Duncan - Titicaca

The floating islands of the uros People are the Puno area's major tourist attraction. Intermarriage with Aymara-speaking Indians has seen the demise of the pure-blooded Uros, and none exist today. Always a small tribe, they began their unusual floating existence centuries ago in an effort to isolate themselves from the Collas and the Incas. Today several hundred people live on the islands and eke out a living with fishing and tourism. The lives of the Uros are totally interwoven with the 'totora' reeds that grow in abundance in the shallows of Lake Titicaca. These reeds are harvested and are used to make anything from the islands themselves to little model boats to sell to tourists. The islands are constructed from many layers of reeds. The reeds rot away from the bottom and are replaced at the top, so the ground is soft and springy. The biggest of the islands contain several buildings, including a school, post office, snack bars and souvenir shops. Solar energy panels have recently been introduced.
From tightly bundled reeds, the Uros build canoe-shaped boats for transport and fishing. A well constructed boat can carry a whole family for about six months before beginning to rot.

Puno's most fascinating site is the Yavari, the oldest steamship on Lake Titicaca, which is at an altitude of 3800m (12 460ft). In 1862, the Yavari and her sistership the Yapura were built in Liverpool, England of iron parts - a total of 2766 parts for the two vessels. These parts were shipped around Cape Horn - after the ships had been constructed and taken apart again - to Arica in Peru, from where they were taken by train to Tacna, then hauled by mule over the Andes to Puno - a process that took six years.
The ships were assembled in Puno, and the Yavari was launched on Christmas Day, 1870. followed by the Yapura 17 months later. The Yapura became a Peruvian Navy medical ship and can still be seen in Puno. Both had coal powered steam engines, but because of the difficulty in obtaining coal, the engines were powered by dried llama dung. Due to the space requirements for storing this bulky fuel, the Yavari was cut in half and had 10m added to her hull, which is now 50m long. In 1914 it was modified with a Bolinder 4-cylinder diesel engine, which is still there today.
After a long history of service on the lake, the ship was decommissioned by the Peruvian Navy. The hull was left on the lakeshore, and because of the dry climate and the fresh water, it rusted very little. In 1982 an Englishwoman, Meriel Larkin visited the forgotten boat and decided it was a piece of history that could and should be saved. She formed the Yavari Project in order to buy and restore the vessel, provide local work and attract tourism.
She was also fortunate in finding Captain Carlos Saavedra, formerly of the Peruvian Navy, to head the crew aboard the boat. It was a great pleasure to meet the Captain and his crew when we visited the boat, which is well on in its restoration.