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Magnificent Lake Titicaca by Barry Brady

by Barry Brady
(South Africa)

Majestic Lake Titicaca

Majestic Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is a high altitude lake which straddles Peru and Bolivia, 40% is in Bolivia and 60% in Peru. It is a HUGE inland lake that is fed by 27 rivers.

The lake itself is 190km long at its longest and 80 km wide at its widest. It has a surface area of 8372 square kilometers, so to say that it is big is an understatement.

Its altitude is 3812 m above sea level, so by all accounts, it is a unique place.

The main city on the banks of Titicaca is Puno.

Puno is a somewhat dusty town that is a hub of commerce and trading, but is not a very pretty place.

We arrived there from Arequipa and were welcomed to our hotel by some very efficient staff, really amazing.

We spent the night in Puno and the next morning embarked on a boat out onto the lake to see what life there was on Lake Titicaca.

Much to my surprise, there is plenty of life on the lake. The first place we visited was the floating islands of Uros.

Uros is a group of floating islands made from mud and reeds. The islands are inhabited by families who have been there for generations and are largely fishermen.

It is an unusual experience being on these island because you can feel them moving and rising with the water. Also, there is no grass growing on them, so the islanders put reeds down on them so that you can walk.

The reeds are yellow in colour and are a bit squishy, so when you walk you sink a bit into the island.

It is really a unique place, and the only way to get there is by boat. We spent some time on an island and saw how the locals lived. There is no electricity, but the locals have set up solar power, so that helps them have some level of convenience.

Amantani Island

We left Uros and headed off to Amantani Island, one of two main islands on the lake. It is populated by farmers who farm potatoes, wheat, corn etc.



The Island is inhabited by approximately 6000 people and is very remote. It is in the middle of lake on the Peruvian side and has two peaks namely Pachamama and Pachatata.

Some of the pictures you will see below are from a walk we did up Pachamama. We stayed on the island for 1 night with a local Quechua family.

The Quechua people are direct descendants of the Incas and Quechua is a totally different language to Spanish.

Our hosts were an elderly couple who spoke some Spanish but were native Quechua speakers. Their daughter was staying with them and she could speak Spanish and a little broken English. We managed to get by with sign language and gesticulating.

We had our own room in their house, but there was no running water or electricity, so no showering on that night. The house was made by the Senor, an elderly gentleman who still worked each day on his crops and fields.

Taquile Island

We left the next morning to visit the neighbouring island of Taquile. Taquile is a beautiful island with approx 3000 inhabitants.

We walked around the perimeter of the island for about 40 minutes and came to the Plaza. It was a beautiful walk with breathtaking views of the lake.

From the Plaza we walked to our restaurant for lunch and the view from there was spectacular. We were perched high above the lake with a 180 degree view of the lake and the surrounding mountains, it was stunning.

We then descended 530 steps to the jetty below to get to our boat and then slowly chugged back to Puno.

Lake Titicaca was really an amazing experience. It felt so large that at some points it felt like we were in open ocean. It is a beautiful place with some amazing scenery and massive clouds roll in as the evening falls. An unforgettable place!

To read more about our adventures in Peru, go to LightImage.

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May 05, 2013

Don't Lose Your Memory! An External Hard Drive Protects You

WD My Passport 500GB Portable External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 Blue



Buy New $69.99


Are you traveling with a laptop, tablet, or other device where you're storing your photos, stories, etc?

One of the dangers of traveling is losing your recorded memories. Your computer device could be:

Stolen
Lost while traveilng
Damaged

Don't figure this out too late. Avoid what has happened to others, including me!

One of the best ways to protect yourself against this irremediable loss is a hard drive backup.

We recommend doing what we have done - purchasing this Western Digital My Passport 500GB Portable External Hard Drive.

With 500 GB, you'll have far more space than necessary for all your videos and photos.

Hey, even download some very large movie files for entertainment while sitting in a hotel room waiting for the rain to stop, the roads to open, or whatever -well, we hope THAT won't happen.

But be safe rather than sorry, get yourself a backup!

May 04, 2013

The Colca Valley. - May 2013 Peru Photo Contest

~ submitted by Elena Potapova in Samara, Russia The photo was taken on the way to the Colca Canyon. It was one of the last March days, a bright sunny

Continue reading "The Colca Valley. - May 2013 Peru Photo Contest"

May 01, 2013

The hairy caterpillar which has been compared to Donald Trump's toupee

Yahoo! News UKThe creature was spotted in the Amazon by friends Jeff Cremer, 34 and Phil Torres, 27, who run photography tours from Posada Amazonas, a 30 bed rainforest lodge in Peru. Conservation biologist Phil and wildlife photographer Jeff were leading a small ...

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May 01, 2013

Peru's Astrid & Gaston rises to No. 14 on world's best restaurants list

Andina - Agencia Peruana de NoticiasLima, Apr. 29 (ANDINA). Peru's restaurant Astrid & Gaston, owned by celebrated chef Gaston Acurio, was named the 14th best place to eat worldwide on Monday in the giving-ceremony of the prestigious S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list.

This Peruvian eatery is now the second top-ranked restaurant in South America, behind Brazil’s D.O.M. which is placed sixth.

Continue reading "Peru's Astrid & Gaston rises to No. 14 on world's best restaurants list"

Apr 26, 2013

JetBlue Adds its Southernmost Destination: Lima, Peru!

JetBlue Adds its Southernmost Destination: Lima, Peru!

for travel between November 21 and December 19, 2013 (b) -

www.jetblue.com/new

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

JetBlue Airways JBLU -4.60% today announced new daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM) in Lima, subject to receipt of government operating authority.

Lima will be JetBlue's 81st BlueCity and its fourth destination in South America.

Sale fares for U.S.-originating flights to Lima are available today and until May 3, 2013, at www.jetblue.com/new for as low as $139 one-way from Fort Lauderdale and $199 one-way from the New York Metros and Boston, for travel between November 21 and December 19, 2013.
     
$139.00 From Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) to Lima, Peru (LIM), one-way:

Fare is valid for flights on all days of week excluding Friday and Sunday between 11/21-12/19/13 that are booked by 5/3/13, the earlier of 11:59 PM ET or local. Fare from US only. 14-day advance purchase required. Restrictions apply. 

Apr 15, 2013

Lima - Peru

~ submitted by Inez Rivas, Porto Alegre, Brasil Fiz uma viagem de uma semana a Lima. Me apaixonei pela cidade e pelo povo sempre alegre e hospitaleiro.

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Apr 12, 2013

The Wrangler - May 2012 Peru Photo Contest

By: Manya Kuzemchenko - Brooklyn, NY, USA This photo was taken at the Huillquicasa pass, at 4400 meteres above sea level, Quisuarani (Quishuarani) between

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Mar 17, 2013

PERUVIAN PENDANT

~submitted by Helen Bartkiw THIS WAS GIVEN TO ME BY A TRBAL LEADER BACK IN 1972 WHEN I WAS WORKING WITH THE MISSIONARIES IN THE JUNGLES OF PERU NEAR A

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Mar 13, 2013

Food in Checked baggage

Due to an illness, I am on a very strict diet and would like to bring food of my own in checked baggage for my 14 day visit in July. Does anyone know

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Mar 07, 2013

Road to Pucallpa Closed? 3/7/2013

~ submitted by Jacques in Lima, Peru On March 6, 2013, I heard that the road to Pucallpa was closed due to heavy rains lately (February 2013). Does

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