UROS' FLOATING ISLANDS - LAKE TITIKAKA - PERU

Uros’ Floating Islands on Lake Titikaka, Peru. 

A Totora World between the Lake and the Sky.

One of the most amazing places I have ever visited, surprisingly, is a not well-known destination. It is located at 4,000 meters on the highest, navigable lake in the world shared by the countries of Peru and Bolivia, the Titikaka. I’m talking about Uros’s floating islands. The chances to get your mind blown wide open in Peru are endless, but this time, I headed to the Southeast corner of this country. I had read about this floating, artificial world and I wanted to see it, up close and personal. Lake Titikaka Uros Islands

If you want to fly there, the closest airport is in the city of Juliaca but I was touring around by land, so I took a bus in Arequipa and 6 hours later, I arrived in Puno, a beautiful, colonial city by the shore of Lake Titikaka. In Puno you will find all the necessary facilities for a comfortable and most interesting stay. 

To reach the Uro’s floating islands is really easy. You just need to make your way to the wharves and from there ferries leave all day, from 6am to 4 pm, for a very cheap price.Lake Titikaka Uros Titicaca Puno

It blows my mind to think that entire families live on these small islands, made out of the buoyant, totora reed that grows abundantly in the lake shallows. They live in totora houses and sail around in their exquisitely designed, totora boats! So I left behind my highly technological world and Internet connection and allowed the motor boat to take me through totora canals to this one-of-a-kind, floating nation where life just flows with nature, sunlight, rain and all the elements. Uros Lake Titikaka Puno Peru

 

After sailing for seven kilometers we arrived at the first group of islands… they are all similar in size but some have 5, 6 or 7 little houses on top. Well, I should not use the word houses really, because they are just small huts with enough room for two single beds. That is the only roof they have over their heads when the rain pours down, especially between December and March… the rainy season in the Andean highlands. Lake Titikaka Titicaca Puno

As we were getting there I saw three children laughing and playing in a totora boat. I asked the guide “Where do they go to school?” He answered, “There is a school in one of the islands. It’s called Escuela Flotante Los Uros”.  It was a small world indeed, but it had every necessary ingredient to be called “Home”. As soon as I put my feet on the soft, springy surface of one of these islands, I knew this would be an experience never to be forgotten!

On the island we were received by the patriarch. There were at least seven women with their children and husbands, they were all somehow connected, sisters and brothers, nephews, nieces, cousins, aunts and uncles… all of them lived on the island and worked as a remarkable team to keep life going for the whole extended family. They explained to us the way they make their islands, how they anchor them to the bottom of the lake, how they make their tiny houses, boats, all crafts in a land where totora is not just a reed, but a way of life! They even eat totora sprouts! Puno Puno Puno Puno

After this fascinating explanation, one of the women came to me: - ¿Quieres ver mi casa? - (Do you want to see my house?) she asked. Of course I agreed, and to my surprise, she held my hand and guided me to one of the huts. I went inside and the two little single beds made me feel like I was inside a fairy tale. She asked me, “ Do you want to dress up like me?” -Wow! That was a proposition that interested me and for the next frustrating minutes I tried to fit my body into the colorful clothes of a lady shorter and thinner than myself! The magic touch to my outfit was her small hat! It totally made it! Her little daughter was so amused at my new look! Lake Titikaka Uros Puno

 

We stepped out of her house and the other tourists stared at me… I was the only one dressed as a local!

But I must confess, something I did just out of humor, turned out to be quite a deep moment of personal reflection. All of a sudden, I put myself in her place. Cooking outdoors, sitting on the humid, totora floor. What if it rains? What if the rain puts out my fire? Raising a baby on a small, floating, totora square? What if I’m not careful enough and my baby falls into the water? Their lives may look exotic to us but I understood, they are way far from easy!

 

I was sinking into these deep thoughts and counting my blessings, when she came to me again and invited me to admire her many fine and colorful arts and crafts. I had been prior warned,  that they would sell me the same things I could find at Puno’s market for triple the price! But ,at that point, I felt that there was an extra value. I bought it on a totora island and got it from the hands of a woman whose life comes and goes with the rhythm of the lake. So I made a purchase! Lake Titikaka Uros Floating Islands Titicaca

After the merchandising moment, we got on the most out-of-this-world, double decked, totora boat which was propelled by the strong arms of the patriarch and one of his elder sons. They rowed slowly and transported us all softly to one of the other islands. It was the capital of the Uro’s nation!

Sailing across the lake was stunning! A moment of communion with the water, the islands, the people and I wished I could stop the wheels of time and just make it last much longer. The sun was beating the clouds and the light turned the lake into a mirror reflecting everything! We were kindly transported in the arms of the lake and a warm highland breeze.

  Lake Titikaka Uros

On the capital island there were a couple of shops and a small restaurant, I even got my passport stamped: “Islas de los Uros” …and why not? For a few hours I was not in Peru but in an amazing, Totora, floating nation!

It’s amazing how they have mastered weaving this reed, some islands are decorated with elaborated shapes of birds, animals, arches and symbols. But, there is nothing I can say that compares to living it, feeling it.

Maybe four hours had passed, when we had to get back to Puno and set foot on “our” real world. Uros Lake Titikaka Lake Titicaca Uros

We put behind this amazing floating land… I would get back to my interconnected life, while they would continue mimicking between the lake, the sky and the waving, totora reeds. uROS lAKE tITIKAKA tITICACA

uROS lAKE tITIKAKA tITICACA tITIKAKA tITICACA tITIKAKA