Maintaining Paradise

Quarterly Island Cleanup
Every three months, the whole community gets together to pick up litter. We have participated in past years, and here we are again. While we were walking around, we connected with a couple of tourists from Spain who were so enamored of Taquile, the man kept saying, "This is paradise; Taquile is paradise."
Each of the six sectors of the island had their own territory and everyone participated, even children:

 We brought the sacks of trash to a small dock and waited for our reward;

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 The reward was a bag of sugar! Alicia, sister to my son and comother of my blood-nephew, Nathan, was in charge of dishing out the sugar.

When we finished at the port, we hiked back up the island to Alipio's house where we refreshed ourselves with a watermelon that strong, young, Ivan had carried in Sam's backpack all day, even as he carried trash. I told about the Spaniard who kept repeating that Taquile is paradise and asked the group of Taquileños if they were cleaning up the island for their bag of sugar, or to maintain paradise.

The resounding reply was !Maintaining Paradise!

They know what they have here and it is wonderful.

On the way home, Big Samuel helped carry little Samuel who had been walking with his mother helping pick up litter all day. Two happy, if tired, Samuels:

Solar Installations 2017

Professional Solar Installer Comes to Lake Titicaca

Empowered Energy Systems, LCC, Brad Burrit and Danielle Carre, came to Peru for a visit and we put them to work, installing two PV systems.

Brad and Danielle arrive in Puno in time for a taste of Candelaria

Our first installation was one 65watt panel for a single mother who lives with her daughter and parents, Olga and Rossi with Francisco and Juana.

Next day was to the Capachica Penninsula to the home of Armando and Asunta in Llachon. This area has grid power, but they had been running their house on a 220volt extention cord from the neighbors and this was no longer viable (besides scarey dangerous). To have installed their own meter would have been much more expensive than Solar PV. Besides, they live on Taquile part time and the monthly grid fee was prohibitive. This will be the first solar electric in Llachon.

The community does not have a public water sysem and has considered installing a solar-powered system such as on Taquile. Their grid power is not strong enough to pump the water they would need.

We traveled across the lake in a smaller boat, usually an hour ride, but the motor failed and we ended up with a makeshift sail. Sailing across Lake Titicaca was a first for Sam and I. It took 6 hours (would have been faster in a REAL sailboat).

Silvano had to hold the pole of the makeshift sail

Of course, installation begins with a coca-leaf ceremony blessing the 100watt panel: may it always be safe from lightning, may the family thrive with this ecological power source.

The visit and the installation went really well. We had a good crew to help with the Solar.

Sam ties the light-weight LED light strip to a ceiling beam.

Brad prepares wires for the panel to battery connection.

We have the whole istallation done in time to get dressed up in typical Llachon clothing and get our picture taken--and even bring Brad and Danielle on an exploratory hike around Llachon!

Panel installed! Capachica typical clothing photo shoot.

 Asunta prepares and excellent lunch and catch a ride back on Fredy's boat, towing Lino's beside us.

Back on Taquile, a godparent ceremony:
Brad and Danielle have quickly found their hearts captured by our extended family on Taquile. When German (pronounced "Herman") and Natalia ask them to become godparents to their beautiful 4-month-old daughter, Leyda, they agree. The ceremony involves giving the child her first haircut as part of a sacred coca-leaf ceremony. Sam and I cut Natalia's hair when she was a baby, so this is especially sweet for us, our grand-goddaughter to be in this special relationship in our Colorado community.

Brad, Danielle, Leyda, Natalia and German, a new family.

It was a whirlwind week already for Brad and Danielle, but we weren't finished yet. They did get a full day, Monday, to explore Taquile, sort of a rest day, if you count hiking all over the place at an altitude of nearly 13,000 ft. a rest.

Bradley, Herman, and Daniella near the old ruins on Taquile

 Back to Puno to get ready for their flight to continue visiting in other parts of Peru, we take a group of young Taquileños to the archeological ruins of Sillustani:

Plus to the Mirador overlooking Puno, the Condor

Finally a fond and tearful farewell at the Juliaca Airport. This post covers exactly one week, February 9-16, 2017. Amazing to see what we packed into a short seven days, so full of heart and accomplishment. Sam and I know we have new teammates in our relationship with Taquile. Thank you, Brad Burritt and Danielle Carre.

