Being so close to Lake Titikaka, I and Gabriele decided to take a look at it. People said that floating reed islands near Puno are spectacular and completely unique. Today I can tell you - those people were right.

Floating islands made only out of reed

We had to take a boat in order to reach the floating islands. Those islands are completely organic and made only using reed. Locals just drop many layers on water and wait for it to get stable. This process takes time, sounds completely unsafe, and in the end - those islands float on water forever.

What is the point of these kinds of islands you will ask? Well, it is a living place for local Uros people. We have been told that Uros people invented this way of living when they had to find a new home to hide from Spanish conquistadors. Time passed, but their traditions are still holding up.

Today, Uros are living in the floating islands by families. There are like 4 families of 4 people each, on every island.

Oh yeah - when I say island I am not talking about Madagascar or Great Britain... It would only take like 3 minutes to slowly walk around one floating island.

Yup - privacy must be an issue.

Titikaka is the only source of living

So, Uros are happily living in their islands...

But what do they eat? Whatever they can find in the Lake Titikaka starting with fish and finishing with ducks.

What do they drink then? The water of the Lake Titicaca. Pretty obvious, huh?

Where do they go to the toilet? Well, I guess you can guess it... To the same Lake Titicaca.

So they drink the same water that they pee in? I'm afraid yes.

Actually, after visiting those floating islands and learning of all the strange traditions and rituals, Gabriele still thought that the most bizarre thing was drinking that toilet water.

Also, the water in the lake is like 4-10 celsius, which means that a normal person would freeze to death in no time. However, Uros can swim in it as long as they want. I strongly suggest that they might actually be mermaids.

Ancient traditions are still common

First of all, Uros people that are over 40-years-old are most likely analphabets, because the school only came to the floating islands 25 years ago.

"Nature and life are our best teachers," must be the motto of those people.

That does not mean that Uros people are stupid by any means. They just have different traditions and way of living. Their understanding of the world might be a little tight, but oh boy, they know every sign of Nature.

Also, lack of education does not stop Uros from having their little empires on each island.

Yup, every island has its own president. The cadence only lasts for one year, though. After that, someone from a house on the left is elected as a new president. There is no sexism as well, so both men and women get a chance to be the president. It is a primitive system, but it works.

That is how democracy should look like, people.

Talking about families, Uros people used to have like 10-20 kids before, so those kids had to start their own life at the age of 14. It was simple. A girl and a boy sit in a boat; go to a distant place; have some sexy time; they come back as three instead of two; they build a new house in the same island, and live happily as a new family. At the age of 14... easy life.

The best part of this story is still that thing about boy and girl having to sail in a boat in order to get some privacy. All the village kind of knows what is happening when they see 2 youngsters rowing towards pleasure.

That being said, new times are influencing Uros people little by little. They even visit Puno city time to time and education is preventing them from having a whole football team of kids, so I believe that old traditions will not last much longer until it is destroyed by the new age. Nonetheless, it is one of the most bizarre things that I have seen on my long journey.

If you wish to see what ancient living looks like, you still have a chance until Uros people adapt into the new world. They are already using old-school mobile phones and solar power (only for one light bulb), but they are still stuck somewhere in 19-20th century.

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