Our trip is almost over. But we have some time left to experience some more of Peru's amazing culture. Todays' adventure takes us to Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca creates a natural border between Peru and Bolivia in South America. The lake sits at the northern end of the Altiplano Basin in the Andes Mountains, occupying areas in southeastern Peru and western Bolivia. The Peruvians say that they own 60% of the lake and the Bolivians own 40%; the Bolivians say that they own 60% and the Peruvians 40% so they compromised and now they both own 50%. At 12,500 feet above sea level, Lake Titicaca is one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. It's also the largest lake in South America by volume of water. It is 8,450 sq km. To put this in perspective Lake Simcoe in Ontario is 725 sq km. Lake Titicaca has a maximum length of 118 miles and a maximum width of 50 miles. The average depth of the lake is 351 feet, although some parts of the lake are over 900 feet deep.

Incan mythology claims that Lake Titicaca was the site where civilization first began. It was here that the first Inca king, Manco Capac, is said to have been born of the sun god. The gods later created a wife for him, and together they founded a tribe that would eventually grow into the Inca Empire that dominated much of South America before the arrival of Europeans in colonial times. More than 180 ruins and monuments remain in the area as testaments to the architectural prowess and cultural beliefs of the ancient groups of indigenous people that inhabited the region long ago. The name comes from Titi, which means puma, and caca, which means rock, so it is a sacred lake of puma & rock. 

We boarded a boat and travelled to the floating islands of Uros. We visited a small floating island where the inhabitants welcomed us, called Isla Purimita. The Uros developed these unique floating islands to escape hostile cultures on the mainland. They consider themselves to be "the oldest people on earth". Ruins of an ancient temple and crop terraces dating back 1,500 years were found by Jaques Cousteau in the waters in 2000. Legend says they existed before the sun, and could not be struck down by lightning. Mixing with the Aymaras and other tribes lost them their super being status. We heard about totora reeds that grow in the shallows of Lake Titicaca. These reeds are used to make everything from the islands themselves to the boats used by the islanders for transportation (if constructed well, they last up to 6 months). The islanders showed us how the layers of reeds closest to the water rot and are replaced with fresh reeds on top. the islands are anchored in about 5 feet of water so they don't float throughout the lake. The inhabitants also eat the reeds roots. We tried it. Their taste and texture is similar to celery. I said in my previous post that many people don't like their pictures taken but we haven't seen any evidence of this yet. It's amazing what commerce does to sacred beliefs! Or maybe, they have no souls left?! They also, now, have solar panels thanks to the government so they have lights at night. They obviously have to take great care when cooking as the islands are made of dried reeds and fire is a real danger. They build fires very carefully on a layer of stone. 

Our next stop was to Taquile Island to visit the community and check out the spectacular views. We also got to stop at the local weaving cooperatives and learn about the Taquilenos, known for their fine hand woven textiles and clothing. About 2,000 Quecha-speaking people live here following the Inca creed of "Ama suwa, ama quella, ama llullav (do not steal, do not be idle, do not lie). There is no police force and problems are solved by elected community leaders. Obviously a reflection of their belief in honesty. To get to the main square there are over 500 steps to an altitude of almost 4,000 meters (about 13,100 feet). You could hear everyone huffing and puffing from lack of oxygen. On the way up we saw the typical Inca crop terraces and the locals in their traditional, colourful, hand woven outfits. These outfits can be attributed to the Spaniards who stripped the ancestors of the residents of ther typical Inca clothing and made them dress like Catalan peasants. The men wear black pants and white shirts along with knotted hats that distinguish married from unmarried men. The women wear multicoloured pompoms. A single woman has big pompoms and married women have smaller ones on their heavy layered skirts. Everyone carries everything on their backs as there are no donkeys or llamas. In 2005 UNESCO declared Taquile textile art " A masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity. " I think this means that their weaving and knitting is very good! Vic asked if he could take a picture of the wares and one lady did duck so she wouldn't be in the picture. That is the only instance we saw oanyone having an aversion to having their picture taken. I guess she still had a soul to lose. 

After looking at their wares we made our way to the Peninsula of Capachica for a huata lunch (potatoes roasted in an underground oven along with trout, chicken and lima beans) with a typical family. The food was blessed by a shaman who happened to be the father of the family in a moving ceremony. We feasted on quinoa soup and then had the huata meal which was very tasty. 

After lunch a crazy Canuck (Nadine from Calgary) and a crazy Aussie (Colin from Sydney) decided that they wanted to experience the frigid waters of the lake (9 degrees Celcius) so they jumped off the back of the boat. We were all in awe of them. But it really wasn't a surprise as they are truly adventurers and love experiencing everything they can. Once they dried off we had a nice ride back to the port. 

It was an eye opening, wonderful day. After some brief downtime, we went to a restaurant and watched some traditional dancing during dinner. Of course, there was a festival including a parade right in front of our hotel with dancers and bands. The streets were packed and noisy!! These people really know how to party!!

The young people in the group heard about this bar (perhaps from our amazing tour guide, Edith) that sold molecular drinks so a few of us decided to check it out. These are cocktails that are works of science and art. Check out the pictures. It was an early night as we had to leave the hotel at 5:45 am to catch a plane back to Lima. There certainly hasn't been much sleep happening on this trip! A lot of people are experiencing the effects of altitude sickness. Luckily, Vic and I are not in this group. We are struggling, at times, to catch our breath but have not experienced any other symptoms as others have. We are very lucky.