We left Amantani this morning and went to Taquille Island. It is also a small island out on Lake Titicaca. No electricity, but oh so beautiful!!! There are no roads, vehicles or dogs. The men wear tightly woven hats and walk around knitting them themselves. They also all only marry other Taquille persons. They don´t marry outside the island. The coats they wear all mean something--single, married, what family you belong to, etc. The island is onl 6km to 7 km long with lots of hills and ruins.
We arrived and Juan explained we would walk slowly (remember we are still at serious altitude) to the main square, one hour. Then one hour in the square and lunch up there. Then one hour down the othe side of the island to the port on the other side to return to Puno.
I was first off and so I set out "slowly" going up. The one hour walk took me 30 minutes. I checked out the square. There is a textile building where they sell you more sweaters, hats, etc. I took some pictures. Got a sucker and a bottle of water from the cutest little girl. She had her stand all organized! She noticed 2 milky ways were out of place afer she helped me and came around to line them up just right and facing forward. She kept a neat shop. Finally, the French couple showed up. We visited for a minute. Thier camera had not been working last night when we got our picture so we agreed to get emails and I´d send them a copy from my camera. Later they came back up and asked if I wanted to go with them on a hike and we´d catch up with the group later. Of course, to the top of the island?? I am there.
So, we set off to explore more of Taquille. The paths are rocky paths with rock walls setting them off. This helps keep the sheep and cattle out of your way also. The day turned out unbelievably beautiful! Blue skies. Not cold, but not too warm unless you were going up and even then not too bad. We hiked all the way to the very top and it was really beautiful. You could see Amantani Island, where we had been, from the top really well. And of course, there was some sort of temple at the top. We took some pictures and then headed back down. They went towards the beach, but I headed back to the town to get lunch. I ate with our group. They had actually all finished, but I got to grab mine real quick before we left. Choice was omlette or trout. Both came with soup, fried potatoes, and rice. I got the omlette. After lunch we all headed back down the other side of the Island to go to the boat.
This Island is really beautiful. Very green, but then lots of rock walls and paths and steps. And plenty of arches. We stopped and took pictures along the way. And people were selling jewelry, hats, etc. So, it was a nice walk to the boat. I think I walked or at least saw every inch of the island. It was just a picture perfect day!!
We got to the boat and headed back to Puno. It takes 3 hours. We had one stop by the Coast Guard. They had a lake block up. That was interesting. I think they were just trying to catch people for minor stuff. Like your fire extinguisher isn´t on board or is outdated or not enough life jackets. We passed all and moved on. I sat out back with Juan and one of the Brits most of the way home and enjoyed riding on Lake Titicaca. It was sunny and a great ride back to Puno.
Once in Puno, they dropped us at our hotels. I walked back down to the port to get some popcorn I had seen when we landed and do some last minute shopping at the markets set up down there. It was fun walking from the hotel there. Before you get to the market even, there is plenty to see. At one point, I looked up and there were sheep heads sitting on the sidewalk on one side of this woman and on the other, the meat. I had to take a picture, she hid. You´ll see the picture. It is great. Also, before you hit the tourist market, I walked through the Peruvian market. You can buy, fruit, meat, detergent, anything. Basically, an outdoor super WalMart. Quite a site to see. They have this cleaning stuff in a plastic container that Enis used on clothes, pots, everything on Amantani. It suds up real quick and gets stuff pretty clean. I have to admit, I was tempted to buy some and bring it home, but I didn´t. So, I headed down to the tourist market by the port and bought a bag for $10 to bring home a bunch of the stuff I have bought along the way. I LOVE to haggle. It is so fun. So far I have only paid asking price for one thing I bought. The cute brown and green beanie from Amantani. That was only 10 soles or about $3 so I didn´t feel too bad about paying full price. After shopping by the docks, I came back up to town and found the pedestrian mall. There is more shoppping up by the square. I wandered around there a bit and then came here to update the internet. I am about to go eat and then go to bed. It is already 21:30. Tomorrow, I just have to get to Juliaca, which is about an hour away to catch my plane to Lima. Then it is to the US. I cannot believe the trip is over already! It flew by and has been a really incredible experience. Unlike any others I´ve had and I´d say I´ve had some adventures!
Thanks for sharing in the experience with me. I know I probably left out a ton of stuff on these last 2 articles, so I will likely update them and pictures tomorrow during down time in airports or something. Until then,
Beunos Noches!
