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Click on the pic to return to Peru story About an hour’s chug across Lake Titicaca from Puno on a small boat are the Uros floating islands. We visited about 3 of them. Even though the islands on the tourist trail are a bit … well … touristy it was all still pretty interesting and our guide did an excellent job of giving us a flavour of their way of life. The Uros Islands and the folk that inhabit them were really fascinating.
Rumour has it that way back in the mists of time, the Uros people fled
the jungle to escape warring factions. They built Islands of reeds in
the shallows (as in around a couple of metres deep), of Lake Titicaca.
Layer of mud, reeds on top. As the reeds rot away they just pull up some
more and pile them on. Their houses and boats also crafted out of reeds.
The fleshy inner part of the reed is a source of food, along with fish
and birds from the lake. Many of the handicrafts for tourists are also
made from reeds – they get a lot of use out of them! |
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