Tuesday 16 September 2008

If you don´t like your neighbours, sail away

Sitting at 3827m, Lake Titicaca is the higest navigable lake in the World (we´re not actually sure why one can´t navigate lakes higher than LT, but if you know let us know). It´s also an anthropologist´s dream and full of indiginous Peruvian tribes.

We risked life and limb to visit them (mum almost fell into the lake when she lost her footing while clambering on board our vessel) and landed at a collection of floating reed islands called Uros. Everything on these tiny islands is made from reed, from the simple abodes to watchtowers. The floor beneth your feet is springy and unsteady and the whole island is approximately 10m square. Yet 10 families will live on this piece of floating land, fishing, making traditional gifts for tourists and planning grand fiestas to celebrate local weddings.

It may sound like a hard life, but it has a lot of advantages - it´s always clean because there´s plenty of water to wash everything, there´s always lots of yummy fish aronud and if you don´t like your neighbours you can up anchor and find new ones.

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