Page VII-Saborear La Vida- Lake Titikaka and Puno

August 9, 2013- Day 7

My favorite part about this day is that I witnessed ingenuity and survival at its finest.

We visited the Uros Islands on Lake Titikaka. These islands are all man made, created by the 4-5 families inhabiting these islands. They are made out of reed and they last for about 30 years. Almost everything from these islands are made out of reed--their houses, their beds, their chairs, everything.

We got to the island where our group will be docking. There, a demonstration of how the island was made and how the people utilize reed not only has a means to make items of but also as food or as a "cold towel" when someone has a fever. It was pretty cool. They were saying that if people were angry at each other, the families literally turn their houses so that their doors won't be facing each other. In addition, if it gets bad enough, they literally saw their island in half.

Part of the visit was getting to go into the family homes. It was humble but cozy. In addition, I got to get my sister a reed mobile. She, the more artistic one between the two of us (at least when it comes to making and building things), would probably have an eye feast when she visits the island.

We also rode a boat made entirely out of reed that took as to another island with more souvenirs. The children of the island we were visiting joined us in the boat ride and sang songs for us. Afterwards, they went around collecting tip. It was more cute than anything, in my opinion. When they got to the island, they bought themselves hot chocolate which they all shared.

The rest of the day was a free day. Brenda, Angele and I decided to just walk around Puno and see the sites instead of joining the add-on tour. It's not like Cusco or Lima but it was nice to just walk around and experience the people.

We walked further than the main street, into the market and even the strip where most locals, I believe, shop in. It felt like being in Divisoria or Chinatown in the Philippines.

One of my favorite things was seeing the wall where there was a whole multitude of advertising. People were standing in front of this wall reading this. It was a mixture of an offer for habitation or job openings. We also went in one of the shops and the store owner had asked me where I was from. I'm pretty sure he even asking me if I was Bolivian. (I was asked if I was Japanese in Cusco, along with Angele).

We headed back, saw a mini concert band in the plaza and headed back and had dinner with a few of the people from our tour group. We called it a night afterwards.

It was definitely the moment where you can feel your vacation winding down.

For more photos: My Flickr