Lake Titicaca

(Uros Islands)

So often seen and heard of, the floating islands of Lake Titicaca. Here I am about to embark on a visit there.

 

 

Not interested in sitting inside of the boat, I stepped out and saw a mirror. Oh the horror, but I decided to share the terrible truth, and here I am.

 

Cruising into the channel between the reed fields and that will take us toward the islands.

 

The entrance where the fees changes hands

 

The island we were visiting. The women take care of pulling the boat in and tying it down.

 

 

Excuse me. Do these 15 skirts make my rear look big?

 

 

This is the secret ingredient. Reed boats and rafts last for maybe a year. When the tribe fled from enemies to settle on reed boats and rafts in the lake, someone discovered chunks of roots that had been torn loose, floating. The roots, still alive, will produce a gas (N?) that makes that biomass lighter than water. They learned to harvest them and bundle them, cover them with reeds, and now have a surface (that feels like a firm trampoline to walk on) on which to build their houses and to live. A floating island lasts for 25-30 years before a new one will be needed.

 

It's a small and unique community, and one that may be fading. Young girls who choose to live here, advertise their single status by wearing definitely fewer layers of skirts, and with these pom-poms that are woven into or attached to their braids.

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