According to the Inca creation myth, this is where the Inca God-figure, Viracocha commanded the moon to rise for the first time. This tiny island has a surprisingly rich pre-Inca history and has on its eastern shore a stunning temple in honour of the Moon.
Our experience on Isla de la Luna was a magic one. We arrived with a group of tourists and joined them on the guided tour of the island. They all soon left to Isla del Sol but we, having planned to camp the night on the island, were left with our Spanish speaking guide. The following 3 hours where an enjoyable afternoon of swelling our ´poco espanol´ (little spanish) vocabulary, teaching our guide, Javier, a variety of English words and phrases and an in depth lesson of not only the history of the island but current culture of the small community. We were also treated to a free lunch! The local ladies were being trained by a chef from Puno and we were treated to a selecting of typical dishes, salsas and juices. yum!
Interestingly, we were joined by another South African - Bruno from Joburg (he and Bron were comparing Portuguese restuarants in Joburg. She is thrilled to have some new spots to try out on the return home.) - who was headed from Brasil to Peru. It was great to hear a South Africa accent and catch up on news from from home (we have been appalling with keeping up on current SA affairs!). Later in the day the two male South Africans were recruited into the Isla de la Luna football team in an inter-Lago Titicaca clash. While Fred scored a classic goal after a great cross from the winger it was Bruno who dominated in the goals. The team were making him offers to stay on and play in next weeks game. It must be said that trying to play a football match almost 4000m is not actually a clever idea. Fred lasted the better part of 12minutes before dragging himself, half asphixiated, off the field for a substitution.
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| This ancient pre incan calander keeps track of weeks, months (all 28 days) and years based on the position of the sun's shadow as it moves around the internal steps! |
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| Fred 5 minutes before scoring his goal and 7 minutes before hitting the bench! |
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| Camping outside the community church. |
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| Fred fishing on a pebbly beach. Bron enjoyed the sun shine and collecting rocks which were all spattered with fools gold and made the beach glitter in the sun. |
The Isla de la Luna community were friendly and welcoming and shared their homes and culture with us. They were genuinely interested in where we came from and who we were. We will not forget the experience and really emplore any visitors to the islands to not come-and-go on the typical tourist timetable but rather stay on and get a feel for a unique and disappearing culture.
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