Closer to the sky, another life

Bus ride for 7 hours. Breathing became just a little bit more difficult than yesterday. But still no real problem. I will survive for sure. Landed at sunset in the middle of the city. Puno is quite ugly and dirty. I have a weird feeling, it's doesn't really feel like home, not like Cusco. Oh well, let's see what happens.





I woke up in the middle of the mountains, the amazing Andes mountains, at the altitude of 3800 m...sailing on a small boat, to a paradise island. I never imagined that mountain (3800 m) and sailing could go together. It seems lake Titicaca makes it happen everyday.
We first visited the floating islands, made by hand by the local communities (Peruvians-ancestors from the Pre-Inca civilization) who ran on the water long years ago, to protect themselves from the Inca civilization that came to take over the lands. The families on the islands are living an extremely simple life, using their boats everyday to bring supplies from the mainland. They mainly live from tourism fishing and handcrafting.

Moving a little bit further from the mainland, around 2.5 hrs by boat, is the beautiful Taquile island, a natural island serving a community of 2900 people. A community that lives by its own rules, quite different than ours. Besides the fact that they don't pay any taxes or utilities, they have an own government which they elect every year by raising their hand in the main square. They grow their own food, eat tones of fish and rice, use solar electricity for cooking, but still have a few schools and a doctor from the mainland during the week (hopefully nobody gets ill in weekends)  Their main sources are tourism (you pay 3 USD to get on the island) handcraft and the traditional fishing thanks to the lake.

It's funny to call it lake cause this huge pile or water looks like a sea, a sea at 3800 m above...sea level :)))
After one full day in such a place, after visiting such a different kind of lifestyle, it kind of makes you want to go back to your roots, life can be so beautiful without many useless shit we have everyday.

Post written on 26 May 2013 at 15.30 Peru time, 23.30 Romania time.