We are going to Uros floating islands of which there are 96 …..with 1300 people living on them. We are going to only one.

Lake Titicaca is at 12,500 feet above sea level…. the highest navigable lake in world is 110 miles in length by 33-34 miles, 962’ deep. 60% of which is in Peru, 40% in Bolivia. Means “Great Puma”.

Jacques Cousteau discovered that this lake has giant massive frogs…. 40-60 metres down… no oxygen needed to breathe.

Elevation of Puno is 12,500.

5000BC developed potatoes

Imara is language on Uros Islands.

90% of children that leave the islands for education do not return.

Totortos reeds filter out pollution from old factories Making the water drinkable. Only 1-2 metres deep where reeds are. The lake has dropped 2 metres in last 3 yrs.

10 C water temp. Brrrrr!

It’s mandatory to send children to kindergarten at 3 years.

1957 7th day Adventist’s arrived and started school a few year later.

Living on this island are 5 families with 15 people in total.

They lived by fishing and hunting in 1600’s, 1700’s, 1800’s. Taken by Spaniards to work in mines. Many died.

Reeds 6-7 feet. They eat the bottom part after pealing it. It’s the only vegetables in diet.

3 layers make for dry roofs.

Islands are 3 metres thick

Once a month have to add more reeds cuz the underground become wet and it rots.

Lots of arthritis in adults and death by pneumonia in children cuz of dampness and humidity.

Dry all meats fish and birds to preserve cuz no refrigeration.

It is amazing the size of this place. We had no idea.

I noticed that the women are all quite large so asked why….. because the are very sedentary doing knitting, making wall hangs and the like all the while sitting on the damp reeds do they absorb water (some now are using something to get them off the “ground” and their diet is salty from all the dried fish and birds (the men eat it too).

The president of this particular island

What a weird sensation it was walking on the islands. As you can imagine, you’d have to develop sea legs….. and you sort of sink on it.