The Ultimate Mobile Home: The Floating Islands of Peru

By Rachel Friedman

For most of us, a house represents stability. For the Uros people of the Islas Flotantes (Floating Islands), however, home is not a place that offers the promise of permanent shelter. This colony of islands which spring from the surface of Lake Titicaca (the world’s highest navigable lake on the border of Peru and Bolivia) are man-made structures initially built by the indigenous people of Peru forced to flee the mainland or else become enslaved by the Incas. They fled to the open water, constructing a series of islands out of the totora reeds, which grow plentifully in the shallow areas of the lake. The reeds become soggy at the bottom first, forcing the residents to perpetually insert replacement reeds from the top. (Imagine your bed rotting underneath you while you sleep!) The first floating island was simply a reed boat, much like a canoe. A community slowly emerged from the waters, many people working together to build larger and sturdier islands. There are currently about three hundred Uros/Aymara citizens who call the floating islands home.

Although experiencing the magnificence of the floating islands is unforgettable, the less touristy, more personal part of my two-day tour involved a family-stay on Amantani, one of two regularly anchored islands amidst the colony of floaters. A friend and I were the overnight guests of the gracious Benita, a young wife and mother. After following the winding, rocky path up to her house, we were brought to our room – small, sparse but cozy, and pink with two beds and an unlit candle on the desktop. After a short rest, we wandered into the kitchen, where Benita was preparing the afternoon meal. The kitchen was tiny and unventilated with ceilings so low our host had to hunch half over – and she was only five feet tall!  She stood stirring five or six pots, adeptly preparing an intricate soup. After a moment, our eyes watered so heavily from the smoke we had to step back outside into the freezing air, wondering in awe how she could spend so much of her day in that stifling room.

Our greatest shock, however, came after dinner when Benita appeared in our room carrying two traditional island outfits. She tied three layers of skirts around our waists, and then an intricately patterned blouse, topped with a heavy black shawl meant to cover our heads and keep out the cold. She paused briefly and motioned for us to follow. She led us to a dance, where for the next three hours we were whirled and twirled around by various men and women. Between the altitude and the tightness of my dress, I felt ready to pass out any moment. But I couldn’t help laughing in delight at our group, all dressed up and dancing, floating along on the one grounded island amongst so many others which continuously carry entire families across the cold blue lake.

About this Traveler

Rachel, 23, is an aspiring travel writer and has traveled to the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Scotland, England, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and China. Her most memorable travel experience: feeding monkeys in the Bolivian Amazon.