From a small port in Puno we took a boat to visit the people who have been making their lives on the floating islands for many generations. I learned a lot about how the people of the islands made their livlihood and managed to survive and keep their traditions for many many years.
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| About 14 nuclear families live on the floating islands. Each island must be maintained frequently and every 25 yeras the island must be rebuilt completely. |
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| A floating hospital clinic. |
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| "Kamisaraki" (greetings in Quechua language) |
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| The triangular houses belong to a member of the family called El Presidente who functions as the leader and manages inter-familiar affairs. |
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| Walter, El Presidente of the island we came to visit, shows us how the islands are made and maintained. |
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| For each island a great number of mud blocks are gathered with alternating rows of totora which functions as the land which you live on. A special tool is used to cut the blocks from under the cold water. On the outskirts of the islands totora is grown as a crop and used to maintain the islands. |
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| The local women of the village make hadicrafts and tapestries which are sold in the village of Puno to generate revenue for their families. |
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| The tapestries (which I did not manage to snap a photo of) each depict scenes which tell a lot about the culture of the people. Pachamama is the Earth Mother, Pachatata is the Father of the Universe, Vericoha is the sun which has given human form to a man who became the first Inca king and the Puma is depicted as a sacred animal. |
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| Cooking tools. |
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| Estafania and her mother. |
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| Titikaka is a mix of two words from Aymara and Quechua which means Puma and Stone, which resemble the shape of the lake when viewed from South to North. |
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| Totora MookFish |
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| Walter, El Presidente and a boat which took about five months to make. I have one tattooed on my right forearm.. but nobody really cared :) |
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| The village of Puno, Peru |
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