The Floating Uros Islands
The Uros Islands sit out in the shallows of Lake Titicaca, where families have long used totora reeds to build almost everything around them — their floating islands, their homes, and even their canoe-shaped boats.
A Short Visit, a Hospital Stop, and a Big Detour
I only spent about a day and a half at Lake Titicaca, and half of that was in a hospital getting checked for cholera. I was trying not to get too far away from Lima because I was expecting to meet with the director of the Smithsonian Institution as soon as he flew into town. If I got an email from him, I needed to be able to jump on a bus and get back to Lima quickly.
By the time I reached the town near Lake Titicaca, I had been dehydrated with bad diarrhea for several days and could not keep much food or liquid down. I had met a small group of very nice Asian travelers, and they suggested that I drink large amounts of mate de coca — the tea made from coca leaves — since it seemed to relieve just about everything. I spent the night trying that, but I still could not keep food down and was still losing fluids, so the next morning I went to the hospital.
I was all by myself, with very little Spanish, but they took me in and were concerned that I might have cholera. They tested me, and luckily the test came back negative. I was badly dehydrated, though, so they needed to hook me up to an IV. The whole visit was at no cost to me, which was amazing, but when they brought in the IV supplies they pulled out a jar of needles soaking in alcohol and reached in for one of them.
I said, “No way. I want a brand-new needle.” They said, “No, very expensive, very expensive.” I said I did not care — give me a new needle or I was leaving. They disappeared for a while and came back with a cart full of supplies and a cashier. They pulled out a new needle, I paid the cashier, and then they hooked me up to the IV while I waited for the cholera test results.
Once the test came back negative, they wanted to move me to a room and keep me overnight for observation and more fluids. I insisted that I wanted to get out of the hospital and rehydrate myself back at the hotel. They reluctantly agreed and gave me another bottle of IV fluid, which I said I would drink slowly, one sip at a time, so it would stay down.
Of course, instead of going straight back to my hotel room, I got a rickshaw and headed to the water’s edge to finally look at Lake Titicaca. While I was there, I saw some small motorized boats — sort of putt-putt, dugout-canoe type boats — and decided to hire one for a ride out to the floating islands.
It turned out to be an incredible hour or so out on the islands. There was almost nobody out there except me and the native Uros people who lived there. At that time, everything seemed to be made from reeds: the islands themselves, the homes, the boats, and much of the everyday equipment. I took a few photos, paying a few token coins for some of them, and the kids did not seem to mind at all.
The whole visit — the boat ride out, the time on the islands, and the ride back — only took a couple of hours. When I got back to my hotel that night, I had an email saying the Smithsonian director would be in Lima in two days and wanted to meet with me at my earliest convenience.
I was right on the border with Bolivia, which I thought was going to be one of the highlights of my South American travels. I figured I still had three or four more months to wander around, and I never really thought I would get the volunteer gig in the Amazon. But I reluctantly headed back to Lima, met with the director, and sure enough, they wanted me to go with them into the Amazon. That turned into a completely life-changing experience.
I guess the moral of the story is that whenever you get a chance to do something cool, go for it — even if you only have a small window of time. Do not just hang around waiting. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes along.
High, Bright, and Vast
Lake Titicaca is located at an elevation of 3820 meters, the highest navigable lake in the world. The solar radiation is quite intense up this high. The lake is also 170 km in length, the largest waterbody in South America.
Part of a Larger South American Journey
I spent a couple months in Peru, during my South American travels, and will surely get back some day.