Amantani baby

Amantani baby

in hand knit cap, Oshkosh jacket --

father, son, old, new

On Isla Amantani we are staying at a hospedaje run by an extended family. Everyone on this remote island in Lake Titicaca wears traditional attire, so it's funny to see this baby dressed in an Oshkosh B'gosh jacket below his hand knit chullo. I try to explain in my limited Spanish that I live a day's drive from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where this jacket is made. The father, who only speaks Quechua, is as amused by my gestures as the son he is lovingly supporting.

sorcerer playing pipes

sorcerer playing pipes,

condor feathers in the reeds,

carved staff by the door

Part of the charm of visiting Islas Uros, the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, is a chance to experience their lifestyle close up. After a group presentation, the residents take us by the hand, two-by-two, and lead us into their homes. The huts, constructed of totora reeds just like the entire island, contain just two beds, also made of reeds, covered with colorful handwoven spreads. Our host is a medicine man. His carved staff rests near the open door and one wall is decorated with the feathers of the sacred condor. He takes down one of his bamboo zamponas and sits on the larger bed to play a healing tune for us. Then he takes down some of the flamboyant skirts and jackets and hats hanging on the wall and puts them on over our western clothes. Back outside, he leads us to where his wife has spread her handmade crafts, but even the gestured invitation to purchase is as gentle as the sound of his pipes.

condor and yachac

condor and yachac,

wings and arms outstretched, dancing

on a floating island

The Andean Condor, the national symbol of Peru, has the largest wingspan of any land bird (3.2 m or 10.5 ft). It is also one of the longest living birds, with a lifespan of up to 100 years. A carrion feeder, it prefers high, open areas where it can soar on thermals while searching for carcasses of large animals. In Inka culture, Malku, the Condor, is a symbol of power and health, the ruler of the upper world, associated with Inti, the sun deity. Many Andean cultures believe that the bones and organs of the Andean Condor possess medicinal powers, which sometimes leads to the hunting and killing of condors. This female condor was shot but managed to land on the sanctuary of one of the Islas Uros, the floating islands of Lake Titicaca. When we arrived for a visit, the inhabitants asked our Inka guide, Amaru, a yachac or medicine man, to fix the bird's broken leg. Afterwards, the two did a dance together. Thanks to Coral Morales for these amazing photographs.

twin sun worshippers

twin sun worshippers

on Pachamama's lap, faces

turned to Tayta Inti

What a treat, a whole afternoon on Castle Beach on Lake Titicaca, beginning with a ceremony led by Amaru, our Inka shaman guide, to welcome us to step into the sacred lake, followed by a picnic lunch, games and just wandering the beach. So nice to slow down and do nothing after days of traveling, just lying on the warm rocks, soaking up the rays of Tayta Inti, Father Sun, on the lap of Pachamama, Earth Mother.

on the bed golden

on the bed golden

mats of totora reeds made of

mud, water, sunlight

The bed I am sleeping on at the hospedaje on Isla Amantani has a frame made of mango-colored wood and a double mat of totora reeds, harvested from the lake, dried and braided together along the edges. The resilient mats are very comfortable to sleep on and give off an earthy fragrance that reminds me of wheat straw. Despite the altitude, a thunderstorm and an early wake-up call, I sleep well on Mother Nature's gifts.

retrofit wiring

retrofit wiring

hangs from thick adobe on

a remote island

Isla Amantani in Titicaca Cocha is a four-hour boat ride from Puno. The islanders have recently installed solar panels that are able to generate a limited amount of electricity. At the hospedaje where we are staying, we have one light bulb hanging from the ceiling, but the wall socket is dead and the two toilets in the courtyard are lit at night by a single candle placed on the dividing wall. The wiring running along an adobe wall and hanging down from a nail may or may not be functional. It would certainly cause an electrician back home to shudder. Yet the sinuous black lines contrasting with the white box and the rough brown adobe with the smooth white plaster work well as modern art.

