Perú: Day 7 in Uros Islands

Maricela OP
Jul 25, 2017 · 5 min read

On this fifth day of my tour with Contiki, I awoke at 4:34am and thought, “Yes! I still have another hour.” That’s how early our days began in dear old Peru. Silly me, though. I only relished 30 more minutes of slumber because… Jackie. My sister required more time to get ready than me and, well, I suffered the consequences. In Paris Geller’s words, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

The effects of the elevation were minimal compared to the night before. My heart beat like crazy upon returning to bed after using the bathroom sometime past midnight. It palpitated so fast, I could have fooled anybody into thinking I had just finished running a marathon. To top it off, I could not catch my breath. I folded myself into fetal position and inhaled deeply to control my heartbeat and regulate my breathing. It took about five minutes before I felt normal again, thus prompting me to fall asleep. Thankfully, all I had that morning was a subtler jogger’s heartbeat; oxygen appeared to have found its way to my lungs at that particular hour of the day. I wondered if it was too early to start chewing coca leaves and decided to wait. Common sense told me they were probably not recommended on an empty stomach.

We were out of the hotel at 7am as scheduled. Flor, our main guide, led us to the pedicab-lined street where we boarded our rides for the next 10 minutes to the port in Puno. From there, we would embark for Lake Titicaca.

We had the advantage of leading the pack.
Scott and Alex posing. Even Tony managed to make the shot.
We fell behind.
I happily welcomed the warmth of the sun cutting through the crisp air.
Don’t let the smilin’ face behind me fool ya. That poor man huffed and puffed the entire way. On a different note, we caught up and won the race!

We stopped at a small convenience store to grab some snacks, a.k.a load up on beer, before our local guide for the day, José Luis, steered us to the boat. The tour officially started when “Despacito” came on over the speakers.

Beautiful sunny morning in Puno!
Dancing to “Despacito” on the boat. I don’t lie.

Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest lake. It sits between Peru and Bolivia at 12,500 feet. It is the second largest navigable lake in South America but the only one with fresh, sweet, drinkable water. Because of this last statement, José Luis forbade us going “poo poo” in the toilet because it would go straight to Lake Titicaca. It measures 1,000 feet at its deepest and resembles a puma preying on a rabbit from a bird’s eye view.

View of Puno from the boat.
View of an island from the lake.
I titled this “A Perfect Day.”

Lake Titicaca is home to many islands. First, we visited the floating Uros Islands. Uros is made up of more than 80 man-made islets that are protected by the government. The people elect a mayor to represent them and a president for each islet every year. Because of this, the Uru folk are fortunate to have schools, a health center, and a City Hall nearby without having to travel to the city.

Uros Islands are rich with flora and fauna. The people eat little fish like karachi and trout to make fish soup. They also hunt duck. They don’t drink milk so they attain their calcium from quinoa. They’ve had solar panels since 1996 thanks to former President Fujimori. This commodity allows electricity to illuminate their dark homes at night and power their small, personal-use television sets.

Floating health center and City Hall.
Clotheslines.
Typical homes.
Friendly Uru people on every island.

The people in the Uros Islands speak Spanish and the pre-Inca language of Aymara. José Luis taught us how to greet the Uru people before we arrived at one of the islets. We could either say, “Kamisaraki,” meaning “Hello” or respond with, “Waliki,” the equivalent of, “I’m well, thank you.” José Luis encouraged us to use their tongue so I copied the phrases on my hand like a nerd, of course.

The Uros Islands were never conquered by the Spanish. That is why they were able to retain their indigenous culture and traditions. My Contiki group was so fortunate to learn and take part in their customs; I know it was an experience none of us will ever forget. The images below explain how happily the Uru live and survive in a consumer, technology, stress-free world. Or island, I should say.

Here is the island’s President and his family welcoming us.
To make the island float, they use reed roots. They tie four blocks together at a time with nylon and continue attaching more until they achieve the desired size of the islet. Usually, 4–5 related families lives on one island.
Once the island is afloat, they anchor it down. They lay 5 to 7 layers of reeds in an alternating manner to make the “floor.” The men are fueled by coca leaves and alcohol to complete their daily chores.
This was the reed “floor.” You definitely felt the island rockin’. If there is a dispute on the island, the President said, they simply take a saw and literally cut off the family they are fighting against and watch them float away. I think he was joking. But I hope not because that’s pretty funny.
The President explained that older homes used to be round.
But their “modern” homes have four walls. The homes sit higher up on an extra layer or two of reeds.
Every island is equipped with a kitchen.
The women modeled what a day at the market looks like trading goods.
The Uros people eat the base of the reed. They peel it like a banana and reap its toothpaste-like benefits that keep their teeth white and clean. Here I am tasting it. It didn’t have any flavor but it was succulent. The reed is also used to cure fevers by slicing it open and flattening it out over the forehead. (Photo Credit: Fellow Traveler)
The women sang a traditional song in Aymara for us. Their vibrant colors represent the happiness and stress-free lives they lead. Which is another reason why their hair doesn’t turn white! The ladies wear up to ten layers of skirts to keep them warm during the cold season.
They even dressed us in their traditional clothing. Here I am with Alex and Daniel. The colorful pompoms mean that I’m very single. Black pompoms mean the women are married.
The Uros people were so nice they entrusted Jackie with a baby! Babies are called “wawas” after the sound they make when they cry.
That’s me, standing behind the goods they make.

Natural products for healthy teeth and no white hair? Count me in! I really need to start practicing a stress-free life.

Maricela OP

Written by

I’m an introvert who doesn’t say much because I’m shy and decide to jump in too late when it’s irrelevant. Until now.

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