Every hotel we stay at has a window or open slat above the door that lets light in. Several times Frankie has ventured out in her PJ's to try to find a hallway light to turn off. Not that it matters much when the room is so bright by 5 am.
This morning we packed a backpack for the next 2 days, and left the rest of our luggage in storage at the hotel along with 3 bags of laundry, mostly socks, undies, and used t-shirts. Laundry costs 8 soles per kg. A dollar is about 3 soles. We'll pick it all up tomorrow after our weekend on the lake.
We were picked up at 7:30 am in our own little van, and taken to the pier, where we were introduced to our next guide-de-jour, Manuel. We had to climb over half a dozen other boats in order to get to our boat. There is a group of about 30 of us, but we are the only ones who have our own guide. There is a driver and boat guide, and everyone went with him once we landed on an island, but we went with our own guide to our own private demonstration.
Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, at almost 4000 m (over 12,000 ft) above sea level, and is shared with Bolivia.
The Uros Islands is a group of 135 islands on Lake Titicaca, 64 of which are open to tourists. The islands are floating islands constructed of reeds. Really cool. One of the local men showed us how the islands are built, while his wife and adorable daughter sat nearby. They go to a patch of reeds and use a saw to cut blocks with 2 meter deep roots. The blocks are tied together to make the island. This island has 21 blocks. Reeds are laid on top in several layers until the water does not come through anymore. It was really squishy to walk on, but not wet. They put a fresh layer of reeds on top every 2 weeks. The houses are also built from reeds. The walls last a year but the roof needs to be replaced every 3 months. He had a miniature model that he demonstrated all this on. He showed us an ancient rifle that his ancestors used to use, and everyone jumped when he shot if off. Then he aimed it at the nearby flamingo and we all screamed no! He laughed and called the flamingo his amigo, and explained that they eat fish. Then we walked around the island and he showed us inside his home. There are 5 families that live on this island. There is a high perch where you can see quite far. Then he called all of us over and he threw a rock into the lake, we all had to guess how deep the river was. Frankie guessed 15 meters because that was the only spanish number she knew, and she was right. She and 2 other winners were awarded a free pendant.
There was a reed boat that you could take a 20 minute ride on for 10 soles, so Pete, Keegan, and the 2 of us went for a ride while the local man and a woman rowed. She had 2 young boys on the boat who were so cute. They came and sang for us and then passed around their hat. Too cute. They took us to the main island where the school is, a restaurant, and more vendors. The rest of the group met us there.
After an hour and a half on the floating islands, we were back on our motorized boat for a 3 hour ride to Amantani Island where we would be staying the night. It might have been a shorter boat ride if they had gone faster than 12 km/hr. Anton checked on his gps. For such a slow boat ride, we headed into some nasty waves. It made the ride better than a roller coaster ride. Some of the waves splashed right over the boat.
Once we landed, the rest of the boat folks went one way, and the 6 of us were greeted by Murokha, a local woman. Manuel said our homestay was a 40 minute hike away, which turned out to be all uphill. At 13,123 feet high (4000 m exactly), that was not easy. At one point, Murokha offered to carry Anton's backpack for him.
The 4 of them were herded into Murokha's home, and the 2 of us had to continue uphill to another home. It is a single room with 4 beds, and a paper on the wall certifying "Gladys" to host. The washroom was a stall out back, oops we left our flashlight at the hotel. There was a toilet seat, with no lid, and a pail of water with a scoop in it for flushing. It is hard to remember to not throw the toilet paper in the toilet; you are supposed to put it in the garbage pail. This is true anywhere in Peru.
Amantani has 10,000 people divided into 10 communities. They take turns hosting homestays, so they only get someone about twice a month. She was thrilled to have us.
It's quite cool here, windy and overcast. But we were sweating buckets going up that hill, so we changed into dry clothes and let the other ones air out. Eventually our hostess led us into the kitchen for a very late lunch (4 pm). The kitchen is a single room building with a clay oven. She kept feeding the oven grasses and reeds at the same time as cooking. First we were fed a bowl of quinua and potato soup, absolutely yummy! Then a main course of rice, a few potato balls, and a huge slab of cheese. Very strong cheese which Frankie finished but Anton didn't. She also served us a cup of the local muna tea, an herb that is like rosemary or lavender, we will have to look it up when we get home. She lent us alpaca hats for the rest of the day.
After our late lunch, we met up with the other 4 (who are staying in a different home and had lunch there), and we took a hard hike up to the peak of Pacha Tata (earth father). There is also a peak called Pacha Mama (earth mother). It is all 900 year old terraces here. Lots of sheep, the occasional donkey which I'm sure will wake us up in the morning, and some chickens running around. The hike was so steep and tiring, that Heather took a local "taxi" to get to the top (10 soles for a horse ride, down from 30 soles). The top of Pacha Tata was 1000 meters higher than the lake, which is already 4000 meters high.
The hike down was easier but it was already dark by then. We went to the local "pub" to get hot chocolate, and they brought us a clay pot of burning sand and alcohol to warm our hands.
The 2 of us were fed supper at 7:30 by Gladys and several members of her family. Some young boys came with their adorable one week old lamb that they call Pancho. The mother would not care for it so they were giving it cow's milk. For supper we had rice and potato soup, muna tea, and a main course of rice and a vegetable mix sauteed in cubes which was yummy. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming, even though there is a language barrier. These people speak Cechua and only a little spanish.
At 8:30 pm they threw a poncho over Anton, and a full traditional outfit on Frankie. A blouse, several layers of skirts, and a belt so tight against her ribs that she could hardly breathe. We went to the public meeting place where everyone else had been dressed up as well. Some teenage boys played some music, and our hostesses grabbed our hands and made us dance around and around in circles until we were pooped and we went off to bed.
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