3980m
This morning was an earlier start as we were being picked up and taken by speed boat to Uros and Taquile islands. The Uros are descendants of a pre-Incan tribe who fled their more warlike neighbours onto the lake and built floating islands from reeds. Unfortunately we were formed as several groups, so about 30 in total. We set off for Uros first and when we landed on the reed island we were met by the president of the year and given a history of the people and a discussion about how the islands were formed and the lifestyle of the people. The roots of the reeds are about one metre in depth and float on the lake. On top of this the Uros people pile cut reeds on top of the roots and stump on them until they have a platform of around 3m in depth. The humidity in the reeds is high and so the trampled reeds rot after around 30cm, causing the people to rebuilt each island every few years. This is a process of the Uros going and cutting twenty 5m x 4m blocks which they fix together. They live off fish from the lake and whatever birds they can hunt. The small community island was interesting, however the ‘main’ island was covered with humanity and gift stalls.
Luckily we left quickly and headed for Taquile Island, one of the myriad of islands on the lake. The island itself is split into 5 communities and we visited one of the central ones to meet the locals, learn about when you were allowed to wear a red hat rather than the red-and-white (marital status), how their belts were made by their wives to symbolise the 12 months of the year and the local produce and textiles. We were served lunch which just happened to be quinoa soup and trout. By now the Sun was shining and quite warm and we kept ourselves entertained by talking to our lunch companions; a Pole, a Dutch and an Irishman (no joke involved). We sat on the quay and discussed world politics and other light topics of conversation until the rest of the group caught up, and then we had the lovely 2 hour cruise back to Puno.