Teaching English on Taquile

A group of Danish people are running a summer vacation English Class for Taquile youth. Twenty soles per month, or about $7. Quite a few of our family members are enrolled: Clever (age 10 on January 29), Ivan (age 14), Natalia (age 17), plus from Felipe´s family his wife Ines, Illliane and Anali. We visited the class and were invited to help with pronounciation. Then we offered to teach extra classes while they go to Puno to teach. Great fun. Teach how to say the English "th" sounds. I think not nearly as difficult as all these four different "g" and "k" and even "p" sounds in Quechua. An then there is the short "i"  and that every vowel "uh" sound that we use. I act things out with big gestures. "Uh" is a sock in the gut. Now nearly every kid on the island knows us and greets us with "Good morning," or at least a big smile.

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The first day, Sam and I made up a dialog of meeting tourists at the boat and inviting them to say overnight, "We have a room where you can stay." I also notice that Quechua has a word for "evening" which I haven´t found. My meager Quechua has been very helpful.

The Danish teachers drew pictures of their families. 

Contrasts

On Friday (30 Jan.) a storyteller joined us. He is a history teacher in Lima and an actor, originally from Cusco and well versed in Fables, Legends and Tales in Quechua. He has us put all the chairs in a big circle. He was most dramatic and dressed in typical clothing from Cusco area. Unfortunately, his Quechua is very different from the language here. Afterward Ivan told me that he missed about half the words. I knew that our Quechua here around Lake Titicaca differs from the Cusco Quechua, but I did not realize that it was that different. We borrow from Spanish and Aymara, but now I learn that two very old languages, perhaps from the Teohuanaco Culture also influence our Quechua. Pukinas and also Pukaras are the names of the old languages.

Mario Warangamaki Castillo, narrador oral indigena

He finished his stories with only about 30 minutes left in class, so I presented some coyote tales. One where coyote gets in trouble for laughing at Spider Woman´s rope coming out of her butt, and another of how coyote tried to stay up all night to be in line early to get a more powerful name. The snoring always gets a good laugh.

ILLAVE

The "Mayor of Colorado" in Illave

Last year Sam and I were invited by our friend, Eduardo Mamani, to demonstrate solar cooking in the the City of ILLAVE, just south of Puno along Lake Titicaca. 

(See the story HERE)

During that visit we showed pictures from the 2010 visit  in Colorado of our Taquile friends in Colorado, including a couple of Neal Schweiterman and his family. (See that story near the end of THIS POST ). We mentioned that they were considering coming to Lake Titicaca the following April, which resulted in an official invitation from the mayor for a formal visit. Eduardo organized this formal visit for Sunday, April 21.

Neal, Liane, Katia, Nancy, Sam, Tara and Eduardo hired a private van to travel together to Illave. First on the visit was a beautifully catered breakfast of locally produced food, especially lots of quinoa. The television cameras were hovering around Neal, taking lots of pictures of him eating quinoa! Later I learned that the story was about local products, how a visiting dignitary from the United States was enjoying the various quinoa dishes.

After breakfast we adjourned to a reviewing stand in front of the Municipal building and before the central plaza. The plaza was completely empty; swat teams of police were keeping the people out of the square! The only audience at this point were all the government staff from the municipal building. After a couple of brief speeches and the introduction of Neal and his family, we descended to the plaza to raise the flags. Illave's mayor, Mario Huanca Flores, raised the Peruvian national flag and Paonia Mayor Neal Schwieterman raised the local flag. We noticed that part of our entourage into the plaza included a plainclothes policeman. Neal noted that in his career as a policeman he had BEEN a bodyguard, but he had never had one. After the flag raising the police stepped aside and the people were welcomed to fill the plaza.

Next Neal and Liane were presented with gifts of traditional Aymara clothing, a poncho for Neal and a manta for Liane, white felt hats. And a key to the city!

Thus attired we were entertained by a colorful and meaningful folk dance performance. About 75 dancers depicted the building of a house in traditional Aymara ceremony: a live llama, incense, a skeleton house structure, poles and reed mats to make the roof, whirling skirts and ponchos, flutes and guitars and mandolins.

Finally afterward, a visit to AMARU MURU, a magic door in the wall, apparently solid stone. Legend tells that this is a door to the spirit worlds. Eduardo led us in what he called "a magnetic circle," and the police escort who had followed us there joined us in the circle. Afterward we all hugged. Pretty cool.

Sillustani and The Condor

April 20, Saturday

A bus load of people to the Incan and Pre-Incan ruins of Sillustani.

We bought little notebooks for a group of 8 kids from Taquile. At the last minute Neal and Katia had to refrain from coming so we added even more.
Plus Eduardo, the guide. This is the first time we've had a full guided tour. Very informative and interesting.

We started by visiting a local family to see how they live.

