Bad Case of Wanderlust (My Trip Around the World): Lake Titicaca, Uros & Amanati (Dec 3rd)

On December 3rd, James and I once again put our bags in storage, packed daypacks, and hopped onto yet another minivan/bus to have an adventure. We were dropped off at the port of Puno, where we boarded one of the many painfully slow tour boats that traverses Lake Titicaca and 45 minutes later stepped off onto one of the bizarre floating islands of Uros.

There, we toured the tiny electricity-free home of one of the 50-some islands' families, tried on the traditional costume of the Uros people, and heard about the construction of the islands from the reeds of Lake Titicaca. The people of these islands make almost all of their money from tourists, so there was a slightly kitschy feeling about the place, but it was still fascinating.

We then rebounded the tour boat and headed to Amanati, one of the larger of the natural islands of Lake Titicaca, where we would be staying with one of the traditional Quechua indian families. Our family, that of Nemezio and Matilda, was set high on the island, just above their small farm.

Their two daughters hung out in our room with us whenever we were there. Adorable, but mostly silent as they understood but barely spoke Spanish, they loved looking at and taking pictures with our cameras, and rubbing my arms to see if my freckles were raised above the surface of my skin. They also requested that I sing to them after hearing me humming while I unpacked, and we had a very fun time with some of the songs from the Jungle Book.

Later that evening, we hiked up to the two peaks of the island, the first being at the ancient ceremonial site of Pachatata, where we had picturesque views of the lake and other islands below.

We then hiked back to the opposing peak of Pachamama, from where we watched the sun set in spectacular fashion.

As we left, the last rays of the newly sunken sun still caught the horizon, setting the sky afire.

We then returned to the family house, where we had a tasty meal of quinoa soup, rice, potatoes, fried omelette, and mate tea, all prepared by Matilda on a small stone, wood-burning oven.