From an early age, studying geography and history through elementary, high school and university, there are two places that are synonymous with Peru - of course Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. Now, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure where exactly the Lake was or that much about it until I started planning this trip, but I decided it was a must see. From reading a few blogs and trip descriptions I had an idea about the floating islands and the possibility of staying on one of the larger islands as part of a homestay. Arriving in Puno around 2:00pm, I settled into my hotel, then set out for a late lunch and to organize a trip out on the Lake for the next two days. Like so many other towns in Peru, the main street with restaurants (and dozens of tourist offices) was close to the Plaza de Armas. Just finishing my lunch, I heard a lot of noise and music approaching from down the street. Quickly paying my bill I was greeted by hundreds of dancers and a band headed towards the Plaza. Its so cool how small things like this happen when you least expect it. I followed the crowd and performers nearly 10 blocks past the Plaza before heading back towards the center of town to find a travel agency as the procession continued on.

I’d remembered the name of a company that I had found months ago when planning this trip and it just happened that my hotel was right next to their office. The thing with seeing Lake Titicaca and the floating islands is that you can make all the arrangements yourself or go through a tour company. In the end, its all the same as they put you on a boat with a group anyway. The cost came out the same, so I went with All Ways Travel. The group I would spend the next two days with was to be about 22 people, just enough to fill the small boat. Leaving early the next morning, we started our slow journey out into Lake Titicaca. Only 5 km from the dock in Puno, the floating islands were our first stop. I had no idea of the scale of the community until we passed several ’islands’ that had larger buildings as well as smaller huts for several families. In all, the islands included 4 small schools and 2 churches (Catholic and Seventh Day Adventist). As we approached each island, 3 or 4 local women would come out to the edge to greet us and try to get us to stop at their island. My understanding is that the tour agencies rotate each time they go out, giving every family a shot at wooing the tourists. Our boat pulled up to one of the islands and we were welcomed by 3 women and seated in a circle. Our guide then explained how the islands were built and functioned with help from the locals and their pre-made exhibits. While the whole thing was extremely rehearsed and generic I did learn a lot about the culture and how the Uros people got to where they are today. You can’t blame them for taking advantage of tourism as they really don’t have that many options for making a living. As is the case almost everywhere in Peru, the people were extremely kind and full of laughter and good spirit.

After an hour or so we boarded our boat and set sail for Amantani, a two hour trip. A slow trip to say the least, we reached the dock around 2:00 and were divided up into groups of 2 or 3 and assigned to our ’mother & father’ for the homestay. Joining Chris, a retired farmer from the UK (in the process of moving to Spain to try his hand at wine making) we followed Augustina to her home where she showed us to our room and immediately sat us down for lunch. The kitchen and dining area consisted of a wood burning clay oven/stove next to the dining table with only small windows to allow the building smoke out of the room. The house and our room did not have electricity and the bano was of the manual sort (bucket of water to put in the toilet in order to flush). Despite this, the room was comfortable and we were given more than enough blankets to stay warm during the cool night on the island. After lunch and a bit of a rest, we met the other members of the group for a walk to the top of Amantani Island. Already at over 4,000 meters in height, we would walk to about 4,300 meters on a breathtaking hour long walk. The views continued to get better and better and at the top we waited for the sunset. The trail was constructed on concrete and stone which made for an easy descent in the dark with assistance from the bright moon and stars. After dinner, we gathered in a small community building for traditional music and dance and were of course dressed up for the part. An hour of sweating in a wool poncho and hat and I was ready for a good nights sleep.

my homestay house for a nightAn early breakfast of pancakes and café and we bid our farewells to our host families and headed towards the other major island on our tour, Taquile. The more visited island proved to be quite different with local customs and dress in contrast to Amantani. While being tutored on the culture of the island we climbed yet again to the main village where we rested and were given the opportunity to buy arts and crafts in the plaza. The main goal while on Taquile was to get some lunch and we settled on a place overlooking Lake Titicaca. The view was beautiful as the sun made the water a bright blue to match the sky. The final leg of our journey would be the descent of over 500 steps infamous to Taquile. Most groups climb these stairs and I was happy to be headed in the opposite direction. A quiet 2 hour ride back to Puno got us there by 4:00, just in time to crash in a hotel for a couple of hours before dinner. One thing I do enjoy about group tours is meeting really cool people and I’m happy to have hung out with my new Danish friends, Allan and Marianne. 

All in all, the experience was positive. Its tough to see how tourism affects a culture, but I was impressed at how true the people have stayed given the influx of visitors on their island and I really hope it can stay that way. I suppose its inevitable that tourism will take hold, but I hope that it happens with respect to the land and people of Lake Titicaca. Everyone we came across was extremely friendly and welcoming and I very much appreciated getting a glimpse into a way of life that is so foreign to me.