LAKE TITICACA 

What a day!

I might let the photos tell the story here. We had a private charter to bring us around to various points of interests on the lake. The lake is over 8,000km² and 300m deep. For swimmers reading this, the water is crystal clear and 9°C, rising to 13°C in summer. 60% of the lake belongs to Peru, and 40% to Bolivia, although that might depend on who you are talking to!

The altitude here is 3,800m or 12,350ft in old money!

First stop: a floating island, one of 150 on the lake (tax avoidance again!) These islands are built from reeds called Totola and we got a demonstration of how they are constructed. They last for 20 to 25 years. The island we visited has 15 inhabitants, in three families. Of course we went for a trip in their boat!

Note the cellphone!

 

Totola stem is the local paracetamol! 

 

Tastes a bit like cucumber.

Give me credit for trying everything!!

The next stop was a spot where we got a two-person kayak and did the Kayak on Lake Titicaca Experience! It was a bit of an experience for me, transferring from kayak to rowing boat to our motor boat! Another "challenge" was transferring from big boat to rowing boat to scramble up some rocks, to get onto the pier near where the kayak station was!

When we pulled up to the next island, Taquile, there were 3 other boats moored ahead of us, and so we had to jump from boat to boat, and then climb a flimsy looking ladder to get up to the quay! On Taquile we learned about the dress code still used by the locals. Various styles of hat have significance, colours indicate marital status. They live together for 4 years before deciding to commit to a marriage. Another unusual thing: the men knit and the women weave. I saw a man knitting a hat using 6 needles. The needles were about the width of a darning needle and the resulting hat had a very stiff texture!

We had a lovely lunch there, looking across the lake to Bolivia. 

 

Muña tea. Natural oxygen!

 

A bit of a climb!

 

Taquile island.

Our guide informed us that there was a big fiesta in Puno today, so instead of transferring directly to our hotel, on the outskirts of town, we opted to be dropped off in the centre! 

It was amazing! First, while walking down a street, we heard great music coming from behind a small door. We decided to investigate and found what turned out to be a rehearsal for the upcoming parade!

 

A huge group of musicians and about 30 dancers.

Later, in the street we saw them again, but they turned out to be one of maybe 15 local marching groups from different districts! The streets were buzzing as they danced and played their way through. Handkerchiefs were an intrinsic part of the ritual, dancers in couples signalling to each other. It was very hard to capture the atmosphere on camera, especially with a depleted battery, but here goes...

 

I only got these two pets. Some other little mascots were falling asleep!

I'm having trouble uploading videos, sorry.

And to round off our visit to Peru... we took a tuk-tuk back to our hotel. 6km, cost €1.75 haha!