A journey to Lake Titicaca's man-made floating islands

by Tyson Brooks, GreatestEscapes.com

We had dined in a fancy charcoal grill restaurant. The waiters wore tuxedos, outfits that looked out of place in Puno, Peru, a town of about 100,000 on the western shore of Lake Titicaca. The alpaca steak was superb, but the guinea pig left a lot to be desired. It was laid out on the plate as if the rodent had spent too long tanning in the sun. He was hairless and golden brown, his buck teeth jutting out of his tiny mouth and his long, rounded claws at rest. He tasted surprisingly sweet, but to see him lying there was off-putting.

On our way back to the hotel we took a wrong turn. Locals had swept up the day’s garbage and set the piles on fire. They huddled around for warmth, unable to afford the cheap llama wool garments the tourists so eagerly snapped up as the nights got colder.

The next morning we sat on the roof of the boat sunning ourselves, heading out into Titicaca’s vast expanse of water. The captain drove using a flimsy metal tiller and the deck hand used a wrench on the engine to control the throttle. The boats chugged on to the Uros Islands.

On arrival at these strange, hand-made floating islands, we stepped out on the sturdy tortora reed surface. The islands once floated around the lake, but are now anchored to ensure tourists have easy access. Often dubbed "floating souvenir stands," these floating islands were lined with locals offering tourist trinkets made of reeds. Behind them, their traditional reed huts are constructed as they have been for hundreds of years.

Only the solar panels jutting above the huts give any indication that they now spend their evenings watching television. Traditionally these people were fishermen and bird hunters. When their brothers and sisters started settling down to a life of agriculture, they took to the lake on floating islands of reeds to retain their nomadic spirit.

The boat cruised on to the non-floating island of Amantani. There, we would spend the night with a local family. As we disembarked, the guide introduced the guests to their assigned hosts. We were led by our host to a simple two-story bungalow with a thatched roof. His wife was already in the cramped, smoky kitchen cooking a late lunch. The kitchen consisted of clay walls with a charcoal fire in the corner. The wife labored over a wonderful lunch, which was served in our room. Unfortunately, we did not speak Quechua, so we could only communicate with gestures and what little Spanish we knew.

At dusk the village was already dark. The Peruvian government, in an attempt to modernize Peru, has invested heavily in electrical infrastructure. Unfortunately, the people can’t afford electricity (in this case, gas for the generators) and so rarely use lights. We were quite content with candles. Before dinner, our guide took us on a pilgrimage to the peak of the island to view the ruins of the father temple where the people once worshipped. Not much was left of the structure, but the view across to Bolivia was like a sea below us stretching off into the distance.

On our return we stopped at a dark museum where an elderly man gave us a guided tour of the one-room building. He did not speak a word we understood, but with his exaggerated gestures he was easy to understand. He asked for nothing more than a donation in the museum upkeep box. At that moment I knew the  island was incredible; The islanders are kind and ask for nothing in return, the kids are still shy and don’t run to you begging for money.

We noticed two elderly women sitting on a blanket separating chaff from grain. They casually threw the grain into the air to allow the wind to do its work; the chaff blew away and the grain fell back down on the blanket. The women laughed, their toothless grins the perfect postcards. But alas, they did not allow us a photo.

After a home-cooked dinner, our host appeared with traditional Peruvian gear that we donned before being led to a wild party put on for the tourists. Local girls filled a dance hall lit by a solitary gas lamp. Two bands took turns playing haunting Andean tunes as the local women pulled us up to dance. The men wore ponchos and Andean toques, while the women wore beautiful hand-woven dresses.

Early the next morning we boarded our boat and said good-bye to our kind hosts. We had one more stop before Puno. Although only an hour away, the island of Taquile seemed in a different world. We hiked across the island into a small town with a main square. Although the population was small they were highly organized. The inhabitants wore traditional dress, yet the island was considerably westernized to the outside eye. Restaurants dotted the landscape, but proprietors put all profits back into a communal pot. Young and old carried supplies up the hundreds of steps to the village when the supply boat came in. Young boys and girls carried cases of Inca Cola that were double their weight.

An ancient wrinkled man carried bags of rice up punishing stone steps. His feet were bare and the exertion tortured his face. My traveling companion, Brian was casually munching a chocolate bar when this heavily loaded elderly man beckoned; putting his hand to his mouth as if enjoying an invisible morsel of chocolate. Brian obliged and handed him a piece. The man smiled with gratitude, his strength renewed for the long climb to the top.

Those that were not carrying were weaving. Everywhere we looked, men were walking and weaving, a mass of colorful threads erupting from their fingers to create a toque or a pair of gloves.

Back on the boat we began the long journey back to Puno. Brian and I stayed on the roof of the boat, each of us wrapped like mummies as the cold sweet air whipped across the lake, kicking up a light chop.

When You Go:

Buyer Beware – Two-day tours to these islands run from $15 to $150. They are essentially the same tour. You will be taken on identical boats and receive the identical treatment. The only difference is you may have the bus ride from Cuzco included and a cheap night’s accommodation in Puno or a lunch thrown in. In my opinion these extras are not worth the price.

Copyright 2002 by Tyson Brooks. Reprinted with permission.