Machu Piccu and Lake Titicaca – Watkins Family [Video]

A Family Travel Journey

Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca

The main attraction of the trip with my family was visiting Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is an ancient Inka Citadel built in the 1400s. It gained international attention in 1911 when explorer Hiram Bingham discovered the city.

We arrived a day early at Machu Picchu because of transportation strike scheduled for two days. There were no buses, taxis, or trains running during the strike. Strikers were protesting the rising gas and food prices. The people of Peru work very hard and cannot afford to feed their families. Striking during the Easter holiday with a record number of tourists is a way to get the government’s attention. Many tourists could not get to a Machu Picchu for their tours because of the strike.

We took the Peru Rail train ride from Ollantaytambo through the Andes Mountains. The train ride is about an hour and a half. During Covid, there is no food service on the train, and masks were required.

Rolling into Machu Picchu between steep, untouched mountains on the train is magical. The small town of Aguas Calientes is a hidden gem tucked into the mountains.

Michael, Jonathan, and Emily went back a second day to hike Huayna Picchu. There are very steep and narrow parts of the hike. It took them about 3 hours to hike it. Lucas, Henry, and I stayed back at the hotel with Milo, my dad, and Kay.

We waited around the hotel for a couple of hours to hear if the trains would run at all. We were told they would not so we checked back into our hotel rooms for an extra night in Aguas Calientes. About 30- minutes after we checked in, our guide, Pedro came to our hotel and told us evacuation trains were running that night to get guests back to Ollantaytambo.

We grabbed our bags and went to the train station. We waited for an hour and thirty minutes to board a train back to Ollantaytambo. We were given priority because of Milo and my dad, and Kay. The train left at 9 pm. We arrived in Ollantaytambo at about 11 pm and had another two-hour ride to our hotel in Cusco. We checked into our Cusco hotel at 1 am. Milo was wide awake. We got 4 hours of sleep before we had to board another bus to Puno.

Our first stop was on the floating island of Uruo. There are hundreds of floating islands in Lake Titicaca that are inhabited. The people on the island fish, hunt and make most of their money through tourism. The island we stopped on had six families living on it. We were greeted by the president of the island. A president is elected once a year.

The president, Jesus, gave a presentation about how the island is constructed &how they maintain it. The island floats on the roots of reeds. Dried reeds are layered on top of the roots as a floor. Reeds must be added to the floor every couple of weeks.

We learned about how they cook. We got to see inside their homes and try on traditional clothing. There are schools on some of the islands, but many children go to school on the mainland in Puno. The islands do have electricity generated from solar panels.

Our next stop was an hour and forty-minute boat ride to Taquile island. Our guide is from Amantani Island, across from Taquile. Taquile has 2,700 inhabitants. The president of this island greeted us when we came to the island. That is one of his jobs. The president is elected once a year at a meeting. He is not paid for the job.

Most islanders have to make the hike up to the top of the island with heavy loads on their backs.
Our guide told us about the traditions of the island. The people on Taquile speak Quechua &wear traditional clothing. Five different hats are worn by the men to represent their status:

The president wears two hats (Presidents’ sons wear a special hat too, even if they are not married).
Past presidents wear a unique hat.
Married men have a hat.
Single boys looking for a match wear a specific type of hat (the tighter the weaving, the more it stands up and the better his prospects).
There are hats for young boys and girls.
Women cut their hair twice in their lives. The first time is to provide hair for her husband to weave into his belt. The second time is to make extensions that the husband wears during celebrations and important ceremonies.

We saw and participated in a traditional dance show. We ate a delicious lunch overlooking the lake. We also saw demonstrations of how they make shampoo and soap from plants & how they weave.

We took a nice walk along the island &saw sheep and families. It was a lovely day, & we are honored to get a glimpse into the lives of these islanders.

The next day we said goodbye to my dad, Kay, my sister, &her family. It was a busy & exciting eight days. They flew to Lima for one day before heading home. We got organized &headed to the border & Bolivia!

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