Lake Titicaca, Peru

Puno, the jumping off place for the island tours, is another block and adobe city with yet another square and yet another cathedral. I saw a lot of them and didn't feel this one was destinctive. A less classical and more colorful cathedra was almost hidden by the blue plastic wrapped around the square in front of it. Restoration is in progress. I got sick in Puno and didn't really have the energy to explore.

I first ventured out for a tour to Sullistani with its chullpas, funerary towers built of large stone blocks with only a small opening facing east. These housed the remains and whatever the deceased needed for life in the other realm. This trip included a stop at a traditional homestead which I found more interesting than the towers.

The next day we were off on a boat in the waters of Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America and at the altitude of roughly 12,000 feet, the world's highest navigatable waters. Acccording to Andean belief, it is the birthplace of the sun.  With a resume like that, I couldn't possibly not go, sick or not.

Our boat wound its way through channels between the totora reeds that were used to create our next stop, Isla Uros. These islands are built entirely of reeds. One man demonstrated their construction by lashing  together blocks of the root systems that support them, then layering the reeds on top in a criss-cross pattern until they were thick enough and strong enough to support a community. Walking on them feels a little weird, as does the very slight motion of the water beneath them. Almost everything is made of these reeds: houses, boats, arches, even a large fish sculpture. The islands we visited were strictly for tourism. The real settlements are tucked back and those who live there in the old way do not welcome gawkers and their cameras.

Next was Isla Amantani where ladies dressed in layers of colorful skirts sat on a wall awaiting us. We were divided into small groups and assigned to one who took us home, cooked traditional meals and bedded us down for the night. Lunch was a bowl of delicious soup, a slice of cheese browned in a skillet, topped with tomato, and the usual little potato. I could barely eat and did not partake in an evening meal. Our hostess, Josephina, served yerba teas for my ailment with herbs that she would pick along the paths on the island. While others hiked to the top of the island to view the sunset, I sat with my host and her friends and watched people bringing home their herds of sheep. I asked why I didn't see any dogs, goats or pigs on the island and Josephina replied that they didn't have them; theirs is a clean island.

Isla Taquille was the most interesting of the islands my group visited. It is fairly steep and terraced, its homes built mostly of adobe, almost all sporting tin roofing of the same color. Everywhere else I've been the women were always spinning yarn or knitting but here the men knit. There is a tradition of them knitting the appropriate hat to indicate marital status. Long, pointed, falling to the side like a nightcap, if the top is white, he is single; if he's married, its red. A man and his intended spouse create two pieces of a waiste band he will wear as a married man, the joining of these pieces is part of the traditional wedding ceremony. Her portion is of an intricate design, one he can show off to let the world know of his wife's talents. Forget cooking, this is much more important!