Pachatata sunrise

Pachatata sunrise –

a yachac offers Inti

red and yellow flowers

On the twin peaks of Amantani Isla in Titicaca Cocha, there are two temples, one to Pachamama, Earth Mother, and one to Pachatata, Earth Father. We begin our climb to Pachatata temple at 4:30 am in order to arrive before dawn. At the ancient stone temple, our Inka medicine men prepare for the sunrise ceremony. They have brought their flutes, yachac headdresses, and bags of coca leaves and kutata blossoms. They gather petals from a yellow wildflower growing on the hillside, thanking each flower for its offering. With the flowers they create a beautiful pattern on the ground in front of the temple gate, forming a double circle with the yellow petals to represent Inti, the Sun god, and a double heart with the tubular red blossoms for Pachamama, Inti's wife. As the rays of the sun stream out between the sapphire lake and the blue-gray clouds, Amaru leads us in a ceremony to greet the life-giving light.

t'ikas on her braids

t'ikas on her braids

a vendor waits by her cart

of many colors

Punenos, the inhabitants of Puno, love bright colors, especially brilliant turquoise. Here it is seen in the tall shop-on-wheels and even the waste basket and plastic bag next to the cart. The large t'ikas on the ends of the vendor's long black braids are typical of southern Peru. She is standing in the narrow calle near our hotel, while her precious cart barely straddles the narrow sidewalk. Puno hugs the shore of Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in the world above 2,000 m. The founding of Puno dates back to the late seventeenth century after the discovery of silver mines in the area. Beautifully crafted silver jewelry is readily available in many shops, although prices are steadily rising as the supply of silver declines.

woman in red skirt

woman in red skirt

entering a turquoise door in

a mango courtyard

On Amantani Isla we are staying at a charming hospedaje run by a local family. The paneled wooden doors radiate the same intense turquoise as the sky above Titicaca Cocha, and the earth-plastered walls exude the color of ripe mango. While I am washing up at the communal sink, a woman in a red skirt passes by and pauses at the threshold of a bright blue door on the far side of the courtyard. There is something inviting and mysterious about a threshold. What lies beyond?

on a boat of reeds

on a boat of reeds

playful tabby cat chasing

the end of a rope

On our way across Titicaca to Isla Amantani, we stop at one of the Islas Uros, docking alongside the floating island. A line of singing, dancing women greets us, and a friendly gray tabby cat. The cat looks like one of our cats back home, though much smaller, and I feel happy to see a cat in Peru for the first time. While we sit on reed benches on a floor of reed mats for a presentation about the reed islands, the cat visits us, cuddling on each cat-lover's lap before being passed on. When we board one of the large reed boats, the cat jumps on board and entertains us by chasing a rope.

on Titicaca

on Titicaca

a pair of towers – red rock,

white cumulus cloud

The clouds of the high altiplano of Peru are magnificent, huge, ever changing. We spent the afternoon on an isolated beach at Lake Titicaca. The half-moon of sand curved below cliffs of red rock. At one end towered this castle and at one point I glanced up to see a cumulus cloud mimicking the castle. The castle made of rocks will stand unmoving for many years, overlooking the lake, while the cloud made of water vapor will quickly move on, crossing the wide expanse of water.

between turquoise lake

between turquoise lake

and towering white clouds, a door

of bright baby blocks

Of all the amazing doors I have seen in Peru, this one is the most spectacular, all the more so because of the simple setting, a cracked adobe wall halfway up the path to the Temple of Pachatata at the top of one of the two mountains on the island of Amantani. It often seems that the more barren the landscape, the more colorful the costumes and decorations, and this is certainly the case in the dress and decor on this rocky island. Other doors on Amantani are painted in bright monotones, but none of them are as graphic and eye-popping as this one of bright blue baby blocks.

