After Uros, we set sail for the major island of Taquile. This island is much bigger at 5.5 x 1.6km (and more permanent!) than Uros and the people seemed more focused on their own daily tasks than hitting tourists up for money. Plus, it is a pretty solid island with the highest point reaching 4050m! The inhabitants speak Quechua and have many quirks that I found interesting. For example, red is worn by the married and black is for the single. When a couple gets married, a support belt for the man´s back is woven with hair taken from his mother and bride-to-be. And instead of shaking hands or hugging, when the men greet each other, they exchange coca leaves from their side pouches! Plus both the men and the women create the handicrafts to sell to the tourists, with the men as the primary knitters. When Andy and I bought woven goods from the town square market, attached were little tags with the price and family name on them. The cashier took the tag off and gave 90% of the 15 soles we paid (about $5) directly back to the family.
In total, the lake and Taquile were gorgeous and we were fortunate enough to get lovely weather for almost the entire day (the first photo posted is of a looming storm on the boat ride in). I also enjoyed the view of the Bolivian mountains from the island. This was probably my favorite day out so far, it was just really nice to be out in the fresh air and to be surrounded with such astounding natural beauty. Plus after seeing my legs, our guide, Cesar, called his pharmacist sister to get me pills to stop my bug bites from itching. And miraculously, the pills work!
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