NOVEMBER 28 - We traveled through the high Altiplano from Cuzco to Puno to visit Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is one of the world's biggest high-altitude lakes. The lake is 110 miles long by 38 miles wide, and is shared by Peru and Bolivia. We visited the floating islands of the Uros people on Lake Titicaca. There are about 40 of these floating islands. They are made of layers of totoro reeds. Fresh reeds are piled on top of the islands to replace the lower layers as they rot. The Uros people also use the reeds to build their houses and boats.
We also visited Taquile Island, where the islanders are known for their handwoven textiles and clothing.
It was neat to see a way of life that's so different from what we're used to. The rest of the photos are posted here: http://flickr.com/photos/ningyang1/sets/72157611215799130/
4 comments:
How big were the floating islands?
Machu Picchu looks really awesome. I'm jealous!
The islands were pretty small. The ones we saw were just big enough for 3-10 families to live on. I think the one we were on was about 400 ft x 400 ft. The islands also change in size.
Wait, so the islands actually just float around? Bizarre. They are like large rafts of weeds?
Do they float near bigger pieces of land? Do the people there have boats? How do they do anything?
Yeah, the islands are like giant floating rafts. They were pretty far from land, but they are tethered so they can't float too far away. The Uros people get around on boats made from reeds. Nowadays, some of the islands also have small motor boats. Oddly, the island we were on had a solar panel mounted to a pole. It powered a small tv and radio in one of the reed houses. It was surprising to see modern technology there, because the rest of their lifestyle seems very traditional.
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