We had a super relaxing weekend away at Lake Titicaca, despite the two 6 hour bus rides. Saturday morning we went out on the lake to see the floating islands. They are part tourist trap I think, but since some of them don't allow visitors, they must be "for real" too. The inhabitants build the islands with layers upon layers of reeds. They say it takes about a year to build one and that the new ones are about 2 meters deep. They continue to pile on more reeds over time, so they grow to be much deeper. It's pretty amazing to think that people live out there without any amenities- electricity, running water, etc. Hey, it just occured to me that their drinking water is from the lake (not boiled either) but they also must use the lake for sewage (where else would it go?). Hmmmm.
2 years ago