Skip to main content

Destination of the Week

A few months back I decided to do a "photo of the week" post.  Well as we all know that hasn't worked out too well.  So I have decided to do a "destination of the week" which will highlight a city, town (or in this case, island) that I have visited on my travels.  This will be done during my "resting" time only. 

Today we will visit Taquile Island which is on Lake Titicaca in Peru - 45 km from the town of Puno on the main land.  About 2200 people live here. There are no dogs or cats on this island...you don't want to know why...I visited here in May of 2006 on an Explore! tour of Peru.  We spent the night in a villa on the island - there is no electricity on this island (solar panels)  nor any cars or motorized vehicles of any kind.  People live a very simple life and have a community of sharing.  Tourists are housed overnight in simple villas with meals provided in the main square.  

On arrival on the island we walked up a steep hill to our villa - me huffing and puffing as I had a terrible cold and with the high altitude it was not a good combination.  Upon arrival there was a walk up to a school to see the children and view the sunset.  I was terribly upset over missing it being I knew I could not do it.  I found out I did not miss a thing - the children were off school and it was too cloudy for a decent sunset.  (yay - selfish old me was happy! )

I walked over to the main square to explore on my own,visit the local craft shop and then meet the rest of the group at the restaurant for dinner.

School girls looking at some Saskatchewan postcards  I had given them.

The toilet outside the restaurant - not good when you have bad knees!

Our dinner entertainment
 It was the quietest night I have ever had in my life...no barking dogs, no street noises, no motor vehicles..it was surreal and surprisingly I didn't sleep well at all.  Much too quiet!
Me outside my door in the villa. 

View from the villa
In the morning we went to a cafe for traditional pancakes then back to the villa where the fellow below arrived with his wife to show us their wares.  
Fellow knitting Peruvian hats - the men do the handiwork on this island!! 

I bought the blue hat!! 

Walk down to the villa after breakfast. 

This is the loo - I had to walk along this path during my nocturnal 'pee break'.  
Walking the 525 steps down to the boat. 


Comments

Mo said…
Thanks for the tour. I'd love to visit.
Laurie said…
Hi Mo - yes it's well worth a visit.

Popular posts from this blog

Peeing on fish or a fish out of water

Well this morning we headed off by boat to Siem Reap.  Due to the low water on the Tonie Sap Lake (more like a river until near the end of the trip when it widened considerably) the trip would be an 8 hour one... It was supposed to be boring but ended up as anything but...in no certain order...let's see.... We had a rest stop (turned out to be the only one) along the way and the loo was just a hole over the lake and there were fish circling around underneath.  Yes it was just a hole in the floor...you definitely had someone watch your stuff while you went in or one false move and your camera/purse or whatever would be in the lake.  The fish either like the warm pee coming in or they are pervs and like to see ladies parts.  We were just a few minutes out when all of a sudden there was something flying over me and jumping all over the floor - a little fish!  Guess he wanted to join the tour.  Roger reached down and scooped him up while I hooted and hollered.  Okay it wasn&#

A walk along the coffin trail (and a couple of lakes) in the Lake District

While in the Lake District I wanted to do some light walking but not heavy duty hiking where I could easily get lost and my body not found for days partially eaten by hungry...sheep?  Anyway, you get the drift...not too grueling and safe for a solo walker.  I get a bit nervous when I am too far from civilization. There are lots of books about walking in the Lake District but they seem to be all about walking the fells in remote places...neither Thelma nor I fancied that.  While browsing in the post office/shop in Ambleside one day (if you are ever in Ambleside you must go there - a treasure!) I found a stand of walk descriptions on post cards.  And there I found my walk.  After all who could resist a stroll on the "coffin trail" in William Wordsworth country... I took a look and thought hmm...cafe along the route...that works for me. (with at least the security of knowing there was an available "loo" along the way.)  Okay, I may not have totally followed the

The highlights of my Fall 2023 trip

I'm back home after a great six weeks away. This was a "short" trip for me.  So here we go with an overview of my trip.   London London for me is always a good idea.  I fell in love with it back in the mid 70's and it's been calling me back ever since. Some of the best things in my life have happened in London.  When I learned my two Oz friends Loraine and Linda were going to be in London in the fall I knew I had to be there.  And what fun we had!!  Of course, I did loads of other things as well.  I spent two weeks there from mid September until very early October and then back again for four nights at the end of October before flying home.   After over five years (delayed for two and a half years thanks to Covid) of walking, I finally finished the 126 km Capital Ring.  The picture above is taken at the end of my walk and where I started in May of 2018 at the main door of Streatham Common station just steps from my B and B.  What a walk!  I got to see so much more