Lago Titicaca, que bueno !

I was about to leave Peru, God almighty I already was in Bolivia when I noticed I had forgotten something in Peru... Not my camera or my brother's terrific fleece, no no ! Something much more important : a visit to a couple of more places at beautiful Lake Titicaca. How breathtaking (literaly!!) the lake maybe was at the other side (see the Bolivian section for more details), I felt I had done this place a big injustice by rushing my way from Cuzco to Copacabana, Bolivia. After just a day on La Isla del Sol on the Bolivian side, I knew I had to go back and visit some more islands on the Peruvian side. So said and done : back on the 3h bus to Puno, getting some more stamps in my already inky passport and the day after on the boat over the lake. And I didn't regret it one single second ! The lake area at the Peruvian side is best known for its 'floating islands', just an hour away from the lakeshore at Puno. The more than 40 islands are built with many layers of reed bundles, which are constantly renewed from the top as they rot away from the bottom, so the surface is always soft and dry. Several hundreds of people of the Uros tribe still live on these islands, living of fishing and tourism, but remaining their own identity. The story goes that the Uros people started their floating existence centuries ago to isolate themselves from the aggresive Collas and Incas on the mainland. Although the 'touristic discovery' of these islands has led to some over-commercialisation, I felt very much at ease on the island we visited. We were in a small group of tourists and none were acting like they were in a zoo, shooting Indians. From the locals' side, there was no begging for pictures either, and little harrassing with handicrafts and the like. It almost seemed for some that we weren't there, which made the observation all the more interesting. From the reed islands, we took a 3h boat ride to Isla Amantani (a real island this time), where we would spend the night with a local family. Again, I had heard stories about this trip being very 'superficial and petty zoo like' (this was the main reason I skipped the whole thing at first), but it was all the contrary. My Israeli roomie Liran and I had a great time with our homestay family, enjoying some of the best food I had so far in Peru (aaaahhh the hot sopa de verduras after the long hike!!!) and their incredible hospitality. We also had a lot of fun dancing the night away in local outfit, fiercely supported by the locals. The beer supply wasn't in European proportions, but this minor problem was quickly overcome with the finding of another crate of yummie Cusqueña. The island has no roads, no cars, no electricity (some have a solar panel though) and all the Quechua speaking inhabitants are vegetarians. Not by principle or belief, just because they don't have the money to buy a fish boat or keep cattle. They find chickens and pigs quite unpractical too, no they like the simple life of growing potatoes and corn. Well, this place almost looked like Hobbiton, including the small doors (ouch my head!!)! The whole island is self-sufficient, and the few things they need get traded on the Puno market or bought with the tourist money. All decisions are taken communally, and taken care for as well, like the construction of a new camino from the dock to the town. Everybody is involved, from the women carrying up the stones as the men, doing all the macho cement work and the chewing of kilos of coca. On the negative side, very few people on the island have the money to study on the mainland, or have decent health care. Climate changes have had their toll as well, with temperature increases and unusual heavy rain destroying crops and causing erosion of the delicate terraces. Luckily, the 8 island communities work together to tackle this problem, by improving drainage of the soil and practicing rotating crop growing. Just a 30min boat ride across the lake from Amantani lies Isla Taquile, another peaceful 'out of this world' place. The views along the lake shore path are amazing : the intense glittering blue of the lake contrasts with the green terraces and the red-colored soil, making almost your eyes hurt if you don't wear sunglasses. The highland sun is so strong at this altitude (4100m at the top) that even sunblock made our English companions' face peel off. The island is very quiet, and besides the scenery, you only meet people busy knitting colorful hats and other garments, yes even the men!! It's quite a sociological thing, with men wearing red hats if they are married, and red-white ones if they're single. Single women walk along very shy, Muslim-like hidden away behind a black cap, whereas the married women proudly show off their face. It's some sight to see Latino men with a knitting work in their hands while you catch your breath on the way up the hills. Oh well, like you probably noticed, Peru is some place to come back to. It's a big place, and I have only seen a tiny bit of it. I will be sad to leave again tomorrow, but I know that on the other side of the lake, there lies another destination that's even unmatched as this place. Viva Bolivia !