Taquile Island

After one of the roughest boatrides I´ve ever experienced, I slowly walked up hundreds of cobblestone steps onto the island of Taquile. Unlike Amantani, homestays are rare here. Craftworkers abound, spreading their wares the moment they sense another boat of tourists is about to explore their otherwise quiet island. Women spin wool as they walk, perhaps in an effort to not waste a moment of time in making the many hats, belts, and purses that are their specialties. Ultimately the island prospers as a result of tourism....and everyone who is interested in more soles does all they can to dress native, make stuff and sell stuff. After several hours of exploring, including running into tourists from all over the world, we piled into our boat and enjoyed a relatively placid three-hour ride back to Puno. Tomorrow I return to Cusco and the following day I´ll partake in a 4-day/3-night trek along the Inca Trail, ending in Machu Picchu.