| home |
I woke up pretty early and decided to take a wander to see the sunrise. We had breakfast of pancakes and a type of fried bread with coca tea, yum! Steve played with the youngest boy, first off using a stone and a piece of wood and then rolling the stone down the wood, the boy was enthralled. The next game was using a piece of string the boy was dragging around. Tying it up to a plastic bag and what do you have? A kite! Julio later told us that the adults here have little time to play with the kids as they are so busy working, so any playtime with the tourists is welcome. An old man played his ukulele type instrument to us while we waited for the boat to turn up from another part of the island. The boat had been moved due to the winds that night. photos from Taquilie We then left at 8AM for the shortish trip to our next island, Isla Amantani, which doesn't have that many visitors. The houses here are very different from the ones on Taquile. They seemed to be built with a more modern flair with colour, instead of the usual mud-like appearance. We passed lines of adobe being dried in the sun. These are the bricks that they build their houses from. They are composed of water, sandy clay and an organic material like straw, shaped into bricks and left to dry out in the sun. views of Isla Amantani We hiked for around an hour and a half to reach the top of Pachatata (Father Earth) where there was a temple. It's closed for most of the year, and nobody is allowed to enter at this time. Julio told us that we had to walk around the outside walls of the temple to bring good luck, so guess what we did next! There is another peak right next to Pachatata called Pachamama (Mother Earth). Julio told us that we were now at the highest point on Lake Titicaca, I can't tell you the height, and I can't find it referenced anywhere, but I believe him. Back downhill (yippee) for lunch in a family house. The doors here are very low, as the people are pretty small. We were all warned not to bump our heads, but of course Steve and I did on the way in and Vanessa did on the way out doh! Lunch consisted of soup, dried potatoes of different varieties and squeaky cheese. The villagers dry their potatoes so they can last a few years in storage. Then it was back to the boat and back to Puno. I forget what I had for dinner that night, I must have been tired. A quick word about the traditional Peruvian drink pisco sour - it's pretty good, but it's also pretty potent. It's made from a locally produced white grape bandy, with lemon or lime, egg white and sugar. We decided that they were like women's breasts. one is not enough, two are just right, but three are too many. Then back to the posh hotel where I slept like a log. |