I am currently sitting at a computer on the top floor of a hotel in Puno, Peru, overlooking Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, which makes sense after seeing how close the clouds are! Today, my mom and I took a boat tour through the islands on the lake. We went to three different islands, two islas flotantes (floating islands) which are inhabited by the indiginous Uros people and Isla Taquile, a huge island with absolutely NO flat land; we were constantly climbing up or down steep stairs or pathways. Very tiring at this altitude (about 13,000 feet)!

The floating islands of the Uros people are very small, about 15 or 20 habitants each (5 families). There are 40 different islands however, and they are pretty close to one another, so it makes for an interesting little community. The Uros people are direct descendents of the Inca people who lived in Peru around the 15th century. They still speak a native language called Aymara, but luckily they also speak Spanish. Today, they live on the islands, weaving textiles, fishing, and constructing and maintaining their islands, homes, and boats. (My mom and I got to ride in one of the traditional boats!) These people live entirely around their connection to Lake Titicaca´s totora reeds. They eat and make medicine from the reeds, build their homes, boats, and even construct their islands from the reeds with a special method using ropes and rock anchors. Walking on the surface of islands is really different, the reeds are springy and soft, anything other than flat shoes or bare feet would definitely not work! The Uros people wear really beautiful, colorful clothing. I took a ton of pictures, and will post them as soon as I get back to Lima. The weirdest thing I saw on the islands was a flock of flamingos. I later learned that the Uros people drink the blood of flamingos to cure headaches. Thanks, but I´ll stick to Advil.

The second island we went to was also very interesting. Taquile Island is inhabited by more pre-Inca indiginous people, and LOTS of sheep. These people are actually closer descendents of the Inca, still speaking the native Quechua language, which is the second national language of Peru. The population of this islands is also very famous for their beautiful textiles, however it is only the men who knit! My mom and I enjoyed watching some performances of traditional dances and music, and we even got to join in on the wedding celebration dance! Afterwards, we were served a delicious meal of soup made from the crops of the island and trout freshly caught from the lake that morning. One of the best things was that it cost nearly nothing compared to what it would have cost at Bonefish in the US :) However, the people of the island earn a lot of money from the visiting tourists, it is their main income.

I will post pictures soon. We are now headed for Cusco via an overnight bus. Our next stop is Aguas Calientes, the town 20 minutes away from Machu Picchu! We are very excited.