Taquile Island, Peru

Taquile Island is an island which sits on the Peruian side of the Lake Titicaca, 45km off shore from the city of Puno. About 1,700 Taquileños live on this island and they live from fish, rice and potatoes and of course... gringos.

They gave us this amazing show, with lovely dancers. These dances are mainly used for weddings and different religious ceremonies. Taquileños, run their society based on community collectivism, since every one must learn from others as soon as they can basically walk.

After the show, they cooked an amazing local fish with different kinds of potatoes, as you know Peru has got about 4000 different kinds of potatoes, so there's enough choice for the one that has hat it with European pomme frites.

I had the most amazing experience with these people. I was keen to get in touch with them and since music is the universal language and they had just given us an amazing dance and music show, I saw myself borrowing a guitar from a local Taquileño, I told them I wanted to play to them since they had just played to us.... well, not being a Eric Clapton nor Paco de Lucia playing guitar.... I started playing some fireplace songs, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones...
and suddenly I saw myself surrounded by about 30 people, 20 being children. I reckon they had never heard of Dylan in their lives and they thought I was some kind of rock star from far away... at the end I decided to play some gipsy/Spanish music and well, they all started clapping, dancing, going mad. It was the best way to get in touch with them... definitely.

I felt like finishing a bridge between the Locals and the tourist which never closes, since they just play their thing, cook their meals and get some money in return. That's how far is goes, most of the time.. but as I said before, music is a global language and I'm glad I got to share it with them. It was magic yet ephimeral...

I apologize for the delay on posting pictures, but I took about 1000 photos on my trip through South America. Expect Machu Picchu soon!

Puno harbour

Puno's Taxis

Titicaca Lake

Taquile Harbour

Taquileñito

Taquileñita

Lola being a tourist....
(the proof I made it to Taquile)

Taquileñita

Jerusalem...

Fabrics

Taquile's main square

Dancers

Youngest dancer... a bit lost

Puno and the Lake Titicaca

The highest lake on earth

No need for words, let the pictures speak for themselves.

Peruvians

Peruvians... I haven't met such genuine, truthful and open human beings, ever... even when they called me señorita every two sentences, which reminds me of the awful Peruvian "Jerry Springer show" with it's host called Laura. I reckon that is the only thing Peruvians dislike about me... besides that, all Peruvians showed me charm, truthfulness and history in each and every action.

Cusco was a dream... a scene from a film we never get to see. Surreal and yet historic. Cusco bursts with history, it smells like history, it tastes like history. You see a re-incarnation of an Inca in every cusqueño walking around, at a plaza or symply carrying their baby, groceries and their memory on their backs.

From Cusco to Puno
La Raya, at 4380m above see level

Ornament used at the south-west of Peru for good luck

Chola in the middle of the road with an alpaca

Road to nowhere

Cholita
-made me want to take that little alpaca home-

La Raya, from Cusco to Puno
-Highest point between these two-

Liz ft. Baby Alpaca
-a couple of weeks old-

Baby alpaca loving the camera

Roof

Inca division of this world:
Eagle for heaven
Cheetah for earth
Snake for the underworld
Coca plant for force

Inca souvenir

Inca ruin

Peruvians

Post-colonial Church

Inca's Port

Peruvians

Peruvian kitchen to produce colours for alpaca clothing

Colori
-for alpaca clothing-

Wallets

Natural way of dyeing clothes

Lovely Peruvians