 |
| Collecting reeds at Lake Titicaca |
Snuggled in the Andes on the border with Bolivia, Lake
Titicaca, remote tranquil and magical, has a noble serenity and beauty
that would melt the hardest of hearts. Peru is studded with gems, but the
Incas’ most sacred lake is the diamond that will always sparkle in my memory.
I arrived at the
dark, blue shimmering water and saw women collecting reeds, from which they
make boats and construct islands on which they live. This was no show for the
tourists, it was real life for these Andeans.
Our guide, Julio,
who grew up on the Uros, the name of these floating islands, took us to visit
his family. Until a few years ago, he too had worked, lived and slept on the
ever-moving creaking strands. I felt so incongruous carrying a Prada
handbag.
 |
| The wedding |
Later that evening, back on land, we stopped at a village,
not too far from our hotel, to have a drink with the locals. Somehow, through
Julio, we ended up being invited to a wedding. It was an-out- of- this world
experience which you won’t find in any travel brochure. They welcomed us as if
we were old friends. Before long, we were dancing with a couple of the guests
going round in circles, stopping for the occasional twirl, to music that never seemed to stop.
Around us men, worse for wear, fell like flies on to the dusty ground, and
still the band played on.
Due to a lack of oxygen, we Brits weren’t able to keep up the pace. We said good-bye
and headed to Pachamama, a mountain peak home to Inca and Tiwanaku ruins.
 |
| Lake Titicaca staring back at me in the cold night |
From there I could see Lake Titicaca staring back at me in
the cold night. In the distance, the
snow-clad mountain tops of Bolivia glittered like gold as the sun left
the sky. Pictures of the wedding flashed before me. There are times when
getting up close and personal with the locals is what makes the difference
between going to a place and an experience that leaves an indelible mark.
By Daralyn Danns
Getting there
