Taquile

69°40'48"W
15°45'49"S
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Taquile was the second stop on our tour of lake Titikaka. It's a decent sized island, with a population of a few hundred people. There is a community-run crafts shop on the main square, selling various textiles, one of the towns main sources of income. We bought a tiny knitted Spongebob Squarepants.

We ate lunch with the tour group, at a restaurant which also belonged to the community - tasty fish and an interesting tea/infusion made from an herb which grows on the island. There was some confusion about payment - apparently we were the only people whose lunch was not included in the price of the tour. That explains how cheap it was...

After eating and sorting out the bill, we just walked around and our boat picked us up on the other side of the island for the trip back to Puno.

The most interesting thing here would have been the costumes worn by the local, elaborate and colorful. If you knew how, the hats worn by the men could be read for information about their marital status and their improtance in the community. To us they looked basically like colorful nightcaps. Similarly, the women hasd colorful pompoms tied to their long braids, the size of which also asdvertised whether they were single or not.

We were entertained and impressed by the clothes, but at the same time we it reminded us how lucky we are to have relative freedom to dress how we like - and freedom to keep the details of our love lives private if we prefer.