Visiting a traditional Aymara home

 Then to the ruins. Round chulpas, funerary towers. A circular Inti Watana where we held hands and made a magnetic circle and also a coca ceremony.

Eduardo was an excellent tour guide

Here was the group:
Nancy, Liane, Sam and I, the non-Peruvians
Taquile adults: Ruperta, Valeria, Luz Nate
Taquile kids with their ages: Juana Luz 15, Ivan13, David 14, Kusi 12, Edith 11, Cecilia 10, Sarita 8, Christian 10, Clever 8

After the tour of Sillustani, we had the bus drop Sam and the Taquileños off at the base of the stairs leading to THE CONDOR viewpoint so they could climb to the top. Ivan beat everyone to the top of the stairs, but didn't know about climbing the statue up to the condor so Sam was first!

Visitors 2013, Part 3

April 10 through 22   (pictures coming later)

Friends from Paonia joined us for over a week for a lot of fun. Nancy Schwieger came for her 4th visit in 10 or so years, arriving with her long-time friends, the Schwieterman family: Neal, Liane and 11 year old Katia. WAe met them at the airport in Juliaca on April 10, took a day to rest and adjust and see the markets in Puno, and then on Lino's new boat, came to Taquile for one night.

Early the next morning we went to the Capachica Penninsula to stay with Asunta and Armando in Lacho´n. It is only about an hour and since us foreigners were paying the gas, several family members came along for the visit, especially including Asunta's 3rd grade daughter, Sarita, who is living with her grandmother, Celbia, who also came. Armando's uncle, Valentino, is known for his kayak rental business, and since Neal and family are expert kayakers, we were able to rent for a family rate and toodle around the shoreline and out to a point for a couple of hours before lunch.

The next morning we hiked up the the Cerro Karus, ceremonial site and the highest point on that part of the Capachica Penninsula. Armando told us a legend about the time when the area of the current Lake Titicaca was not a lake, but fields with high hills that are now the islands of Amantani and Taquile, and the ruler, Karus, was a wise leader. Invaders came and they used signal fires on the high points to communicate across the wide valleys. They stored food in tunnels and even tunneled across to the other high hills. Eventually they trapped the invaders in the tunnels and sometimes you can hear the screams of their ghosts.

Saturday the 13th we returned to Taquile. Katia had a great time playing with the other kids, so did Sam and Neal. Katia said, ¨We speak 'kid language,' laughter and signals, we don't need words.¨

Sunday we met the mayor, Zenon Tipo. One day we had lunch with Juan Quispe who was in Paonia in December of 2010. One day we made watia, earthen oven roasted potatoes and oca. We hiked to the top of Taquile, the ceremonial site called Mulcina.

Then back to Puno and more adventures in a different blog.

Vistiors on Taquile, part 2

Taquile's tourist season is just beginning. Our family had almost no tourists in January and February, but we have helped to host several groups since we've been here.

Two women who live in London but originally come from Poland and Slovakia had interesting perspectives on such topics as universal health care (better in Poland than England and SHOCKING to think that people in the United States, of all places, don't get the health care they need if they cannot afford it). Two other women, one from Germany and the other from Switzerland, only a short train ride apart; they met on a tour in China. They had their own private boat and guide, but didn't buy any textiles from the family; hardly even looked at them. I wonder what their tour cost and if it was budget, luggage space, or mere disinterest that kept them from buying.

We met a couple from Germany who camped on the beach for over a week, university students. The first time we saw their camp on the beach and their (as yet unused) fire ring of rocks with twigs ready for a fire, Sam got mad and told they they shouldn't be taking firewood from the local people. I checked with Delfin and he said that as long as they only picked up a twig here and there that it was okay. They said they didn't have much money and so were camping, and yet they (of course) own computers and are certainly richer than about anyone on Taquile. Sam apologized, and near the end of their stay we invited them for lunch. They dream of a dance and performance school to encourage children's creativity, located near the Baltic Sea in northern Germany--and of a particular magnetic nearly perpetual motion machine....

Our Paonia friend, Carolyne Metzer, came for about 10 days. She jumped right in to play whole-heartedly with the children. When she was on the boat, she met a couple from Gunnison, a town near our Paonia hometown in Western Colorado. Kelsey and Bryce had planned to only stay on Taquile for a few hours, but stayed overnight and later said that it was the best part of their Peruvian vacation. I'm sure they will visit Taquile again someday. And I'm sure we will connect in Colorado.

Kelsey, Bryce, Carolyn

Sunny Carolyn Metzler on Taquile

Warm and emotional group goodbye to Carolyn after a super 10 day visit