The Struggles of Disposable Friendship - Part 2

The floating islands of Uros were very intresting and fascinating how people could live on these islands all year round. There are rumours that the people only come on the the island durning the day when the tourist arrive but i do not believe that because of the solar panels that are placed on the island. After the floating island we departed for the island called Isla Amantaní. Here is where we were going to sleep for the night and get to stay with a family.

Upon arrive we were told that the tourist agency makes sure that they split us up so that all the family have equal chance to host tourist to make a profit. The islands in the Lake Titikaka rely heavily on the source of tourism and each island makes sure that the people of the island have and equal share. So on arrival we were giving to a family that had three little girls and a mother. We did not know where the father of the family was but the conclusion was that he was out in the field working. We were made lunch by the family and then the girls showed us their weaving that they make. Most of all the material used is made of alpaca and I bought a nice bracket from them. I have been trying to collect little trinkets from each place that I visit.

At the house I was staying with youth like myself from London England and a lady from Germany. The guy from London has taken history in university for History and decide that learned about World War II was boring and started to study other societies. He has been traveling and going to archaeological sites and learning about the history of each site. The Germany girl that was also staying with us left her job as a pharmacist and decide that traveling is what she wanted to do. It is nice on the tours because you meet people that are doing the same thing as you and you create a good bond with them.

After lunch we headed in to the main square on the island to meet with our guide. The square is called Plaza de Arms and it is were the armies would meet to prepare for battle. In the centre of the square ther is a square complex with triangular gardens surrounding the statue of the soldier in the centre of the square. There are four path ways leading to the centre where the statue is. Now it is used as a point of commerce for the people of the island. The buildings are a blend of the colonial times and ancient buildings. Most of the time in these squares you have the town hall, the church, a school and stores selling all the needs of the town. On this island there seems to be no cars and the houses are scattered all about. To get to the house that I stayed in for the night you walked down small pathways passing other residents farms and animals. The main mode of transportation in the city is by either donkey, mule or horse. Though the community is a blend of the old world and the new world. There are satellite dishes on some of the houses and they mostly use solar panels to supply electricity to the town. The German girl even had to take a candle into her room so she could get light. It is inspiration to see how these people live on this island with out the basic amenities that are supplied to us in North America.

Our guide gathered us all together and was going to lead us up the hill to visit two of the temples that the people in the town go to celebrate there gods. I have really lucked out with the guides because they have been so informative about the region. Our guide himself is a decent from the Quechua people and is fluent in English, Spanish, french and Quechua. He told us that the habitants of the island go to these temples to celebrate Pachamama and Pachatata and they just do not walk up there. All 4000 of them dance their way up the mountain and then the females dance to the temple for Pachamama and the males dance their way to Pachatata. Then they will open each of the temples but they first must dance around the temples three times and in the centre of the temple they have to coca leave and a flower. I wish I was there at the time when they celebrate.

The British guy and I decided that we are going to both of the temple and stared with Pachatata. When I got up there I decide it would be good to dance at least once around the temple and doing so also took great pictures of the surrounding area. Then after the dance around the temple we headed to Pachamama which we wanted to take good pictures of the ensuing sun set. So at the top of each of the temples you are 4200 meters above sea level. So running up the hill was not a good idea but we did it anyways. That day I really felt the affects of altitude and my head was pounding. But for the pictures it was worth it and was breath taking. The moon was shining really bright through the clouds and the effect that it gave seemd that it was in front of the clouds and not behind them. The effects of the sky out here is amazing and when the sun goes down there is barely any lights so star gazing is premium.

We headed back down the hill to the centre again to go to the only bar that they had in town. They served very good chocolate (we were told) but the British guy and I decide that a beer was the better choice but I wished that I got to try the hot chocolate. Then we headed back down for dinner which was rice and a bean and vegetable mix. After dinner we were going to go dancing and not any kind of regular dancing. We got dressed up in the traditional clothes and head to the hall for some traditional music. When we got to the hall the place was bumping with all the locals and Gringos dressed up. The energy was high and the band was very good, everyone was dancing in circles and spinning and grooving with the music. There is so much energy that is brought out in these traditional dances and after a bit I decided that it was time for a break and head outside to get some fresh air. When I got outside I decided to star gaze which was alright but not too many stars because of intense light coming from the Moon. Though there was an awesome lightning show that was performing on the other side of the lake in Bolivia. When the lighting struck you got to see the detail of the clouds that were passing through the mountains. It was a good night with a lot of energy and beautiful sites.

