Floating Islands

Exhausted after a day of speed hiking on Isla del Sol, I boarded a bus in Copacabana, an crossed the border into the last country on my trip, Peru. Upon reaching Puno, on the other side of the lake, I got a room, ate dinner and called it an early night.

This morning I took my first "touristy" tour of the trip. Along with me to take a half day visiting the floating islands in Lake Titicaca were 2 Irish girls, a couple of Germans, 2 Spaniards and a big group of 6 middle-aged American ladies. In the boat, our tour guide gave us a briefing in English before we left, and at each island we visited. For once, there was no doubt that I was on the Gringo Trail.

The floating islands were neat, but definitely sufficient for a half-day. At 30 minutes away from Puno, the small reed-islands are populated by the Uros people, who fled to the islands to escape the influences of the Inca and the Spanish. Today, the islands definitely survive on the tourism generated, yet it was an interesting way of life to observe.

This afternoon it is off to an eight-hour bus ride to Cusco, to rest up for a couple of days and prepare to walk the Inca Trail.