Summary
The reeds define the Uros people, who use them to build floating islands. As many as 30 families can live on an island, which they anchor to the lake floor with poles. The Uros also use the reeds to build boats and homes; and they eat the tender stems. Originally, the Uros lived further out into the lake for defence against invaders; and they subsisted on fishing. For easier access to the tourist dollar, the Uros lifted anchor and a flotilla of islands re-located closer to Puno. That's where we disembarked on the spongy reed surface. Stout, vibrantly dressed Uros women, keen to sell us their reed crafts, greeted us.
On the island of Amantani, the Ayamara locals don't have dogs or need police. They keep order by honouring the three golden rules of the Inca: ama suwa, ama quella, ama llulla (do not steal, do not be idle, do not lie). Those who transgress risk banishment. When we landed on the barren 15-square-kilometre island, we were greeted by a gaggle of traditionally dressed women who would lodge us for the night, as there are no hotels. We followed them down footpaths to their respective homes. Walking is the only mode of transportation on Lake Titicaca's islands and on Amantani, the locals shun beasts of burden, hauling everything on their backs. Legions of paddleboats in the harbour testified that Copacabana is a beach resort for landlocked Bolivians. More recently, new-generation hippies from around the globe have moved in. They line the street to the harbour, selling jewelry displayed on bolts of cloth spread out on the ground. And there's the navy. Around dawn the next morning I awoke to military calls from a squadron of Bolivian sailors doing exercises on the shore. Copacabana's status as a naval station underlines Bolivia's continuing and frustrated efforts to take back the corridor linking Bolivia to the Pacific Ocean that Chile won in a war 128 years ago.See the full content of this document
Extract
Island Hopping On Lake Titicaca
Trip to Bolivia fulfills childhood fantasy
By Anne GeorgCOPACABANA, BOLIVA -- Sitting on a cliff overlooking Lake Titicaca in Copacabana, Bolivia, I reflect on the lake's majesty and marvel at my own small experience of it.I have travelled by boat on a puddle-sized portion of its 8,000-squ...See the full content of this document
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