After a good nights rest from the all the energy from the previous night we head back down to the port to get on the boat to head to another island in the Lake which is called Taquile. Here the culture is very different from the previous island we stayed at. After a short walk from the port to the main square we meet up with our guide who had all the traditional clothing on a table and was going to explain the significance of the clothing. First he explained that the island has about 25 families that run the island. There is no police, government and you get out all your troubles dealt with once a week with the leaders of the island. Each of the leaders on the island only serve a year then it is passed to a new family. You can tell who the leaders of the island are by the clothes they wear. The leaders wear all black and they where a chullo and a Feodor over it. When they are not leader then can still wear the hats to show that they use to be leader.

Next he showed use the different ways to wears the hats to show different stages of man hood. The hats look similar the cone hats that are worn in North America with a pom pom on the tip. If the boy is between 5 to 16 years old he will wear the hat having the top of it flipped back. Then when they become a man they wear the hat like if it was a beret and means he is independent. On the island they will have big parties on the island and will invite others from other islands that share the same tradition to come. Here the independent man will wear the hat two ways. He will either where the hat to his right meaning that he is looking for a wife or wear it the independent way meaning he is not looking for a wife. Also the colors of the hats show weather they are single or married. The hats are even woven by the men themselves so you cannot get these hats in the store. This is just the hats that the men have to wear not to mention when they get married what the have to wear which I will talk about later.

Lets talk about the dress code of the women for a bit which is another complex system. The women wear these very colourful skirts and the colours have significance. If the colors are dark then the women and married and if they are bright then she is single. They also where a black cloak which on the corners have four pom poms. The a two different colours and them mean the mood of the women. If she is showing one colour that means she is in nit a good mood her friends will go to her and comfort her and the other means she is in a good mood. So they do not have to go to people for help, the people go to her to make sure that she is feeling alright. They are also used to pick up the opposite sex. When they go to these big parties they will show one of the pom poms to say "Hey come over here and dance." The other tells the guy to get lost and she doesn´t want to dance with them. It is an amazing system and if you were to move to the island you have to live within their traditions.

So there is one more aspect of their culture and that is the marriage of the man and the woman. You can be with a women but you are not married unless you have your own house, land, animals and even boat. When you become married the men receive two traditional objects. First is a pouch that has coca leaves in the pouch and it is a way to introduce yourself to someone. When you meet someone you hand them a handful of coca leaves and to accept it you have to hold out both your hands not one. The second object they receiver is a belt that is giving to them from their wife. The wife weaves it herself and it is not just alpaca wool but also with her own hair that she has collect since she was little. It is another object that is not for sell unless you get married within their tradition.

So being on these islands you have to follow some very strict rules but the rules really benefit the island. One rule is that the leaders will decide where the tourist eat so that the wealth is spread to all the families. There are thirty five restaurants on the island and they make sure we all get divided up and served the same meal. The profit from market where you can buy some of the clothes is divided up to the families selling in the market that day. The market gets switched each day and the whole island benefits from the sale of the products. This shows great community support which I wish I would see more in Canada but I will not rant about that subject yet.

After Isla Taquile we headed back into Puno and we meet some Australians and an American on the trip as well. We decided that we would go into the main strip and get some food and have a few drinks. When we got to the main strip we were bombarded by some people marketing their restaurants. We had three of them fighting over who would host us for the night. We decide to go with a restaurant that had a meal for 15 soles and free pisco sours. Though the one Australian was called and ass in Spanish by the one host of the competing restaurant. It was very entertaining to see this happen but the meal that was 15 soles came with terrible serves which we were told from the host that called one of us an ass.

From the restaurant we all split up to go our separate ways. The Australians, the American and the German were headed to Copocabana and I was head for Cusco. The British guy did not have dinner with us because he was headed by bus to Arequipa and left the night of the dinner. After I headed back to the hotel to have a nice hot shower and relax because I had to get up early the next day to catch the bus.

The ride to Cusco was fine with just only one tiring popping on the way there. Arriving into Cusco was fine but you start to realize how expensive it is though it is a very beautiful city with a lot of history. For my birthday I relaxed and got my laundry done and got my boots fixed. The one thing I like Perú is that fact you can pretty much get anything fixed here. I had a clip break off the boot and got it fixed for 2 soles which is very cheep. I know in Canada the answer would be trough them out and get a new pair. I am glad that i am on the last leg of the trip of the Gringo Trail and tomorrow I will head on my journey to Machu Pichu and will have a good adventure to tell when I get back. With trek on the Gringo trial I have really valued my friendship with friends that I have at home and that I have made here.