Michael Batson

Lake Titicaca is the second largest lake in South America and at 3800 metres above sea level the highest navigable lake in the world. The lake is part Bolivian and part Peruvian, the border between the two snakes its way across the waters which are 80 kilometres wide at the broadest point and almost 200 kilometres from end to end. At over 8000 square kilometres it’s large enough in fact for Bolivia’s navy to patrol its portion, for since the country lost its coast line to Chile in the War of the Pacific, the country is entirely landlocked.

Bolivia’s navy had been reconstituted in the 1960s by the then military junta of General Rene Barientos following the advice of German expatriate Klaus Barbie, a former Gestapo chief and Nazi war criminal then living in Bolivia, and better known by his wartime notoriety, as the “Butcher of Lyon”.

Puno, according to legend, was also the cradle of Inca civilization, as Manco Capac, the first Inca, rose from the waters of Lake Titicaca, under the orders of the Sun God, to found the Inca Empire. The lake was considered the most sacred body of water in the Inca Empire.

Puno sits on the the Collao Plateau, and is where other ancient and important cultures like Pucara and, later, Tiahuanaco, one of the most important precursors to the Inca appeared.

The city of Puno was founded by the Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro, 10th Count of Lemos in 1668 giving it the name of San Carlos de Austria. From that moment, the town began to change physically, as the Spanish priests, in their eagerness to convert the natives, built the beautiful churches which still stand today.

During the Spanish period Puno was one of the continent's richest cities because of its proximity to the Laykakota silver mines. The mining boom drew 10,000 people to an area not far from what is now Puno. It also brought a bloody rivalry between the mine owners, the Salcedo brothers, who led a revolt against the colonial government led by the newly arrived Count. The Count wasn’t a man to be trifled with and brutally suppressed the revolt, executing one brother together with 41 others, and exiling the other brother. The people living and working at the mine were ordered removed to what is now Puno.

Locals regard their city as the country’s folklore capital, blending the two ancient Andean civilisations of the Aymara from the south and the Quechua from the north with colonial influences. The resulting high-spirited folklore festivals are often hailed as the best in all Peru.

Puno is also an area with a rich array of handicrafts, costumes, holidays, legends and, most importantly, more than 300 ethnic dances.

Among the latter, the most famous is Devil dance performed during the feast of the Virgin of Candelaria during the first two weeks in February.

Puno is 400 kilometres by train from Cusco along one of the highest railways in the world. The journey takes all day across the altiplano leaving at first light and arriving after dark. Nearby is Juliaca nicknamed “The Windy City”, 44 kilometres from Puno, where the train halts for what seems an age. The tourists are all seated in one carriage and the doors locked. This is for security, for Juliaca is a noted trouble spot, with the government battling guerrilla forces.

Everyone seemed edgy, which isn’t helped, when stuck trapped in a railway carriage, all the lights go out and shouting is heard from outside the carriage. I’d noted one passenger, a Belgian, walking up and down the carriage covered in gold bling and carrying a video camera. Anywhere outside the confines of the train he’d be a ready target for theft. He was so blatant, he almost seemed to be saying “come and get me.”

Puno is the stepping-off point for exploring Titicaca with its amazing array of islands, Indian inhabitants and colorful traditions. Small motorboats can be hired for lake trips or for catching the lake trout that make it one of Peru's best-known fishing destinations. Eating the lake’s bountiful catch was to prove the downfall of one traveler, as I was to witness later.

Lake Titicaca’s water levels fluctuate, receding slightly in winter. It’s deep, almost 300 metres at its deepest point, near the Isla Soto, which though still part of Peru, is closer to Bolivian terra firma.

Geologically, Titicaca's origins are disputed, although it was likely a glacial lake. Maverick scientists claim it had a volcanic start; a century ago, Titicaca was popularly believed to be an immense mountaintop crater. A few diehards today stick to the notion that the lake was part of a massive river system from the Pacific Ocean.

The lake is dotted with numerous islands, where the inhabitants cling perilously to traditional ways of life centred around fishing, farming, weaving and now, tourism.

Later, during the Spanish Conquest, the lake allegedly became a secret depository for the empire's gold.

Among the items supposedly buried on the lake's bottom is Inca Huascar's gold chain weighing 2,000 kilos and stored in the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco, until loyal Indians threw it into the lake to prevent it from falling into Spanish hands.

French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once spent eight weeks using mini submarines to explore the depths of the lake but found no gold.

The Uros people live closest to Puno on floating islands, like huge straw-like nests. They describe their water-borne life as living “between water and heaven.”

Villagers on the islands of Taquile, Amantani, and Anapia share their homes with tourists. All this can be arranged in Puno, with ferries making return trips daily. Most ferries stop at Islas Uros also, or you can arrange day trips to visit the floating islands.

The Aymara-speaking Uros develop their unique floating islands centuries ago to escape hostile cultures on the mainland. They consider themselves to be “the oldest people on earth.” Legend has it the Uro Indians had black blood that helped them survive the frigid nights on the water and safeguarded them from drowning 

The largest of the floating islands is estimated to be 160 years old. The islanders use the ubiquitous totora, a reed much like papyrus, for food and firewood, as well as to make their boats, houses, and handicrafts, which thanks to tourism now provides them with a source of income. Needless to say building fires on the artificial islands is task best handles with caution.

It was the boats of the Uros that legendary explorer Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl studied in preparing for his legendary trans-Pacific journey from Peru to Polynesia in the reed boat Kon-Tiki in the 1940s.

Life here is far from idyllic. The Uros’ poverty has prompted more and more of them to move to Puno. That same poverty has caused those who remain to take a hard-sell approach to tourists and, besides pressing visitors to buy their handicrafts, they frequently demand "tips" for having their photographs taken.

I stayed on Isla Taquile where 350 Quechua families live following the Inca creed of “do not steal, do not lie, and do not be idle”. There is no police force on the island, and disputes are resolved through community council. The inhabitants wear colourful woollen clothing, all hand-made.

My home stay family possessed a house made of mud bricks, the guest quarters too. The temperature drops sharply after dark. Following a meal in the sleep out reserved for guests, I headed to the bar down the hill to the town square. There were a few other tourists there.

After a couple of drinks I entirely forgot that the island had no electricity, and the route back to my lodgings was undulating over rough terrain and unlit. Fortunately, I headed in the right direction and made it back in good time.

Lunch the next day was brief affair at a local restaurant. The food was prepared by a young local. Fortunately, I avoided the fish. The boat trip back to Puno took in the vista of the altiplano, a spectacular sight. The boat had no toilet, so my view of the Andes was disrupted by an Australian woman urinating off the side of the boat. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that everyone in the interior of the ferry could view her bodily functions, however needy.

Later the bus headed to La Paz, and the full effects of the lunch on the lake became apparent. One of my fellow passengers spent the entire journey, much of it over unsealed roads, violently vomiting his choice of lunch out the bus window.

Outside Puno is Chucuito, once the main tax collection point during colonial times. nearby are stunning rock carvings of faces with the prominent aquiline noses of Incas resplendent in head dress.  At Sillustani are circular stone burial towers standing on the pristine shores of Laguna Umayo, some of which are more than 12 metres high.

This area is high enough to stun the lungs of visitors, where you find yourself trying to catch your breath. The sun burns bright bleaching the landscape in a vista framed by the snow-capped Andes, one of the world’s most impressive geological features. With the world’s highest navigable lake shimmering in the alpine sunlight, this is surely between water and heaven.