Peru - Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca's title is of being the highest navigable lake in the world.

What impressed me more are the islands that the Uros people build out of reed and that float on the lake. Each island hosts around 20 people from different families, with a "mayor" chosen for one year. Kids have to go to school on the continent, and less and less come back to leave on these islands after their studies. It is amazing how people still leave this life in such harsh conditions - remember we are almost at 4000 meters in altitude. The only food they can catch is fish - at our lunch, we got to taste the local trout, which was quite nice. Otherwise, they basically have to "import" everything else. How would you grow a carrot on this island? When you pluck it, the island would sink...

The cruise on Lake Titicaca took us to the small quechua island of Taquile with its old buildings, its churches, its municipal office, and its terrace cultivation. Nice walk around the island. 

Back on the continent, the city of Puno is nice to walk around its few pedestrian streets with many restaurants and shops. The plaza mayor is quite simple. Most people would tell you that the town survives on the trade (legal and illegal) with Bolivia.