Uros Islands, Peru

Our final stop on our Peru journey was the small city of Puno, near Lake Titicaca. On the lake in Puno sits the Uros Islands. There are approximately 63 artificial islands floating in Lake Titicaca, each inhabited by up to 5 Uros families. Each family builds and roofs their houses with the local growing reed bundles. The Uros describe themselves as the Kotsuña, “the lake people”, with origins that stretch back to pre-Inca times. They still fish in the traditional manner and hunt wild birds. The men are skilled sailors of totora reed rafts and the women are expert sewers and weavers. They mostly live without electricity and the luxuries we are used to. The children go to school in the island community - most of all, they are a warm and inviting people and I loved getting to know them just a little bit...