^{Lake Titicaca, Peru}

In 2012, I decided on going to Peru for a volunteering trip. I stayed in a house with other volunteers and we all became one big family. This trip was the first stop from first San Pedro family excursion. After about 7 hour bus ride and 45 minutes ferry ride, we arrived at the Uros Islands, the first in our Lake Titicaca trip.  The lake is actually the highest navigational lake in the world and is shared by Peru and Bolivia. This trip will be forever in my memory. Can’t believe it’s almost a year ago!

The Uros islands are basically man made floating islands from reeds. The Uru people have lived here for hundreds of years when the Incas expanded to their land. While we were sitting down, learning about their life and culture, we felt and saw the island floating. The houses were small and are just for sleeping, they have solar panels donated by the Peruvian government to use for their electricity. The guide explained that there were about 5 families and a dog in that small island and there were about 60 islands altogether. We tried on their native costumes and the skirt alone was about as heavy as it can get. After just a few hours, we boarded one of their ‘nice double decker boats’ and it took us to the main island where a convenience store and restrooms for tourists were located.

It’s amazing to learn how these people live with just the bare necessities, as well as keeping their culture and heritage alive throughout all these years. They have catered to tourists, getting all the extra income they can get to catch up with the needs of today’s society but I just hope they won’t get too commercialized that would lose what made them unique in this world.