hour bus ride but was broken into segments as we stopped to see interesting sights along the way. At 12,500 feet, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. From Puno we took a boat to Uros Floating Islands in Puno Bay and stopped at one of the islands. We learned the islands are made with a base of root mat from the reeds, which are tied together to form a large floating mass. Then reeds are cut and placed in criss-cross pattern until the desired height above the water is reached. The floating island is then staked in shallow water so it doesn’t drift away. If you don’t get along with your neighbor island, you just pick up your stakes and move. Before we left we were given a ride on a reed boat - very cool.
We left the Puno Bay and entered Lake Titicaca to reach Amantani Island where we would spend the night with a native family. Needless to say, we were a bit apprehensive about this part of the trip, especially considering my stomach condition which had not returned to normal. When we landed our personal guide, who speaks Spanish, English and Quechua (the local language) saw a lady he knew and soon we were racing up the hill, trying to keep up with this old woman. We found our room to be cleaner and nicer than expected. They even built a special bathroom just for their guests. For lunch our hostess prepared a delicious soup made from vegetables straight from her garden, along with potatoes and goat cheese. It was more than we could eat. We hiked up to an altitude of 13,300 feet to reach Pachamana, Temple of Nature, to see the sunset over Lake Titicaca. That evening, the locals held a dance party in honor of their guests. The guests were all attired in the local costume. Trust me, dancing with a wool poncho and knit hat will warm you up. The locals performed a few of their dances for their guests.
Our time spent with this family was very special and memorable. Long after I forget about the structures of Machu Picchu, I’ll remember the night we spent on this island in Lake Titicaca. After two more days of sightseeing, we started the trip home, which included a 7 hour layover at the Lima airport. While we were glad to get back to our RV in Florida, we were thankful for the special trip we had.