Uros is a group of floating islands just a few kilometers from Puno on Lake Titicaca (spelled titikaka in Spanish). We visited one, the floating heart, that is home to about 3 families. These islands have been maintained for thousands of years. When the Uros people were threatened by the expanding Inca empire, the began to hid in the reeds in their boats. Because the lake gets cold at night, the Uros people began building homes in their reed boats. Reeds rot rather quickly and this process is expedited when the reed boats sit in the water. However, rotting reeds create a kind of floating material. The Uros people began harvesting this material as they added more reeds to their boats. Eventually the shape of the boat changed into what are now floating islands.
The Uros people that live on the islands fish and hunt for their food. Women also travel to the mainland once a week to trade for potatoes, grains and other goods. Tourism and artisan crafts also help bring in money to the community. We were lucky enough to be invited into the home of one family on the island. Just like the boats and the island, the house is built of reeds. What was most surprising was walking into the house and finding a boom box and a television. The Uros people use reeds for most things, including food, but they have started using solar panels to run their modern technology. Very cool!
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