(This is Day 2 of my tour of Lake Titicaca. You can read about Day 1 here)
We arrived at Isla Taquile on a beautiful sunny day, an hour after departing Amantani. Taquile island is much smaller, approx. 5.8km2, compared to Amantani’s 9km2 but both sit at a similar elevation. We started off with (yet another) hike, on the paved pathway leading towards the peak of the island. It weaved through the terrain, offering views of the lake at every point.
I took a leisurely approach, as we walked towards the main square; passing through beautiful archways with stone heads that framed the views and a landscape dominated by tiered platforms where crops are cultivated. On the way, we met the cutest little girl, dressed in traditional clothes and holding a sprig of a plant. The cheeky monkey offered to sell it to us for 2 soles! We laughed and politely declined but I gave her some money as she happily posed for pictures with me.
We arrived at the main square, Plaza de Armas, half an hour later. The square is surrounded by buildings including two churches, a couple of restaurants, a grocery store and a souvenir shop selling handcrafted goods. Taquile is particularly known for its textile art. This tradition of knitting and weaving predates the Hispanic and Inca colonisations. An interesting fact is that all the weaving is done by women, and the knitting by men! In this culture, a man’s worth is judged by his proficiency in knitting. Men are chosen as a mate based on their ability to knit a chullo (hat). This is tested by checking how well the chullo is able to hold water over large distances!
These skills are passed down to the children, who start learning as early as aged 5. The textile art on Taquile has been designated a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity – a practice or skill considered by UNESCO to be valuable, and part of a place’s cultural heritage.
There are approximately 3000 people in Taquile, belonging to 6 communities, who all speak Quechua. Like Amantani, the Taquile community also practises a sustainable tourism model, offering homestays and planned activities for travellers. Both islands live by the Incan moral code, ‘don’t lie, don’t steal and don’t be lazy’. However there are some differences in their cultures.
For example their traditional attire. Women on Amantaní wear black scarves embroidered in colourful motifs, while in Taquile they wear plain black scarves (colourful pom-poms tied on the end indicate that a woman is single). Men on Amantani wear a plain black hat while Taquile men wear red and white ‘chullos’ (hats) if they are single, red ones if they are married and black chullos for the leaders. Another difference is the culture about their unions. In Amantani separation (equivalent to divorce) is accepted while in Taquileno society, marriages are for life. Weddings on Taquile are said to be quite the affair. They last 5 days, are filled with drinking and dancing for the guests while the couple spend at least a couple of days kneeling in meditation! Another interesting practice is that In lieu of our ring exchanges, the wife gifts the husband a special belt (champi) she’s woven for him, made with red and white alpaca wool, and black strands of her hair! I enjoyed hearing these tidbits that gave some insights into their way of life.
We were treated to a traditional dance, Sikuris, at the main square. The steps were fairly simple, set to the beat of drums and flute (a siku, a traditional Andean panpipe). The costumes were colourful and I was particularly taken with the hats. I did not need to be asked twice, to join! (I am always that person). It was fun.
Afterwards we explored the countryside, wandering through the undulating landscape past sheep, chickens and other farm animals until we arrived at a restaurant. Here we had a demonstration of how locals make soaps using herbs native to the island (similar to the demonstration we’d had at the Ccaccaccollo women’s weaving cooperative in the Sacred Valley. You can read about that here). Lunch was delicious trout, with rice (I gave the soup a hard pass) and we were herded back to the boat.
The two and a half hour scenic boat ride back to Puno provided an opportunity for the group to bond. We had an evening to kill when we arrived at Puno, as our buses wouldn’t depart until late at night, so we set off for the main square. I was pleasantly surprised by how pretty the square looked, dominated by the Catedral de Puno.
We found a cute and brightly coloured cafe/bar to sit at (Cafe Bar de la Casa Del Corregidor). When I say ‘found’, it had been recommended by Beth’s parents, who had loved it when they’d visited the city years earlier. The courtyard had brightly coloured walls and indoors was eclectically decorated, with records on the walls and a huge poster of Bob Marley. It was the perfect spot to chat and have delicious food (the alpaca burgers were a hit). We spent the night dancing away…by night, I mean we left at 8pm to catch our buses! However I remember that evening quite fondly. There was tons of ridiculousness, we danced like no one was watching and laughed till our bellies hurt, while almost getting frozen to death in the cold.
It reminded me that as much as I love going to new places, seeing beautiful vistas, experiencing new cultures, sometimes the best experience is to have a moment of connection with a group of strangers, in a strange city, brought together by our love of travel.
Visited April 2022