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Post by plane2catch on Nov 23, 2015 20:22:47 GMT
Has any one visited the floating reed islands of late?
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Post by marielouise on Jan 29, 2016 6:27:43 GMT
I just saw this. I visited in 2012 and Chech the year before. What is it that you would like to know? We spent very little time on one island. Mainly they explained how the islands were built.
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Post by plane2catch on Jan 29, 2016 16:46:05 GMT
Hi MarieLouise, I always laugh when I see your post as my niece has the same name, i.e. Marie Louise. At any rate I visited the islands back in 2007 and really enjoyed my visit there. I was in awe that the inhabitant's chose to live on the reed islands. They seemed so happy yet at the same time seemed to have so little. I cherish the little reed boat that I bought from them. I remember back in 1985 in China seeing a reed boat on display in Guilin. It was in a glass display case so I knew it was something special. It took me 22 years to learn it's significance. What was your boat ride out to the island like? The wind and rain were really acting up when we returned to the dock. It took the boat three approaches before we were able to reach the dock. I remember it being quite an experience and a little fearful as the whirling wind was shaking the boat. I visited in the month of November.
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Post by marielouise on Jan 29, 2016 17:10:49 GMT
I went with Trafalgar and in 2012, it was slightly different. We spent a night on Suasi island across the lake from Puno. I enjoyed that very much it was relaxing. It was a long winding road to get to the island from the airport. Then it was at least a 1 hour boat ride to Taquile island, it was interesting to meet the people there but we only stayed down at the harbour. Then about half an hour or so to the reed islands. I was amazed how many there were and how close they were together. I enjoyed being on one of the islands, looking inside their houses and I bought a little dish with fish on for my DH who is a fisherman. There were many rowboats around and motorized row boats. They did not really use the reed boats except to take tourists out. Some in our group wanted to go on a huge one but there wasn't enough time. I really don't know how they make a living other than from tourists. The fish in the lake that we saw were really small. The children row themselves to school , I guess on the mainland. The next day we visited a small farm, they had llamas and grew mainly potatoes and had some guinea pigs, they were extremely poor and we were able to inside their one room house, very tiny. They seemed to mainly live on potatoes with some mud added for the minerals. It is very sobering to see this poverty.
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Post by plane2catch on Jan 29, 2016 20:28:58 GMT
What were your accommodations like on Suasi island?
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Post by marielouise on Jan 29, 2016 21:19:38 GMT
They were fine, it is an eco lodge. We had electric lights but we were not able to plug anything in, in the rooms. There were hair dryers to be used in the office and maybe you could charge electronics there. Most rooms had fireplaces but not mine up in the rafters, the stone chimney went through my room and the people from Florida below me kept a hot fire. They apparently were freezing. I was warm and toasty in my single room. They put hot water bottles in our beds. We had a normal bathroom with a shower. Wine was included and we could serve ourselves as much as we wanted, but not really recommended, since one should really be well hydrated at such a high elevation. They had oxygen in the office. The food was delicious. The next day, there was a BBQ down by the harbour, again delicious with alpaca meat. At night we went star gazing for about 30 min, there was a guide at the lodge, also a small museum. In the morning we went on a short walk to see the vicunas that live on the island, they were very skittish. As I said this was stay was a highlight.
I had read about Lake Titicaca a very long time ago and always wanted to visit. DH did not come since he was worried about the high elevation, he does have some breathing problems. Also he needed to dog sit our aged dog, we could no longer put him in a kennel, it would really have upset him.
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Post by plane2catch on Jan 30, 2016 0:20:12 GMT
Going to have to google Vicunas as I have never heard of them. Wish I would have had the opportunity to try Alpaca while in Bolivia. Think we stayed at a more modern hotel near town. My head was pounding and I tried chewing on Cocoa leaves but didn't get any relief. A couple of individuals from our group of 27 went to the hospital because of the altitude sickness. I was given oxygen at the hotel in the evening and was so grateful. When I asked them how much I owed for the Oxygen they said it was free. Found this hard to believe because whenever I scuba dive it cost for the oxygen tank. I just gave them a hugh tip when they had to deliver it for the second time to my room. I called downstairs and they sent a porter with the tank. Other than learning that they were eating Guinea Pig in Peru I really enjoyed the trip. I guess you never really know what you are eating in foreign countries. I remember in Peru stopping and having some spring rolls at lunch. I suppose they could have been stuffed with Guinea Pig instead of chicken. Best if I quit thinking about this topic. Ykkes!!
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Post by marielouise on Jan 30, 2016 3:44:39 GMT
I don't think it would have been guinea pig. The locals eat it only for celebrations. I never had any. They keep them inside their houses and they never go outside. It was interesting to see, they had more than 30 of varying sizes. I don't think the coca leaves helped, I had tea and also chewed on the leaves. I tried the high altitude pills but I don't think they helped either and after 3 days I had a reaction to them so i stopped. Actually I started to feel better at Suasi island, which was the 5th day. We only had 1 more day then left at that altitude.
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