Festival Night on Isla Amantani, Lake Titicaca, Peru

August 2011

After our morning visit to the floating Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca, our motorized boat headed to the solid, rocky Isla Amantani.  Amantani is the larger of the 40-some islands of Lake Titicaca and is intertwined with the history of the Inca Empire.   Although the nearby Bolivian islands of the Sun and Moon were considered the sacred birthplace of the Inca race, two of the great Inca Emperors, Pachama and Pachatata, built temples on Amantani.  In the days of Pachatata, it was also used as a prison island because of its isolation. The Spaniards conquered it, and their descendants retained tight control over the inhabitants even after Peru became politically independent.  It wasn't until a bloody rebellion that the indigenous people could create  their current peaceful, communal way of life.  I read there are about 800 families or almost 4,000 people living on the island.

Isla Amntani is about 4 hours by boat from Puno or 2 hours from the Uros Islands over brilliant blue waters, dotted with steep, terraced islands.  When we arrived at Amantani, we were greeted by local women in wool, pleated skirts, bright flowered blouses,  and black shawls with brilliant embroidered flowers who were there to take us to their homes for the night.  One industrious woman even had her hand-drop spindle in hand to make use of the spare moments. (Having previously done some spinning myself, I was impressed by her skill).  

As I had discussed in my Crossing the Andes post, I had decided to take medicine to prevent altitude sickness.  While I did not feel ill as we climbed the hills above the highest navigable lake in the world, my sea-level lungs were really pumping to find some more oxygen at over 12,500 ft.  Several of us took the walk up to the houses rather slowly.  Fortunately, they had placed some stone "mosaics" in the path to make it more interesting to look down.  There are no paved roads or cars or bikes on Amantani.   It is also called the Island of Kantuta, a reddish trumpet flower that is the national flower of Peru and Bolivia, connected (of course)with Inca legends.

Our boat group was divided among several families, but the 5 of us were able to stay together in the home of Isadore and Alfredo, a gracious older couple.  Fortunately, our guide Ruben was a good friend and stayed with them as well, communicating with them in their native Quechua language.  I think "Azezhenki" was "Hello" and "Waliki" meant "I'm fine," but I couldn't figure out where to insert them in a conversation.  The couple graciously accepted our food gifts from the mainland (rice, sugar, etc. that are expensive to have shipped here), and served us a hearty, delicious warm barley vegetable soup with local cheese and bread.  It absolutely hit the spot after a morning at sea.

The rooms in their home were arranged around a courtyard where they kept their tools and a big batch of tuber potatoes that looked more like carrots.  Their quarters and the dining space were downstairs while the guest bedrooms were up steep stairs.  I never understood why the relatively short Incas and Peruvians would create staircases with such tall steps!  The guidebooks all said to expect no electricity or running water, but I think it must have been some time since those authors stayed on the island.  At least in our town (never learned its name), the community uses solar power to give the homes power to use electric lights, but there are no electric appliances or outlets.  Being wintertime, it was nice having electric lights in our rooms when it was dark.

Our house shared a communal courtyard with about 5 houses that had 2 flushing toilets, cold water faucets and a cold shower.  It was there we met Isadore and Alfredo's daughter Gladys and their darling grandchildren, Franklin and Leah.  Franklin (about 9 years old) was eager to use the English he was learning in school (quite good) and to show off his math skills with English answers.  He actually ended  up as our translator and guide for much of that afternoon and evening.

The guidebooks recommended a hike to the Inca ruins at the top of the island for the sunset and then indicated that in the evening, the hosts might have us try on some of their embroidered clothing and teach us their dances.  Again, this was not our experience.  Some of our group found the initial climb challenging, and only Jan went on the hike to the top of the island.  However, as the winter dusk was settling in before they got to the top, she decided to head back down the uneven trail and steps before sunset so that she didn't have to do it in the dark.

While the other tourists were hiking the trail, I had one of the most delightful evenings of the entire trip.  It was the final night of a several-day festival for the local folk.  Isadore and Franklin took me and two others of our group to the little town plaza surrounded by the church and a few town buildings.  The plaza was filled with stalls of lovely handicrafts and locals dressed in their finest.

They were dancing and visiting and just enjoying themselves.  It was such an authentic experience.  Only the vendors paid much attention to the dozen or so tourists that showed up.  The temperature became much colder as the sun started to go down, and I was delighted to replace my old hat and pair of gloves for much warmer and softer alpaca mittens and cap.

But my very, very favorite part was a little girl (3-4  years old) dressed in her green wool pleated shirt and a black embroidered shawl whose constant companion was a young lamb.  Just like in the English nursery rhyme, everywhere this child went, "her lamb was sure to go."  It ran after her across the plaza like a pet dog and never left her side.  OK--I got carried away taking pictures, but it was the sweetest moment.  There was a beautiful sunset, even if we weren't at the top of the island.  As night settled in, we had a filling dinner with another delicious soup, baked vegetables, cheeses, and Munoz herbal tea.  A satisfying end to  a fascinating day.

But our adventures were not yet over.  While I had packed my trusty bright flashlight in my little overnight bag, I had left behind the extra batteries.  So, of course, my batteries gave out.  Teddie and I shared her flashlight for our last trip to the courtyard toilets for the night.  While waiting for a turn,  a cold wind started to blow, and a sudden rain/hail storm moved in as we hurried back to our house and up the outdoor stairs to our frigid room.  We had an electric light, but alas, no heat.  We slept in all our clothes (without shoes) under some very thick blankets.  Teddie had brought some of those metallic emergency blankets which we also spread on top to stay warm.

It was hard to emerge from our warm nest into the cold room in the morning, but the storm had passed, and it was another beautiful sunny day.  After a tasty breakfast with fried "doughnut" bread, we bade farewell to our hosts and started down the hill, watching men already carrying loads of goods from boats up the steep hills to the town.  In less than 24 hours, Isla Amantani had become one of my favorite places in Peru.

When I returned to the States, I was surprised to find in my Whole Foods grocery store, a wild rice/ quinoa blend made by Seeds of Change called Amantani.  The whole grain blend did capture the flavors of the region, and I liked the description on the package:  "upon Lake Titicaca, you'll find the namesake of the product you hold in your hands: a charming little island called Amantani.  It's in this enchanting region that we found the inspiration for red, black, and white quinoa for our Amantani blend."  Life isn't easy on Amantani, but they have made it beautiful.

Clink link below for slideshow:
Amantani

Music:  Peruvian Harp and Flute Ensemble,  Titicaca, The Andes--20 Harp and Flute Favorites
Additional Information: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amantan%C3%AD