I almost forgot! On our trip, Ben and I also visited one of the islands in Lake Titicaca--Taquile:
The turtle-speed, three-hour boat ride out to the island was worth it. From the island, we could see the lake's more expansive portion not seen from Puno. You can tell from the map that we also weren't too far from the Bolivian border:
What the map doesn't show is the Cordillera Real in Bolivia. We were able to see it from the island. Let's just say my photography skills don't do these mountains justice:
What impressed me most was the island culture. While most islanders in the region speak Aymara, the people of Taquile speak Quechua, and have for centuries. They maintain their unique culture, although surely tourism helps that.
The men of the island are expert knitters, and make their own stocking (pajama-like) hats--red ones for married men, white for bachelors. The wives also weaves their husbands a wide belt, which is worn with calf-length pants and a white peasant shirt.
We ate lunch there and then took a quick walk over to the Peru-facing side of the island to catch our boat back another three hours. Here's the view towards Puno:
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My husband, son and I visited Taquile a few years ago and the two of them bought the gorgeous hats that the men weave. The red for married men, the part white/red hat for single men. We had lunch of the freshest fish ever. If you are ever going there and people want to hitch a ride on your hired boat going to or from the island, be sure and let them. We met a mother and daughter and had a great time.
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