Day 2 of our island tour

  Puno, Peru Tuesday, April 12, 2016

We woke to that amazing view this morning. And the donkeys braying. No cockerels – it's the donkey’s job to wake everyone up here.Amanda served breakfast at 6:30 and chatting to Louise and Rick confirmed we had all slept really well. Amanda – ever the business woman, set about selling us our hats that we wore last night. She said she had made them herself and of course that just endeared them more. As Jody was the only person without a woolly alpaca hat, she felt obliged to buy hers and the others had an excuse not to - it’s hard to sell a hat to someone already wearing one! Amanda gathered her family for us all to say goodbye and she led us off down that path again to where Bruno’s Happy Group were gathering to get the boat to leave. We actually felt quite sad to wave the island goodbye as all the ladies waved us off from the shore. Our stay on Amananti had been brilliant. But now the next island loomed – Tequile. Not Tequila as Bruno reminded us – there is no Tequila here. Tequile is supposed to be a bit more touristy so we weren’t really sure what to expect. But as with all things Peru – it was beautiful! Lake Titicaca was just so calm and blue as we crossed it to reach Tequile. We had to buy a ticket as we landed then a long, steep walk - uphill again of course, to reach a beautiful viewpoint. As we walked up the coastal path, we were passed by several men all knitting. Very odd to see for sure.Bruno explained that it was the men who knitted here and they have a special style of knitting – with 5 needles. Sure enough we saw the all with 5 needles busy clicking away. Fascinating! The town square had a workshop dedicated to selling the items the men knitted and we have to say – they were very good. We walked further, Bruno stopping every now and then to point out a special kind of tree or plant, or other point of interest. Like the garden gate which has it’s hinges made from old shoe soles. Hilarious! Lunch was next and the house we stopped at was yet another opportunity for us to learn more interesting facts about this island.Courtship for example. On this island the man and woman live together for one year before they get married. During this year they make a sash for their wedding. The woman weaves a beautiful intricate one with figures woven into a story. The man weaves a much coarser, less colourful one but his is a double layer. In-between the two layers he stuffs it with cuttings of his wife-to-be’s hair. Yep that’s right. Let’s hope she isn’t bald for her wedding day! At the wedding ceremony the two bands are sewn together symbolising the joining of two people. And it cannot be unjoined either. Divorce isn’t an option here. Apparently, the more a couple argue, the more they love each other. Not sure we agree with that but that’s how it is. The hat a man wears also indicates his status. Married, single or an island dignitary.  All hats have special meanings. A man living with a woman in the year before his wedding still wears a single man hat but he is allowed to carry a pouch for all the coca leaves he has to offer as a sign of politeness whenever he meets a member of his future wife’s family. Normally only married men are allowed to wear one of these and again they are a status symbol. Your wife must make it for you and it has to be good or else it will bring shame on the man who wears it. Just don’t piss her off when she’s making it or else!The men also have to weave. They must weave 3 traditional shawls for their wife. And if they gone onto have daughters, then he must weave them 3 shawls each too. What a fascinating culture this is. We walked on along the beautiful coastal path to the other side of the island. A few hundred steps downhill (yeahy – at last – downhill!) took us to where the boat had moored to wait for us. The views on the way down were beautiful so it took longer that it should because we kept stopping to stare and take photographs. A crowd from the boat (mainly the boys) jumped into the lake at the end for a refreshing swim.The only way to dry out afterwards though was to lie on the roof of the boat in the sunshine for the crossing back to the mainland. It took 3 ½ hours to get back but it was such a lovely tranquil ride with such beautiful scenery to look at, that nobody was complaining. As our last experience of Peru, we could not have wished for anything better. The floating islands with Rosa & Jose, Amanda and her little house, the dancing, the bar, Tequile and Bruno – all bloody amazing and we have loved it all.