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It was an early morning rendevous with our Truck, on the side of a busy highway out of La Paz.
We have not seen it since we left Uyuni a few days ago, in the midst of the blockade and the "counter measure" of a hunger-striking mayor saga.
And Will, our captain, was as bubbly as ever. He might have lost a few of his thick curly hairs after navigating his way to La Paz through that ultra corrugated terrain and the river crossing, but South Africans are tough !
Slowly, we were edging out of the La Paz morning traffic, waving goodbye to our darling Charlie Chaplin hats. I just love watching them.
We were heading into Peru, and pay our homage to Lake Titicaca, the largest lake on the Andes.
On this side of Bolivia, there are large plains of grass lands to marvel, We were so lucky to run into a joyful procession, apparently celebrating a folk hero...and it was fun just watching them.
Soon after, we were at the border town with Peru, Desaguadero, with little fanfare, unlike the last time when crossing over from Argentina. It was all done, car and people, in little less then half and hour. And we have to switch our clock back an hour, so we gained time...
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| Crossing into Peru |
There were probably nearly a hundred money ex-changers by the borders, most of them small single person stands, with stacks of coins on display, I presume, they only cater for the locals’ daily needs. I went to one of the shops, and had a fistful of Peruvian Sols (P$) soon after.
And the Charlie Chaplin hats is slowly replaced by just normal felt hats, as we drove further away from the border. But they are still around.
We made a brief stop to look at Lake Titicaca as we made our way along her side towards Puno.
Puno is a tidy little town by the lake, and we were transferred to the hotel by a bus as the Tucan Truck is too big to get anywhere near the hotel, which is right next to the town square, Plaza de Armas.
The Town Square is pretty universal all around South America, they are named Plaza de Armas, however in Central America, like Mexico, they are called Zocalo, which is probably a Mayan name.
The Spaniards used religion to control the people, by exploiting their superstitious culture, so they always had a Cathedral built next to Plaza de Armas, then the Government Office on the one side. Unlike the British, who sought to import their administration system, not religion. But that's another subject for another day.
As soon as I saw a statute atop the hill nearby our hotel, I thought it
would be a good exercise to test my fitness for the impending Inca Trail
trek. Puno’s elevation is 3800m.
The initial climb was terrible for my lung, I nearly ran out of breath, and that was
for a 50m climb only. Not satisfying with the result, I saw another statute further up the hill, and I went for it.
So I went up to the Mirador Kunter Wasi ( House of the Condor ), which is another 100m climb, and slowly, I adjusted. What that told me was, I needed more acclimatization and training prior to the Inca Trail walk, in a week’s time.
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| A pano view of Puno from atop |
Before dinner, we went shopping at the local market for some fresh fruits etc as a token of gesture for our hosts, when we visit one of the islands on the lake for a home stay night, tomorrow. The idea was to get something that are not easy for them to obtain.
They are 3 - 4 hours away into Lake Titicaca.
At dinner, I again had a Qinoa soup, which I have gained a liking. Quinoa, has been touted as one of the “World’s Heathiest Food” , and 2013 had been recognized as "The International Year of the Quinoa.", so its worth looking into it.
Day 38 - 39 – Lake Titicaca – floating islands and the Island of Amantani
So we rode on the Puno Limos. A fleet of colourful rickshaws ( the Puno Limos ) were there to take us to the pier for our boat adventure into Lake Titicaca.
Then our boat arrived at this surreal stuff, a whole gaggle of floating islands, made out of reeds....yes, reeds.
And then there are reed boats, look much like some Egyptian movies about boats on the Nile, with their curly heads and tails.
And it is quite comfortable walking on one, soft but firm, their are probably a couple of meters of compressed reed. They last about 25 years, we were told later.
Much was explained about the history of these people, the Uros, which no longer exists, other than the few descendants who are still maintaining this life style, for curious tourist. A demonstration was done to show how the reed base are constructed.
What’s going to happen to them in the next generation and after is a big unknown.
On the island, they provide limited primary educations, after that, the children must move to the mainland to continue their studies. How many would come back ?!
After the usual sales pitch about their handicraft and some climbed on their reed boats for a bit of floating around, we then departed for the Island of Amantani.
It was a 3 hour trip, during which we were given a short dictionary of the Quecha Language which the locals speak. When we arrived the Island of Amantani, we were greeted by our host family, each family took their guests to their home.
Later we learned that, the villages on the island take turns to host tourist each day, this time, it was the village of Colquecachi to host the groups on our boat. That seems a good way to spread the tourist dollars around the island.
I was grouped with Scot and his girl friend Tanya, as the “guests” of Maximos, and his wife, Irena. The Maximos household consists of a 2 storey mud brick house and a small building next to it, the kitchen.
Between our bad Spanish, and the Quecha words sheet that was given, we manage to have very halting conversation with Maximos and his wife.
Then a outhouse, all on a small plot of land. We were told that he also works on his own plot of terrace field somewhere on the island.
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| Maximos's House |
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| The village of Colquecachi |
There were plenty of terrace fields around the very hilly island,
consists of two major peaks, Pachamama ( Mother God of the Earth) on the southern side, and Pachapapa on the northern side.
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| Pachamama & Pachapapa |
Each has a ceremonial temple on top, which are used to offer “gifts” to the respective gods, in return for good weather, harvests etc.
They respect their gods, but not necessary like them, the gifts were given to please and pacify.
We waited in the kitchen whilst Irena was busy making us lunch, a Quinoa Soup and another dish of cheese rice and fried chips, all too much carbohydrate, I am sorry to say. But otherwise, was, very delicious.
After lunch, the entire boat regrouped, and were given a very long explanation of the cultural and ceremonial importance of the two peaks, which we were invited to climb. Which many of us did.
We were told, with tourism, they are now living a whole lot better than
before. We also bought our individual
hand gifts, mainly things like fresh fruits and vegetables which are not easy
for them to obtain on the islands.
The island is literally full of terrace fields, of which, some are in very hard to get to steep slopes. But one has to wonder, where are now, the people to work on them, it seems, that only the old and the very young are staying around. Sure, tourism and their sense of traditions keep them there.
After an half hour of walk, the first group of us reached the Pachamama Temple, and were rewarded with a panoramic view of the entire island.
Then I decided to be a lone climber of Pachamama Peak, which offered another perspective of the Island. It was after sunset when I got there, with a threat of distance rains.
After dinner, we all regrouped again, after we were dressed up in local tunics, especially the ladies, in their beautiful dresses, for a taste of local ‘disco”. With a local band and very joyful music, our “mama” danced with us for a couple of hours, till we were tired.
We all had a very joyful night.
After a cold night, the morning was greeted with a clearer sky, and promise of a warm sun later. We left the island with a round of farewell rituals, with our “mama” at the pier.
It was time for us to go to the Island of Taquile, where their men are famous for their knitting skills.
In deed they are. During a very........... very long explanation of the local knitting culture, our knitting finished knitting a hat, whilst our guide talked on, with some impatient listeners yawning for their lunch !! Come on, we're hungry .......!
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| Our guide kept talking for nearly any hour whilst we wait for lunch and this man finished knitting a hat. |
It was late afternoon by the time we reached back to our hotel, packed with fun memories of the Lake Titicaca people.
Unfortunately, how many will stay living that way, is the big question, will their way of life still exist 20 years from now. Tourism is not a sustainable way of maintaining such cultures, I do not think.
We arrived back to our hotel in the mid afternoon.
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