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I took off on my tour of Lake Titicaca excited at the journey ahead. We first visited Uros floating islands. These islands are made from reeds. When the people of Puno lost the war against the Inca armies they fled by boat and began using reeds to make their own islands. They now have solar powered reed houses and some motor boats they use to get around. However when the children of the floating islands grow up it is more commom for them to move to mainland Puno or Lima to start their lives. For this reason it is difficult to see how long the tradition of the Reed built floating islands can continue. Such an interesting way of life.
As we approached the island of Armantani we learned a couple of 'keswha' phrases. This is a language used in a couple of small villages and islands in South Peru. We stayed with Secondino's family who lived up a very steep hill putting my bear claws to the test. After watching the sunset and getting a bite to eat. Secondino present us with traditional Peruvian attire to go to a dance in the town hall. I wore a Poncho resembling a cowboy from a wild west film. The dance was fun.
The next day we took off on the boat to another island on Lake Titicaca, the island of Taquile. We had a bit of rocky journey to the island. The steering wheel of the boat came off. Luckily this was quickly recified. We bumped against the island as the boat docked but everyone remained in one piece. The people of Taquile have a really interesting way of dressing which I loved learning about. If a man wears a red hat it means he's married and if a man wears a red and white hat it means he's single. They would all fit in well at any Cork game. It is seen as a great honour for a man or woman to wear a hat with seven colours. It means a person in their family is a leader on the island. There are no police on Taquile island so the leaders have town meetings on a Sunday and sort out any problems that arise. Everybody on the island gets a chance to be leader for a year.
It was fun exploring the islands on Lake Titicaca and experiencing their way of life. Next stop 'La Paz', next country, Bolivia.
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