Well, obviously we’ve returned to the US, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t complete the blog to include our last couple of days in Peru. (My adoring fans wouldn’t have it…). So, back to Lake Titicaca – after we visited the Floating Islands, we speed off on a 1.5 hour boat ride to Taquile Island. Jess and I sat on the top of the boat (Shirley was sitting inside in the warmth), and it was VERY cold, but still beautiful.
Taquile was absolutely gorgeous.
The island is covered in cobblestone paths and there are no cars. Everyone walks everywhere and we saw lots of locals and sheep along the road. Speaking of walks, our first major trek was to Incan ruins on the highest point on the island. Here the locals still make offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth), and it was a perfect place to watch the sunset.
While on the island, we stayed with a local family. The couple had three adorable little girls (Daisy is one of their daughters), and it was fun to play and interact with them. Although they learn Spanish in school, the youngest ones only spoke Quechua, which made it hard to communicate. Our living arrangements were a little “rustic” and we spent a good deal of time laughing at each other over our inability to “rough it”.
the sun is so intense and yet it’s so cold on the island. Everyone really has a lot of chapped skin.
(She’s holding a Spanish-language childrens book I brought for her.)
On our second day, Daisy took us on a walk to the beach, which just about killed us. Supposedly it was a 2 hour walk, but for us it turned out to be a 4 hour walk! We didn’t bring enough water and when we finally returned to the house we were so exhausted we were actually ill.
So, after our death walk to the beach, we still had to walk back to our boat, which was conveniently located at the bottom of 500 stairs…
One of the most interesting aspects of Taquile was their long tradition of textiles. All the men knit, and all the women weave. Actually, all the men wear knitted hats and you can tell their marriage status by their hats – the married men have a completely red hat, while the single men have a half red, half white hat. When it’s time to get married, the man must present his marriage hat to his wife-to-be, who will test his knitting skills by pouring water in it. If it is knitted so tightly that it can hold water, then he will make a good marriage partner. The woman presents the man with a beautifully woven belt.
The man on the far left is an important leader on the island (signified by his brightly colored hat).
The man in the middle is married, and the man on the far right is single.
