Day Eighteen … what a way to end this adventure

Today was our last day of actual adventuring … tomorrow we begin the long journey home (but let’s not get ahead of ourselves). After yet another restless night for both of us as we coughed our way through the night we awoke at the civilised time of 7.00 for our 8.00 tour. So up, dressed, pack what you need for the day and head on down for breakfast.

We both ate a little … small quinoa pancakes for me, and dry cereal and croissants for Ian and we both had some Muna tea in preparation for the impact of altitude in the hours to come. We headed to the lobby of the hotel just before 8.00 to find our guide Hugo waiting for us. He was slightly horrified at my lack of voice and asked questions about our overall health … asking if we wanted to have some oxygen before we left … which we declined.

Here is all the food we didn't eat!

Then we were ready to leave. Hugo told us we had a private tour today, as planed, but what we didn’t realise was that we would have an entire boat to ourselves. Just us, Hugo, the captain and Jimmy the deckhand. Our boat left from the dock at our hotel … so we walked from the hotel to the private pier and out to meet our boat (which had a capacity of 28 passengers).

And then we were away … the motor boat taking us away from Puno and towards the floating islands of Uros. Now, before we get to the islands let me tell you a little about Lake Titicaca. It is the highest altitude navigable lake in the world. It is 8,560km2 … 3 times the size of Singapore, 3.6x the size of the ACT and more than 2x the US state of Rhode Island. It is huge! But it was once much bigger … as with everything in the world the environment changes due to climate change and movement of the earth.

The floating islands of Uros are indeed literally that … floating islands made from the Totora reeds that grow in the lake. There are about 120 islands with 800 families living on them. We meet a lovely woman named Anna who taught us about the islands … how they are made (or made bigger) using the reeds. It was absolutely fascinating. The ground beneath your feet isn’t solid … but is actually quite soft. The total “foundation” of reeds is about 2m thick in a channel of 16m depth. Anna took us to her house where she lives with her husband and 6 year old son. It was tiny … just one room and one bed. They have a separate hut for cooking. Her husband is a fisherman for the family and she makes authentic crafts to sell. Her island which is called Condor Manuel is home to five families and so there are five houses and five kitchens with a large meeting area for them to gather. The Totora reeds are not only the island platform, they are used for construction, thatching, eating and medicinal purposes. Post Covid … every island now has a toilet and shower … installed to improve hygiene for the islanders.

We asked Hugo about how the local families feel about people like us coming onto their island and into their lives. He told us that they feel blessed by it. Tourism brings them money which allows them to buy fresh vegetables, flour, rice and quinoa from Puno. Their islands do not allow them to grow anything and so their only diet would be fish. We provide them with a job and an income. He told us that there are some of the outer islands that do not participate in the visits and they are dying out as the islanders have to leave and head to Puno to find work. Our ticket … which was a higher price … allowed us to take photos without leaving tips. We paid more … they get more.

Leaving behind Condor Manuel we headed to a central island that acts as a gathering place. Here they run restaurants, another source of income. Ian climbed the watchtower (more a communication tower between islands) to get a great view but with my recent experience with stairs there was no way I was going up. We also passed an island where some young men were playing soccer … all good until the ball goes in the water - which it does with great regularity. Hugo said they generally have about 5 balls and then have long sticks to get the balls that get kicked into the lake.

Leaving the islands behind we began the hour and a half journey across the lake (through the headlands that make the Puno bay) to Taquile Island. The journey was fantastic. First we travelled through a cutting in the reeds … like a water road before it opened out to the main body of water. Hugo had some maps which he used to teach us about the lake and Taquile Island. He pointed out Bolivia in the distance, complete with one of the highest glaciers in South America.

