Peru – Uros

2013 May —–

The next morning we all jumped into the Puno limousines (bicycle tuktuks) and went down to Lake Titicaca (3800 meters above sea level) to catch our boat to Uros, the floating islands. Amazing! There are about 70 islands, made entirely of reeds and roots of reeds. All of the houses are made of reeds. The watch towers made of reeds. The boats are made of reeds. They use the reeds for medicine (iodine). They make tea out of the reed flowers. They eat the reeds. There are fish in the lake, but they are not much bigger than a large sardine. These are fed to the children to help develop their brains and bodies. Once they get older they no longer eat fish. Protein is found in the form of eggs or the odd duck.

The roots of the reeds form a sort of cork material that is cut into cubes, strung together with poles and ropes, anchored to the bottom of the lake, then layered with reeds to form an island that is spongy when walked upon – like walking on a huge water bed. The reeds continually rot causing for new reeds to be added about every three months. The entire island begins to sink after about 25 years, thereby causing them to make a new island.

Cooking is done on small stone hearths. Obviously, they are very cautious with fire and NO smoking is allowed on the islands. The beds are made of reeds covered with blankets, which always feel damp. We asked what the life expectancy was, thinking that this dampness would result in bronchial problems, yet they live to be into their 90’s! Amazing!

Legend has it that these people escaped from the Spanish by fleeing into the water and forming these islands that can be moved when necessary. Today, there are only about 200 people still living on the islands, the larger ones housing about 10 families and the smaller about 2 families. The children go to school on the mainland, in Puno, and tend not to come back. Also, with the influx of tourists, they have less and less time to devote to maintaining their island structures. However, the tourists also provide financial support when purchasing their handicrafts. I believe that eventually these islands will only remain as a tourist attraction, with character actors playing the part of native Uros, while actually living in Puno.