Trails and Treasures

One of the most popular excursions from Puno is to the Uros floating islands in Lake Titicaca.  The day began rather inauspiciously for a boat ride on the world’s highest (12,500′) navigable lake–dull, dreary, and chilly. 

Motoring Through the Reeds of Lake Titicaca

The Uros people have been living on their man-made totora reed islands since the time of the Colla.  Over the centuries they have perfected their ability to fashion reeds into just about anything they need, from a place to build their homes to their homes, tools, clothes, and transportation.  In the past, fishing was their primary means of support.  Since reeds decompose over time, they must constantly replace the reeds or start again.

The islands vary in size from just a few households to small villages. 

Each boat tour operator has one or more villages that it works with to provide a Living Tourism experience.  The difference between the Uros and the villagers of Atuncolla is that the Uros have been at it much longer.  Now tourism is their primary means of earning a living, which has its good and bad aspects. 

One or two villagers stand watch on the tall platforms to signal the arrival of their tour boat.  Everyone then gathers to greet their visitors.

Visitors are escorted singly or in small groups to one of the homes where we sit on a rolled up reed mat which when unrolled provides a sleeping surface.  The owner explains how they peel the reeds so they can eat the inner core and how they use the reeds to build  and maintain their islands and homes.  In the home I visited, there was a small wooden shelf with a tiny TV/radio as well as a single halogen ceiling bulb.   They were powered by a single solar roof panel provided by the government during Fujimori’s presidency.  Until then, there was no electricity on the islands.

Some of the brightly covered clothes hanging on the walls are used to dress up their visitors.  Ignore me and check out the solar panel and how the building is constructed.

In the following photo, you can see how they bundle the reeds for drying.  Walking across the reeds is similar to walking on a firm waterbed.

The homes are used mainly for sleeping.  Most work takes place outdoors or in the open shed.  Food is cooked on outdoor “stoves.”

The Uros also use their reed-weaving capabilities to create products for tourists to buy.  One of the little mobiles came home with me to be used as a Christmas tree ornament.

When everyone had finished their shopping, we boarded a reed boat that was rowed over to a neighboring island.  As we pulled away from the dock, the villagers lined up again to sing us a farewell song.

Aboard "Ship" on Lago Umayo

From the stone quay, we hiked up to the plateau.

Sillustani is known for its variety of funerary structures built from adobe, uncut stones, and finely-cut stone dating from both pre-Inca and Inca times.  Groups of structures are scattered over the landscape.

A Group of Pre-Inca Chulpas at Sillustani

Here are a couple of close-ups of the pre-Inca chullpas.  Since many of the structure had been desecrated by grave robbers, it wasn’t clear to me just how much restoration work had been done on them, and if there truly was as much variation in style and construction as these photos might indicate.  However, all were built of stone and mortar,

Two variations of pre-Inca chulpas

The stonework is different on this one.

whereas those built after the Inca conquered the area used no mortar.  Their stones were shaped to fit together, and even without mortar, some had withstood tremors and destructive vandalism. 

The Lizard Chullpa on Sillustani

Scholars believe the local elites learned how to work the stone from their Inca conquerors and modified their customary style to be more in tune with their conquerors.

The Lizard

 Note how the stones are rectangularly faced and how the structure has a greater diameter at the top than at the bottom.  All the shaping and polishing was accomplished without stone tools.  The lizard chullpa is 39 feet tall with a diameter of 16 feet; its walls are five feet thick.

Backside of the Lizard Chullpa on Sillustani

It wasn’t clear why this chullpa had been partially reconstructed.

 

This one appears unfinished as the protuberances were used to support the ramps and scaffolding needed to raise the stones and assemble the structure.  Once the structure was completed, they were removed and the stone faces polished.

Chullpas were much like our family mausoleums.  Family members were added when they died.

I spent three nights in Puno where I stayed in the Puno Plaza Hotel, right on the main square–the Plaza de Armas.  My days were so busy I never had the time or energy to roam very far, so my views of Puno were limited to those from my hotel balcony.  Sound dull?  Not if you’re an inveterate people-watcher like I am.

Let’s start with the truly dull stuff.  Puno is a city near Peru’s southern border with Bolivia.  It’s located at an elevation of 12,421 feet and has about 100,000 residents.  The city’s cathedral dates from the 17th century.  I was never around when it was open to visitors, so I don’t know what it looked like on the inside.

Puno's cathedral

Now to an unexciting photograph that’s worth some time examining, starting with the tall white building.

The street at the other end of Plaza de Armas, opposite the cathedral

Since earthquakes are a fact of life in the area, there are few tall buildings.  Few new buildings exhibit any signs of exterior style; most are akin the shop building in the foreground–boxy and utilitarian.  Also, note its location in the middle of the block.  It is unclear whether it is attached to another building or not.  Lots of non-commercial buildings have only small windows, if any, facing the street, and they usually have some sort of ironwork over them.  I also gathered that property taxes are a function of a building’s state of completion; there are lots of unfinished buildings with rebar sticking up from the flat roof.  Maybe they intend to add another floor; maybe not.  All of these factors make this building rather unique.

The swan

Next, note the absence of any vehicle on the street.  It’s 4:30 p.m. on a weekday!  I didn’t notice this fact at the time; it was a portent of things to come.

On the other hand, there is what looks to be a woman walking a bicycle.  She really has a sort of backwards tricycle.  Lots and lots of bicycles and tricycles have been converted to shops on wheels by entrepreneurs of various sorts.  This woman sells ice cream cones.

Ice cream vendor in Puno

Curiously, at least for me who worked in downtown DC, there aren’t many people walking around given the hour.  There were more when I went out later to dinner and walked along this block.  The street converts to pedestrian-only at the next intersection, and numerous restaurants and shops can be found in this pedestrian zone.

And now, the people.  What do you think was happening on this park bench? 

Three People on a Bench @ Time 1

Just a minute later,

Three people on a bench @ Time 2

In this first photo, there is no eye contact between the man and the young woman.  A minute later, they are both smiling.

What did he say to her?  And what about the older woman whom the younger one is sitting close to?  She seems so resolute at ignoring what is happening beside her.  In another age, I would have thought she might be the duenna.