We arrived at Taquile Island and departed our boat (we would see it again later on the other side of the island) and began making our way on a short hike to the centre of the island. Hugo kept telling me to take it slowly … pretty sure he thought I was going to keel over at any moment even though I was doing ok). The altitude on the island is around 3,950m so it was important to go slowly. As we walked along Hugo greeted the local officials (again we pay to go on the island … and this supplements the islanders’ income) and with each meeting they would perform a greeting and an exchange of coca leaves. Hugo had a massive bag of fresh leaves and each person we met along the way would get a large handful and Hugo would receive a small handful of dry leaves in exchange (which he would slip into a separate pouch in his bag so as not to mix the fresh and the dry leaves). It was a fascinating ritual to watch but one that is clearly very important.

We reached an open area where the locals had market stalls (no pressure to buy anything … your ticket is more than enough), women knelt on the ground weaving intricate patterns, other women wandered around with small spinning wheels spinning the sheep’s wool, young men knitted hats using 5 needles and another woman demonstrated how they make soap from a cactus plant to wash the sheep’s wool. We were then honoured with a live dance and musical performance. It was magical.

Hugo showed us the weaving and the hats … incredible work. So fine and detailed. I was in awe of these women, hunched over on the ground weaving, counting these intricate patterns and chattering away with each other. Ian left the ladies a few coins and it brought joyous smiles to their faces.

We said farewell to this group of locals and walked further into the island. Along the way Hugo told us about their farming practices which date back to the pre-Inca era. Terraced gardens, toiled by hand, crop rotation, sheep farming and chickens. Earlier when we were on the boat he had shown us his box of quinoa samples … he has 24 glass jars but a bag full of new samples he has sourced at local markets. He just needs to make his box bigger! There are 1,240 quinoa varieties and more than 3,000 potato varieties … who knew.

We were then taken to lunch at Paulino’s restaurant near the top of the island. We were seated at a table overlooking the lake … a table for two … with both seats facing the lake. The most incredible view I think I may have ever had while eating lunch. We were served warm quinoa soup which has to be one of the nicest soups I have ever tasted and an absolute treat on our throats, followed by grilled trout (freshly caught from the lake) for Ian and because I do not eat fish they cooked me a delicious vegetable omelette. We were also served more Manu tea … warm and minty. Our meal was a lovely surprise as our itinerary said we would be having a boxed lunch (which we have had before and they are always lovely).

And then we began our descent back down to our boat (which had moved from where it dropped us). A gentle downward amble … I told Hugo that if he had asked me to come up that way I may have sat down and cried! One last look at the terraced gardens, a clamber over some rocks and onto our boat for the journey home. Hugo carried Echi and Womby all the way down clutched to his chest.

The ride home was a bit rougher … nothing in comparison to the yacht in the Galapagos, as we retraced our steps. The lake is amazing. It looks like the ocean … but it isn’t. It looks like a river in the reeds … but isn’t. We passed the Uros islands again … all quiet as the tourists visit in the morning. Instead many had gathered at the soccer island, with the island now surrounded by their little boats (not made out of reeds). Kids were swimming … with the smaller children using empty water bottles as floaties!

Back at our pier we clambered off the side of the boat onto the reeds that make the platform to the pier. We stood on the pier and watched the captain and Jimmy manoeuvre the boat back and then waved them off as they headed back to Puno. Back to our hotel, a farewell to Hugo (we will see him tomorrow when he takes us back to Juliaca to catch our flight to Lima). 

Today has been amazing. Peaceful, informative, impression making. A brilliant way to end our second South American adventure. Tomorrow we begin the journey home … three flights in all. The first from Juliaca to Lima. Then Lima to Santiago. Finally Santiago to Melbourne. Travel time all up will be 31 hours … so this will be the last blog until we get home when we will write our final missive about our learnings on this adventure.

One final comment ... Peru has lots of Eucalyptus trees that have been imported for the wood, which on an island like Taquile means that they can now build larger stronger buildings than they ever could from the smaller trees that grow there. At times you would swear you are somewhere in Australia!

Dinner ... a debacle! Ordered room service. 40 minutes later nothing. Ian goes to reception  ... oh sorry there is a problem with our system! 30 minutes later or club sandwich arrives ... looking like it may have altitude sickness! Food eaten  ... now to chill!