Lake Titicaca Islands, part 3: Taquile

It took us about an hour and a half from Amantaní to reach the island of Taquile, the last stop on our way. After a brief storm during the night the sky was again of the deepest blue, and despite the altitude of 3,800m it was quite hot. Sunscreen, hat and sunglasses are a must; the sun is very intense and sunburn happens quickly.

Here, Pepe sent us off along a stone-paved path: we were going to meet at the central plaza about an hour later. It was a pleasant walk through a landscape that seemed almost mediterranean, the terrassed hills sloping down to the narrow shore, the aquamarine water of the lake sparkling in the sunshine. Here, too, the Inca had grown crops and raised animals, as their descendants were doing now. It is fairly dry, since the rainy season hasn't really begun yet. 

We strolled leisurely in little groups and arrived at the plaza at 10:30. The most important buildings of the village were assembled around the plaza: the catholic church, the school, the community centre, and the knitters cooperative. Taquile is famous for its beautiful textiles, and the men are actively involved in the production. 

Children in traditional dress were setting up displays of their school work: it's the end of the school year and obviously it was time to show parents and relatives examples of their school work.

We gathered around Pepe who now told us about the people of Taquile. A unique society developed and still thrives here, with not only its own customs but its own laws as well. I had noticed how different the dresses were from the ones worn on Amantaní, and now we heard that the interesting hats worn by the men are not only a means of differentiating the islanders from others, but also have meaning in their own society.

When the children are still small, until about the age of six or seven, their long toques are mainly of light colouring. At the age of ten or eleven they are starting to wear hats with bright colours (mostly some shade of red), the tapered long 'tail', still white or at least light in colour, worn on their backs. A little later yet, at the age of twelve, the long tip is worn on the side, the pompom either on the left or the right side of the face, like a single braid might be worn by a woman. This indicates that they are reaching puberty and are now allowed to look for a girlfriend.

Boys keep wearing this bi-coloured head covering, and everybody in the community knows that they are 'available'. Once they have found a girlfriend the long tip is gathered up in a kind of knot. They will live with the girlfriend, with the blessing of the parents, for up to two or three years to see if the relationship is truly a fit. If it isn't, and the couple doesn't have a baby yet, they can separate again without a problem. The young man can then look for another girlfriend, and the same procedure is repeated. This second 'try-out', however, is the last one that's sanctioned: if he separates from his girl again he is considered to be not trustworthy, and girls (and their parents) will hesitate to engage with him.

Only when a relationship is truly secure the 'real' marriage will take place in the catholic church. Once again this change of status is indicated by a change in the colour of the hat, which will be red from now on. This, Pepe said, is when it becomes serious; there is no turning back. The beautifully woven red hats are gifts from the chosen women – or rather, the women choose their husbands by knitting the hat for their man, rolling it up tightly, and secretly handing it to him, thus affirming their choice of husband.

Since the textile industry is the mainstay of the Taquile islanders, knitting is taught from a very early age on and is the most important part of the curriculum throughout elementary and high school.

The most skilled knitters are the most desirable bachelors: the better a knitter a boy is, the better his chances of being successful in life.It's amazing that this society has survived and is thriving like this.

After this interesting explanation we made our way to the top of the island where we were served a delicious lunch of fresh lake trout, rice and vegetables, accompanied by the ever popular muña tea. We had an amazing view of the lake which stayed with us all the way down the long set of stone stairs to the wharf where our boat – 'the best boat in Puno', according to Pepe – was waiting to take us back.  

It felt as if we had been away for much longer than a day and a half, and I'm sure we all will carry the impressions from this journey into a totally different world with us for a long time.