Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Floating Islands and the Uros People

This is the view of the lake from my window.  What a gorgeous view to wake up to this morning!

Today was spent entirely on the beautiful Lake Titicaca!  We visited two different islands today, two very different islands.  The first island we visited was in the community of the floating islands.  This culture is so fascinating to me, the islands are man made and are made completely out of floating reeds.  The number of islands in the community is constantly changing because they are always combing islands together or tearing them apart.  The Uros people are extremely welcoming, warm and happy people and it was such a pleasure to spend some time with them and get to know more about their culture.



This is the president of the island that we visited.  He is so young!  Here he is demonstrating how the islands are made.  They use the roots as a base then layer the reeds in a criss cross pattern on top of the reed base.  Then they anchor the island with ropes and stakes so they don't float away in the middle of the night!


After a short presentation about the culture of the Uros people, we had time to explore their little island and to buy some of their beautiful handmade products.








They also let some of us dress up in their traditional costumes.  Everything about these islands and people are bold, bright, colorful and happy


I could have spent a lot longer on that tiny island, but it was time for us to bid farewell and take a ride on one of their famous reed boats.  As we pushed away from the shore all the women and children serenaded us with some traditional folk songs.


When the president noticed me taking pictures of him rowing the boat, he asked if I would like to try ....!  
It was hard, we slowed waaaaaay down, so he took his place back ... but it was definitely a fun experience!













1 comment:

  1. That was such a fun and interesting stop. Loved your pictures of the children, and in your costume!

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