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Beginning in the border
town of Copacabana, you begin to get a sense of the thriving tourism
industry in Peru. Both in Copa and Puno, the next large town along the
shore of Titicaca, restaurants and vendors compete vigorously for tourism
dollars. Puno's lively pedestrian mall offers American and Continental
fare at prices nearly double those in La Paz. The prices are still somewhat
lower than stateside prices. Although Juliaca 45 kilometers to the north
is the region's capital, Puno is more popular because of its lakeside location
and its proximity to the ruins at Sillustani and the Uros Islands. The
Uros, named after the Uros people that inhabit them, are actually man made
floating islands. They are made entirely of totora reeds, and as they rot
from below, new layers of reeds are added on top. Walking on them can have
a strange spongy sensation. The Uros people have almost completely lost
their own language, and now speak mostly Aymara. There are schools on the
islands for 1st through 5th grades where the children are taught Spanish.
The majority of their economy is now based on tourism. They sell handcrafted
reed items and weavings produced locally, as well as handicrafts from other
areas acquired through truque (a form of barter).
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Locals still travel
between islands in their traditional reed boats.
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Clockwise from top left:
1:Each town has a lookout tower made of reeds--this one is in the shape
of a great swan. 2:Uros woman displays her wares--this weaving depicts
the elements of life on the islands. 3:Tiny three holed clay ovens are
used for cooking in clay pots. 4:A touch of civilization--this reed hut
has a small solar panel.
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This Uros woman uses
the traditional "rocking" stone mortar on a stone slab to grind wheat into
flour.
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The Uros people are
extremely open and smile easily--in marked contrast to their Bolivian counterparts.
At right you can see the strong features of the capitan who brought
us out to the Islands.
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This Uros man took us
between islands on this small reed boat. He said it would support up to
twenty people.
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NEXT
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