This past weekend, we ventured off to the Peru/Bolivian border to visit the highest navigable lake in the world. Lake Titicaca lies an astonishing 12,500 feet above sea level. I spent Friday through Sunday on this massive body of water, and experienced some pretty amazing culture and vistas.
Getting there...
Puno is all the way on the southern border of Peru. From Cusco, it was supposed to be a 7 hour bus ride. Adding in stops and lunch, we left at 9am and arrived around 6pm to Paramis where we were welcomed by town locals.
Stop 1: Paramis (Península de Capachica)
Paramis was beautiful. There, we made quinoa cookies (both fried and steamed). The process was very involved, but with my large group, we finished them in no time. Using three simple ingredients (sodium bicarbonate, ground quinoa (which we got to grind!), and water), a dough was formed. We rolled our dough into balls and then into long log-like structures. Then we pinched bits off to form small balls. Next, we flattened them and folded them in half in the palms of our hands. While we feasted on soup, mashed potatoes, and veggies, our cookies cooked. Then we ate them! I preferred the fried to the steamed.
After dinner, we gathered outside in the cold (southern Peru is far from the equator and it's winter here!) for a bonfire and music. After bonding, we headed inside to our "dorms" which consisted of beds with heavy blankets, no outlets, and one light. We woke up early the next morning for a breakfast of bread, fruit, and eggs before heading on the boat to Uros!
Stop 2: Uros Floating Islands
The floating islands were truly an incredible experience. Anchored to the ground, the islands are made entirely of reed, as are their homes and boats. They survive through fishing, hunting, and trade. The islands are small with about 6 homes per islands.
Stop 3: Amantaní Island
Our next stop was Amantaní. We stayed in similar housing as in Paramis. This island was much bigger (about 4,000 residents), with tons of crops and animals. Here, we ate Pachamanca, which is food cooked in the ground. It is usually meat, so as a vegetarian, I ate cheese and potatoes. I was surprised by how delicious it was. I skipped rocks at the lake for a while before settling on the dock to take in the the beauty. In the evening, the locals came to our rooms and dressed us in their clothing before taking us to a dance hall where live music was played. We danced together with the locals for some time before retiring back to our rooms. Here, s0me friends and I stayed on the balcony looking up at an unbelievable sky. I have never seen that many stars before. I also saw two shooting stars. The night was as surreal as the day. We woke up early the next morning to head to the island of Taquile.
Stop 4: Taquile Island
There is not much to see at the base of Taquile aside from roaming sheep. To take in all the island has to offer, we hiked (about a half hour) to the top where we took in a panorama while learning about the culture of Taquile. It is a machismo based society (so much so that women can not walk side-by-side with men, they must walk 5m behind!). We had a "wedding" to learn about their courtship process. There is no such thing as divorce on Taquile, so courtship is an involved process.
Should an eligible bachelor find an interesting women, he attempts to get her attention by reflecting sunlight in her eyes with a mirror. If she doesn't acknowledge him, but also doesn't leave, he throws small pebbles at her. If they want to get married, they live together for two years to see if the union works. Then, the man must get permission from the father and knit a new hat. This is because in Taquile, hats have significance. There is one for children 1-5 (boys and girls), then girls get capes (of a sort) while boys upgrade to a new hat. If the cape has large bright poms-poms, the girl is single. Men of bachelor age have their own hats the demonstrate their single status. The direction the hat is tilted represents if they are having a good or bad day.
The bride's father will test to see if the man is a good knitter on the wedding day by making the hat stand up straight without falling or filling it with water. The bride will also cut a portion of her hair to give to her new husband. He will knit the hair into half of a belt that he will wear each day going forward. The wife will knit the other half of the belt inscribing her husbands vows into the textiles as a constant reminder. After the wedding, we ate a delicious lunch and jumped into (the freezing!) Lake Titicaca before heading back to Cusco.
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