Thursday – May 28, 2015
We found ourselves gliding across Lake Titicaca in a small ferry boat under a brilliant blue sky. I think I’ve never seen a sky as blue. At 12,500 feet, there’s very little air pollution and the cool air seemed ‘crystal clear.’
Taquille Island was thirty miles offshore from the city of Puno. The lake was calm and it was a very enjoyable way to spend the morning. About two thousand people live on the three-mile long rocky island. Marcos told us that, unlike the people of Uros who are friendly and outgoing, the Taquilenos are very shy. The women especially do not smile at or talk to strangers.
We were greeted warmly by a group of singers and dancers. We were out of breath after we slowly walked up the steep path. The small band wore traditional costumes and preformed a circular folk dance for our group with drums and pan-pipe music. We were informed that the handicrafts made on the island were recognized as ‘heritage art’ by UNESCO. The Taquilenos women make yarn and were weavers while the men did the knitting.
Near the top of the hill there were several buildings and a flat open area. We sat on stones to watch a demonstration of the textile techniques of the islanders and how they use all the plants and animals which grow there. I noticed several women slowly approaching our seating area. They all wore black skirts, red long-sleeve shirts, and black head-coverings. They sat down on the ground and set up their simple looms and silently began to weave.
The islanders continue the ancient Incan tradition of a collectivist society of sharing everything and live by the Quechua moral code: ‘do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy.’ The people fish, raise sheep and cows, and grow all their own food. Today, tourism supplements their economy.
We had a delicious lunch in a small building which was set-up as a tourist dining room. We had quinoa soup, lake trout, and a variety of potatoes cooked several ways.
On this fall day, I enjoyed the tranquility of Taquille Island and the company of the shy, gentle people who live here simply and make beautiful textiles.