This last weekend Brandon and I went to Lake Titicaca and took a 2 day tour around three islands: Uros, Amantani, and Taquile. The total tour only cost S/. 75, which comes to about $30. It included all transportation, 3 meals, and lodging. Sick deals, sick deals.
As I tell about the trip, I hope you’ve seen LOST.
We took a bus from Cusco to Puno late Friday night. The bus didn’t crash on the island, but the way our driver careened about it was like crashing for 8 hours straight. Eventually we arrived at about 6:30 in the morning, just as the sun was coming up. A very sales-womanly lady pushed a tour on us (the one I’ve previously mentioned) and it sounded like a good deal so we took it.
After getting picked up from the bus terminal another bus took us to our boat--NOT PENNY’S BOAT. There were about 15 other people on the same tour. Immediately upon sitting down a wandering pan-flutist forced his music on us, and promptly insisted we pay him. In the US we have street performers and sometimes you toss a dollar in their hat if you appreciate what they’ve got going on. Here in Peru they practice a more proactive version. They corner you, then treat you like an ATM. I only had change so that’s all I gave the guy. Also he pan-fluted some Simon and Garfunkle.
These islands are made of reeds and roots. There's a particular type of dense, cork-like root that forms the base of the islands. You lash these roots together then you start putting reeds on top. The island we stopped on was 4 feet thick: 1 ½ feet of roots, 3 ½ feet of reeds. The island was 8 years old. Each island can last about 30 to 40 years before it starts sinking into the lake.
The Uros people live in huts like the one in the picture and rarely step foot on solid ground… they know it's best not to leave the island. They survive mostly by fishing and tourism. You're welcome Uros people. They were also very genuine and weren't trying to sell you something every other second.
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| Me and a hut. |
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