On tour with Estelle and Jean-Marc: Lake Titicaca

Considered as the highest navigable lake of the world, Titicaca is divided between Peru and Bolivia.

The small islands on this 3232 m² lake were already populated long before the Spaniards dominated South America.

We booked a 2 days trip to discover three of the six islands. First we visited the 'man made' islands 'Uros', which are completely made out of floating reeds ('Totora-Schilf'). Then we visited the island 'Amantani' with its two pre-Inca temples and stayed there for a night with the locals. The second morning we visited the island 'Taquile' which was used as a prison by the Spaniards. Nowadays this island is well known for its knitting 'made exclusively by men'.

After our trip on the lake, we booked a bus transfer to La Paz via Copacabana. On the border crossing we had a very bad surprise. Apparently the immigration bureau in Leticia/Santa Rosa fooled us and scribbled with a pen only 30 days (instead of the usual 90 days for Peru) on our Visa stamp without telling us. As we were staying for 36 days in Peru, we had to pay 1 dollar for each day exceeding the limit. Unfortunately we couldn't pay the fee at the immigration office but had to take a taxi to the next town to pay it via transfer at the national bank. We couldn't warn the bus driver or anyone in the bus because they had already crossed the border.

Arriving in town, there was an enormous queue because apparently it was pay day. We had to ask our way through the waiting line and then deal with an extremely slow clerk. After 20 long minutes in the bank (that seemed like hours) we could do the payment and head back to the border. We were sure that our bus with the luggage already left without us. At the border we had to skip again the long waiting line and earned some very hostile looks. With the payment recipe we hoped to get the exit stamp from Peru. Unfortunately this wasn't enough, they needed also 3 copies from each document (our passport, our bank recipe and our visa). So we headed again out to find a copy machine.

At this point we were sure that our luggage was lost and that we were stranded at the border. Luckily we found a copy shop next to the immigration office and could get the copies. Again, we skipped the queue and finally got our exit stamp. Then we crossed by foot the border, just to find our bus totally empty (at the border people always have to change the bus to continue to Bolivia). Only our luggage was waiting there with the bus driver/guide who yelled at us for being late without informing him. He told us that he wasn't responsible anymore for our transfer to La Paz.

At this point, Jean-Marc exploded. After a few minutes of loud discussions, the bus driver agreed to bring us to Copacabana where our bus made a planned 1 hour break. So we headed to the Bolivian immigration office, jumped again the line and got finally the entry stamp for Bolivia. Then we took a cab to Copacabana, where we could eventually continue our journey to La Paz.

What a chaotic border crossing, only due to an incapable office clerk in Santa Rosa (Amazonas).

A traditional boat on the Island 'Uros'. Nowadays it has only a touristic purpose.

The 49 artificial islands of Uros were used to spot enemies during war time. If a threat occurred, the islands could be moved because of their floating characteristic. The biggest islands have a tall watch tower.

The islands are built completely out of the roots of the Totora-reeds (in form of cubes that are fixed with ropes) that grow in the lake. Then the stalks of the reeds are put on the ground (to avoid humidity) before building the houses on top of it. The ground needs constant maintenance: Every few months, a new layer of stalks is put on the ground.

The floating island-ground underneath the water.

The electricity is produced by solar panels. These days most of the Uru people live on the mainland where they have their cemeteries too.

The Uru people live mainly from fishing and selling their colourful handicrafts.

The biggest islands can host up to 10 families.

Our excursion brought us by boat to the second largest island of the lake called 'Amantani'.

On our way to the local accommodation. The village counts a total of approx. 3800 people.

People on the island are a little shorter than Caucasians.

The terraces are used for cultivating wheat, potatoes and vegetables.

On the two mountain peaks were built the Pachamama temple (mother earth) and the Pachatata temple (father earth, cf. picture). Every year the inhabitants collect their best crops, textiles etc. to burn them inside the temple. If the flames grow very high, it will be a good year with a successful harvest.