How We Got Lost and Found Our Way Back to Our Home Stay in Taquile
Nestled in the Andes Mountains of South America, Lake Titicaca is a destination unlike any other. With its crystal-clear waters, breathtaking scenery, and rich cultural heritage, it’s no wonder why this magnificent lake has been a popular destination for travelers and adventurers for centuries. Straddling the borders of Peru and Bolivia, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience the beauty of the Andes while exploring the diverse communities that call its shores home. From exploring the floating islands of the Uros people to visiting the ancient ruins of the Tiwanaku culture, a trip to Lake Titicaca is a journey through history and culture that is sure to leave a lasting impression.
What made me want to visit Lake Titicaca?
One of my Peruvian friends highly recommended visiting these islands, with Amantani being her favorite. Peru Hop also made it easier for us as they offered tours to Lake Titicaca, including a home stay accommodation for an overnight trip as there are no hotels in these islands.
So we decided to book the tour and embark on our adventure. We visited three islands on the Peruvian side of the lake namely, Uros, Taquile and Amantani. I will be talking more about Uros and Taquile in this post because although Amantani was beautiful, the more unique experiences we had were from the former two.
So, let’s get to it. I’ll start first with the famous one: Uros Floating Islands.
The fairytale-like Uros Islands are made entirely from totora reeds; the lives of the inhabitants of these artificial islands are entirely dependent upon the reed beds they live among.
The Uru or Uros people are believed to be descended from the earliest inhabitants of Lake Titicaca. They’ve preserved a floating lifestyle for hundreds of years. To protect themselves from invading groups, the Uros built mobile islands from the endemic totora plant. If a threat emerged, they could simply move their islands elsewhere in the lake.
It was a unique experience stepping foot on these mobile islands.
What did I think of the Uros Islands?
This was the first stop of our boat trip but we’ve only been able to scratch the surface. We had the usual show and tell from our guide, Tito Castro, and the families showed us a bit of what their lives are like on these islands. They showed us their homes made of reeds, where they slept, made their meals and basically did everyday life. It served as a good introduction to their culture. Although there were a few electric installations on the islands already, their ingenuity with the reeds still left us amazed.
Our visit through the Uros still felt a bit touristy because they always sent us to either shop or eat. Although we are all about supporting the local economy, we were also hoping to have some real connection with these people and get to know them. Nonetheless, we got that chance in Taquile.
Taquile was the second island we visited and where we would spend the night. Upon arrival, Tito Castro, our tour guide who apparently could at least speak 5 languages (only 3 of which we can confirm) introduced us to Inti, our host. As there is no cell service on the island and the houses and infrastructures looked alike, he advised that we take a picture of our host to use it as reference when asking around, should we get lost. We brushed this information off but will later on regret it.
Inti, together with her mother and niece, provided us with one of their rooms to sleep in, cooked and served us breakfast, lunch and dinner and showed us the hospitality of the Taquileños. We also learned that we were their first visitors to host.
What did I find most interesting meeting this family?
The island’s remote location, especially at a time without motorized boats, made it difficult for the Spanish conquistadors to impose cultural restrictions on the inhabitants of the island. This allowed many local customs to remain intact, such as the Quechua language and the generations-old tradition of subsistence farming and fishing.
The food they served were mostly grown on the island with quinoa being their staple. Coca tea was also a necessity due to the altitude of the island.
To this day, the communities on the island still live a simple life. Most of the women, elderly and children get left behind while the men work in the mainlands such as in Puno and young adults leave as well to study. There are no televisions or internet, not even a clock to tell time. Their only connection to the outside world was a radio and I think only recently, they had electricity installed.
The community leaders are intent in keeping their culture and the outside world and modernization from taking over. But as new generations leave the community to study, new ideas and perspectives begin to form. Will these communities remain the same 10 years from now? I don’t know. I just hope each one can be given the opportunity they would need in order to be content.
How did we get lost on the island?
After settling in and having lunch, Inti offered to accompany us to the foot of Pacha Papa, the temple and highest point of the island. We wanted to join Tito Castro and the others for a hike and see the views from there. She was so sweet and kind to wait for us at the meet up point so she can walk back with us and avoid getting lost.
Going down from the temple together with another couple we met, Mike and Natalia, we made a wrong turn that took us to another side of the island. We were left confused because everything looked the same. We only realized that we were lost because we could not find Inti at the foot of the hill.
We saw a little girl and tried to ask her for directions and remembered we forgot to take a photo of Inti and her family. We told her that their house was distinctly near a blue church but she replied that there was no church in this community. That left us even more confused.
We tried to ask around further but it wasn’t as easy to communicate since we could not speak Quechua but at least our Spanish came in handy. We later found out that the only way to get back was to go all the way up the hill again in order to go on the other side.
What was running in our minds when we were finding our way back?
We were getting nervous to make it back in time because it was getting dark and there were no lamp posts on the pathways. We just remained as calm as possible and persevered to find our way back. We were thankful for the helpfulness of the people in the other community and that we could speak Spanish.
We also thought of Inti having to wait for us for hours and wondering where we would have ended up. We were thinking we might be their first and last visitors to host (LOL).
When we finally made it back to the house, Inti was still not there but we could not explain it to her mother because she could only speak Quechua. Although Tito Castro taught us some basics such as hello, thank you and goodbye, these were not enough to explain the situation. When Inti finally returned, we saw relief on her face finding us to be there. Then all was well!
After resting a bit, we proceeded to join a gathering hosted by the community to welcome the visitors on the island. We all wore their traditional clothes and spent the night dancing with the whole group to celebrate and embrace all the experiences we went through for the day.
What were the things we learned through this experience?
1. You can be happy without knowing a lot of things going on in the world.
2. You can communicate without speaking the same language.
3. There will always be people who will help you when you need it.
4. Thoroughly follow instructions from your tour guide especially on a remote island.
5. If you want to embrace new adventures, ignore lesson no. 4.
Breaking away from the norm and following your own path can bring new opportunities for growth, learning, and joy. Embracing the unknown or “getting lost” and taking risks can lead to new experiences and a more fulfilling life. So, don’t be afraid to venture off the beaten track and chase after what truly excites you. Always keep an open mind, for you never know what amazing things may come from embracing a path less traveled.
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