It was 5 am, and while Christina and the boys were asleep, I snuck outside
to catch a truly special sight.
The sun was rising over Lake Titicaca, the birthplace of the Inca.
And we were going to spend our day exploring it.
We were met by our Kuoda Travel guide at the Libertador hotel
and made the walk down to the hotel's marina.
Our boat operators were two young Taquileanos.
And it turned out that we would have a 60 person boat all to ourselves.
Talk about living large!
At over 3,800 meters above sea level, Lake Titicaca is considered to be the highest navigable
lake in the world.
And at over 8,300 square kilometers, it is also the largest lake in South America.
It is also home to some truly unique cultures.
Our first stop was Isla de los Uros.
The Uru people have been living on floating islands made of totora reeds for 1,000 years.
We had a chance to learn firsthand how the Uru build these islands and how they have
adapted to the boom in tourism and modern technology.
Each island has a main figurehead or President.
And as honored guests, I was given the chance to be President for the day, complete with
traditional clothing, while Christina was dressed as my beautiful first lady.
It wasn’t just fun for us adults though.
The children on the island loved that some new kids were visiting.
It was a blast seeing that language was not a barrier for fun.
The Uros islands have a main island, that is home to about 10 families, a restaurant,
and a store where we made sure to get the coveted Lake Titicaca stamp on our passports!
After saying goodbye to the Uros islands, we made the 2 and a half hour trip to Isla
Taquile, home to another very unique culture on the lake.
Isla Taquile is home to the Taquileano people.
They are unique from other Amayra people in that they live in a co-operative culture that
is steeped in Inca tradition and rules.
The men wear black pants and vests, white wool shirts and colorful hats and belts, while
the women dress layered skirts and generally have black veils draped over their heads.
The island is very hilly, so getting to the top from the marina involved a nearly 200-meter
vertical climb.
The main square of the island is home to one of two of the islands Catholic churches, Iglesias
Nuestra Sra.
This was also where the boys got involved in a rambunctious marbles tournament with
the local children.
Taquileanos are known for some of the best-knitted handicrafts in all of Peru.
And all of the knitting is done by the men, who start learning the trade early in childhood.
Aside from tourism, Taquileanos support themselves through fishing and agriculture and have found
a way to live life on their own terms.
Saying goodbye to Isla Taquile, we made our way to the boat and headed back towards Puno,
just in time to catch a brilliant sunset over the Andes mountains.