on the isle of love

on the isle of love

a moon-faced baby peers out 

from his ruffled cap

On Isla Amantani I fell in love with this little boy, son of the family who run the hostel we stayed in. This circular island in Lake Titicaca is also called Isla Kantuta, after the national flower that grows here. Amaru, our Inka shaman guide, calls it the Love Island, because of the pair of peaks, each with an ancient temple on top to Pachamama, Earth Mother, and Pachatata, Earth Father. I saw evidence of this love theme in the heart shape set in the center of the white window grilles on the adobe houses. The costumes of the women and children are very bright, with multicolored embroidered skirts, blouses and shawls. In contrast, the men wear black pants, vest and hat with a white shirt. Unmarried children wear ruffled stocking caps, the boys with a white background and the girls in brown, both knit with colorful designs. This baby boy is obviously loved by his entire extended family and charmed us all.

a fisherman hoists

a fisherman hoists

his heavy net on his boat,

slowly rows away

Amaru, our Inka shaman guide, stops at the open air market on our way to Lake Titicaca to purchase ingredients for a picnic at Castle Beach. It's hard work carrying the heavy boxes and bags down the steep, rocky hill to the beach. We pitch in to slice ripe avocados and tomatoes, which Amaru stuffs into pocket bread, sprinkled with olive oil and oregano. Our fingers drip with slices of ripe mango, chunks of a gigantic papaya, gelatinous grenadia (misleadingly referred to as snot fruit), delicious pears and melons. While we are gorging on this feast, a fisherman rows up to one end of the half-moon beach. His nets are spread out to dry on the smooth, sloping rocks. Patiently he tugs and hauls and folds and rolls one big net, lifts the heavy burden and wrangles it onto the bow of his boat. He pushes the boat into the water, hops in and rows off across the wide waters, bent on catching fish.

the deep blue waters

the deep blue waters

of rock puma lake lapping

earth mother's fingers

Amaru, our Inka shaman, tells us that Titicaca means Rock Puma. This massive lake, which sits at 3,800 m (12,500 ft), is sacred to indigenous Andeans, who believe that Viracocha, the creator, brought light to the world by raising Manco Capac, the sun, and his half-sister wife, Mama Ocllo, from the lake into the sky. These amazing rocks at Castle Beach look like porpoises or blue whales covered with barnacles. The rocks are actually red but the mottled coating of lichens and the light reflecting from the deep azure water makes them look mauve. I walked barefoot along the rocky shore for hours in the sun, which beat down with a fierce intensity at this high altitude. I slathered sunblock on my face but foolishly neglected my winter-pale feet. I woke up at night with my feet on fire, wishing I could soak them in that cold water again.

on her home of reeds

on her home of reeds –

reed floor, reed walls, reed fuel –

the cook fries flat bread

The clay cook stove with its clay pots sits in the open, fueled by dry totora reeds, since no fires are allowed inside the huts made of reeds. The Uros cook wears her hair in long braids ending in huge tassels called t'ikas. The style of her hat, colorful jacket and full skirt, perhaps even the tassels are traditional attire for the women of the floating islands. In addition to frying flat bread, the cook is boiling some small fish. Most of the fish in Lake Titicaca are imports, rainbow trout from Canada and king fish from Argentina, which have overtaken the native fish. Tourists are another invasive species, but we are greeted warmly, ushered in twos and threes inside their tiny homes, then led by the hand to the crafts spread out for sale on the yielding ground of floating reeds.

on Islas Uros

on Islas Uros

rowboat tied to the floating

totora reed island

On our three-hour boat ride from Puno to Isla Amantani on Lago Titicaca, we stopped at one of the Islas Uros, the floating islands made from totora reeds. The Uros people literally live on the abundant reeds they gather from the shallows, construcing islands from cross-hatched layers of reeds and replenishing them as the bottom rots. The Uros also build their huts from reeds, so tightly woven that few drops of rain make it through the thick thatch. A family of four or five sleeps on reed beds that take up most of the hut. Flames of any kind are not allowed inside, so most activities take place in the open area in front of the circle of huts. The Uros also build large boats from bundles of reeds. They even eat the reeds, peeling the white base. Nowadays they fabricate crafts from reeds for the tourist trade. It is said that the Uros retreated to these islands to avoid the incursions of Callos and Incas. Now, few pure-blood Uros remain, due to intermarriage with the neighboring Ayamara. The island we visited has a solar panel, so the islanders have a television and, of course, the ubiquitous cell phone.