Uros-floating island

Our day started out early...and was the longest and most straining day of the trip by far. By the end of this blog-day you will know why. Sunrise was nice over the lake. We hopped onto the private boat and got comfy for our tour of 2 islands on the Peruvian side of the lake. The middle of the lake is the border between Peru and Bolivia. Copacabana is an island on the Bolivian side. I always wondered what that song was written about.

We had about 45 minutes of nice shoreline mixed in with reeds and ducks. At one point the reeds got very thick and we started boating through 'roads' in the water. When the reeds parted we saw a circle comprised of little islands. On each island were houses and people. A couple were more touristy than others, but we beelined for an island our guide had requested for an explanation from the locals. The one we stopped at was named something starting with a 'B'. There were about 5 adults and 2 little kids living there. They had a couple huts and one post office (that was really funny), a swing for the kids and a fish pond. They all shared a boat seen in the pict here as well as a small motor boat. The boat in the picture is traditional and is mainly used for tourist rides now. Almost completely made of reeds including the benches. The oarsman sit up front and push it along.

The women gathered together to demonstrate how the islands are made and some of the social issues. It all starts with blocks of roots and dirt from these reeds growing in the water. 4 sticks are placed in the corners of each block and rope is used to wind between the sticks to form a large platform. Then many layers of the reeds are placed in a criss-cross pattern on top of the roots. The day we arrive the island was still frosted over and yet the kids were running around barefoot on the reeds. Brrr! Next come the houses made of reeds, an eating area, boats and people. The traditional islands have no toilets. There is only 20 inches between the top of the reed ground and the surface of the water! Here is the funny part. On an island that small you have to get along with your neighbors or it just doesn't work. On these islands, if neighbors have a dispute that can't be resolved, they take out a large saw a cut the person off the island. That will be on the next Survivor. Forget voting them off the island....you just wake up floating along on the lake. :) Anyway, so that person would either join an existing island or establish their own. One of the guys on the island we visited said that is what happened to him and he joined a new island. Last year there were 36 registered island. This year there are 46. Problems in paradise?

After the education portion, they showed us that the reeds were edible too--tasted like chicken...I mean lettuce. And they showed us crafts. The only income they get is from tour guides and selling crafts. So of course we bought some stuff to support them. Angie and I were also whisked into one of the huts and the woman dressed us in traditional clothes. We were laughing so hard that we almost started crying. My hat was so tiny that I had to hold it on my head most of the time and this is the only picture I am not.

The other island that the cool boat took us to was much more commercialized. They had two bars, little huts you could rent for the night, and a real toilet. It wasn't hooked up to plumbing, but there was a bowl. That counts as real, right? The huts were funny because they were made entirely from reeds and had a wooden door with a lock. If a thief really wanted something in there, I am sure they would stop when they saw the lock. No thoughts of pulling apart the reeds. It was interesting to see the commercial island, but I like our little group. Now on to the next big island.