More of Lake Titicaca

In the afternoon, we went to Taquile Island.  There are no cars there and no hotels, but you can stay with a family if you want.  We just went for the afternoon and had lunch.  We landed on the island and hiked up a beautiful stone pathway.  Although we were getting adjusted to the altitude, Puno is higher than Cusco, so it was still a challenge to hike around the island.  We needed to go slow.  I was told by our guide that people who live at high altitudes have more red blood cells to carry more oxygen. 

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lovely stone pathway

The people who live here are very interesting.  The women spin the yarn for the knitting and weaving
The men do most of the knitting and a man cannot marry unless he can knit well.  I saw men walking around the island knitting hats and women spinning.  I love the idea of a man not being good marriage material if he can't knit.  They start learning when they are 4 years old.  Since they sell their work for part of their income, it's really necessary.  The lake is beautiful and the scenery made the walk so pleasant.

These black scarves protect against the sun

We had a great trout lunch.  I am not much of a trout lover, but the lake fish was super fresh.  We also had amazing quinoa soup.  Lovely little town and wonderful artisan coop where they sell weavings and knitting.  It was a great afternoon.  The island is actually 2 hours away from Puno-so it was a sleepy boat ride back.

Lots of stone arches all over the island

We loved the old stone streets in the little town and even though it was winter, it was warm and sunny although it did get very cold at night.

old stone street the way to the restaurant

Hard to believe it's winter.
Cantua buxifolia or Fuchsia buxifolia
Peruvian National Flower

It was an incredible day:  both on the floating islands of the Uros and on Taquile.  The people on Taquile still speak Quechua while most of the island areas speak Aymara.  I would love to explore more of the island.  Next day:  Bolivia.