Floating Reed Islands of the Uros

The main reason for staying at Puno is to be able to visit the floating Islands of the Uros Indians. The Uros Indians made this their home prior to the Inca's so have been here for quite while!

I did the dishonourable thing and joined a tour, being picked up from the hotel and delivered to the port in Puno. There are lots of rather sad looking boats ready to take you, with your English speaking guide and an assortment of nationalities, quite a few Peruvians.It is not long after leaving the jetty that you start to sail through the reeds.

 You sail through a channel, which I assume is kept clear for the tourist boats.

Quite quickly you see the islands and the buildings. I wasn't expecting anything like the scale of the place but there are about 40 islands with about 10 families on each. The Islands only have 2 days of tourists per week, which is shared between the north & the south islands in rotation.

Basically the islands are made of reeds that are cut and piled layer upon layer on top of the matted roots to a thickness of about 2 meters. The water they float on , is about 12 meters deep and they are anchored to the lake floor with large wooden stakes (to stop them moving to Bolivia as they don't have passports).

This was all explained after we moored up against one of the islands by our host. It is all very touristy but they are keen to point out that 70% of them live on the islands and only the kids of College age prefer to live on dry land.

The reeds at the bottom of the islands rot quickly, so new reeds have to be added constantly, daily in the rainy season. If you scrape away a few inches of reeds with your foot you end up standing on soggy reeds. The islands last about thirty years before they start a new one. It is spongy to walk on and sometimes you can find a bit that needs some more reeds.

Whilst the main man was giving us the lecture, the wives would sit and sew. Once the lecture was over, we were each adopted by a family and shown their homes, then of course the offer to purchase some of their handiwork. Lovely as it is, I would need a truck, not a bike, if I bought something every time. I am very happy to put money in their hands so left them with a tip. Food is plentiful (as you can see by their waistlines) - fish, ducks, duck eggs, the white bit of the reeds and pigs! All cooked with fires placed on stones. To relieve themselves, 'outhouse' islands are near the main islands. The ground root absorbs the waste although you do get a waft of something organic.

As you leave the women line up to sing "goodbye" in two Indian languages; Aymara, Quechua and Spanish. It was great to visit this extraordinary village and I hope it isn't lost in the fullness of time.

Oh, it is pronounced Tee Tee Cah Cah  and means "Grey Mountain Cat" or something along those lines.