Ever imagined staying with a local family in a village in a whole new country? Well, I did just that – on the highest navigable lake in the world, in the Andean mountains of Peru. This summer I went to an island called Amantani that lies on Lake Titicaca on the border of Peru and Bolivia.
Peru lies in the Southern hemisphere and it was winter there in July. One cold sunny morning we left from the docks at Puno to go to the island of Amantani. It took three hours to get there but I did not get bored at all. There was so much to see on the way. We saw snow-capped mountains, reed islands with people living on it, and boats with fishermen.
Amantani, a little village island
Finally, we reached Amantani where the head of our local family, Gladys Quispe, met us. She had a eleven year-old daughter called Lisbeth who owned a furry little black kitten. They lived in a mud house. Our room was really comfortable with three beds. The toilet was in an outhouse with no electricity or running water or flush! There was a huge bucket of water for our use.
As soon as we arrived, it was time for lunch and Gladys prepared a magnificent lunch of quinoa soup and munia tea served with bread. Gladys and Lisbeth did not speak English and I picked up a few phrases in Spanish, their native language (they also spoke Quechua), to communicate with them. After lunch Lisbeth disappeared to do her homework while I played with the kitten.
At sunset we went for a walk and got lost coming back. Luckily we bumped in to Lisbeth who helped us find our way back home.
Wood fires and flashlights!
Then it was time for dinner. It had already become dark and we had to use flashlights to navigate our way around the house. Gladys used a head lamp to cook and Lisbeth and I helped her feed the wood fire with eucalyptus leaves. Since Lisbeth spoke no English and I spoke very little Spanish, talking with her was mostly through signs. Dinner smelled great with a big black pot of noodle soup boiling over the fire!
After dinner it was time for bed – it was completely dark and bitterly cold (-6 degrees Celsius). There was no heater or fire in the room and we snuggled under the blankets. The next morning we went down and watched Gladys knit caps made from sheep wool. Soon it was time to leave the island and head back to Puno. One night in a village in a new country was a wonderful experience.
