Lake Titicaca

We are at a city called Puno in southern Peru. The city borders the big Lake Titicaca. It is the highest lake with boat service in the world. We have noticed the change in altitude. Besides breathing a litter harder, the sun is more intense and the air is very clear.
Yesterday, we went on a day tour visiting several islands in the lake. It was very interesting to see and hear about the different histories and cultures of the people.
The first island we went to was Isla Taquile. With a population of about 2000, the Quechua-speaking islanders have a strong sense of group identity. They rarely marry non-Taquile people. I love the clothing the people wear. Very bright, multilayered skirts and beautifully embroidered blouses for the women. The men are equally as bright- wearing a woven hat (looks like a cute floppy nightcap!) that they weave themselves. The color of the hat denotes social position and marital status. The hats worn by officials looked somewhat ridiculous. Kind of amusing!
We walked around the Island which had beautiful scenery. The lake is very clear(which made me want to plan a family Tahoe trip for summer 2008!)
We had a tasty fish lunch with papas fritas, rice, and matè tea. Doug likes this tea, made from coca leaves, it helps fight symptoms of the high altitude.
The next Islands we went to were Islas Flotantes, literally- floating islands! The islands are built using the buoyant totora reeds that grow in the lake. The Uros poeple who live here constantly replenish the top with more reeds as they rot from the bottom. And they use an anchor to keep from floating away! They first made these floating islands centuries ago to isolate themselves from aggressive peoples.
Today, several hundred people live on the islands. I was surprised when a boy proudly showed me his home- made from the totora reeds- and there was a t.v.! They have a few solar panels throughout the islands. The Uros people are very friendly and used to tourists visiting them. We rode in one of their reed boats to another floating island. They gathered around and sang to us as we left!