The next morning, we woke up from a very peaceful night of sleep and Julia prepared us pancake for breakfast. Unfortunately, it didn't come with maple syrup. I had to settled for strawberry jam. Julia walked us to the dock after breakfast where we hoped on the same wooden boat and headed to the Island of Taquile.
An hour later, the guide took us on yet another trek up the hill. This time was up to the town centre of the island. But it wasn't too bad. About 15 minutes of up hill and 20 minutes of flat path.
This island has a great Spanish influence. You can tell especially by the way the men dressed. With black pants, white shirt and black vest, they also wear hats they knit themselves to indicate their relationship status. White hat with red band and draped on the left meant the man is available and is looking for a girlfriend. If the white hat is draped on the right side, the man is with a girl or in a trail marriage which they live like husband and wife for 2 or 3 years before the real deed. There is no divorce allowed. Men with red hat are married and men with multi coloured hats means they are very important figures like the mayor or something. The women also have shorter skirt than the Amanati women. It was interesting to see the changes in clothing between the islands.
Unlike Amanati, Taquile is a lot more developed in terms of tourism. There are a quite few restaurants around the town centre. We had lunch at one a bit up the hill. But it had a stunting view of the lake and the village below. The grill trout fresh from Lake Titicaca was the best meal I had since our arrival in Peru.
After lunch it was time to head back to Puno in the wooden boat. The boat felt even more painfully slow. The return journey took more 3 hours. I stayed outside of the cabin and complete forgot how unforgiving the Peruvian sun can be. Without sunscreen, I sadly looked like a shinny tomato when I got off the boat. Tomorrow is going to suck!
*******link to original post*******
http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/09/lake-titicaca-from-peru-day-7-8.html
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.