Day 13 — Uros Islands (Part 2)

Wednesday — April 15

On our way back from Isla Taquile, we took advantage of the clear skies and made another stop at Islas Flotantes de los Uros (the Floating Islands of the Uros). This time we were directed to dock at the island of Q’ota Marca. As we had already attended the “construction presentation,” this visit was less structured. We walked around at will, chatting with the locals, browsing the items for sale, and checking out the huts.

Back for a another peek into life on the Floating Islands of the Uros.

Open for business.

The public kitchen on Q’ota Marca.
(note the solar panel; modern day technology makes life a bit easier)

A family elder clings to the old ways.

Everything was bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, adding a false sense of warmth to the scenery. In reality, with the sun low on the horizon, the temperature had taken a sudden dip and it was downright cold.

This time it’s the cold that has us skipping the totora boat ride.

As our motorboat pulled away and headed towards Puno, we stayed on the aft deck for a while to watch the totora reeds swaying in our wake — a mesmerizing and dreamy lakescape that was worthy a click or two of the shutter.

Totora reeds swaying in our wake.

Once we were back in Puno, we took a cab into the town center, but the failing light and the chill did not invite us to stick around for long. We took a quick peek at the cathedral, bid Vidal and Veronica a good evening, and hopped in another cab and returned to our hotel, where a crackling fire in the hearth welcomed us back from a really great day on the lake.

Although the dining room was almost at capacity when we went down around 7:00p, we had no problems being seated at our usual window-side table. This time we both opted for seafood — Mui ordered the glazed kingfish encrusted with sesame seeds and served with mashed potatoes and crunchy tempura vegetables; I ordered the lake trout paupiette, stuffed with shrimp and served with a yellow chili beurre blanc and paprika potatoes. The Buñuelos we ordered was more than just desert; it was a pièce de résistance. The deep fried balls of dough reminded us of “lokma,” a Turkish dessert, but that’s where the resemblance ended. Each piece of the fried delicacy was stuffed with creamy caramel and served on a mint-pecan bed with a side of goat cheese and mascarpone ice cream. Yummy, yummy!

Sesame encrusted glazed kingfish.

Lake trout stuffed with shrimp.

Buñuelos — what goodness!

When our itinerary started to get tight, we debated skipping Lake Titicaca on this trip to Perú. I’m so glad we didn’t — our few days here have been great. And it’s not quite over yet; we get to do a bit more sightseeing tomorrow on our way back to the Juliaca airport.

Next Up: Day 14 — Heading Out of Puno