"Puma of the Stone in the Before Days"

3 February 2002

We are in the lake, on an island called Amantani. The boat ride here was beautiful. I was reminded of the early years of my childhood in coastal Maine when I spent much time riding in boats – my young comfort in ocean waves replaced by an adult fear of the power of water – a result of too much distance, too much time passed.

The sun was behind and above the clouds for the whole trip, until the last hour. With the sun shining bright blue sky we pulled into port four hours after it began. The island pushing up to a very impressive point at 4110 meters above sea level. There were houses dotting the hillside, more rock walls and paths, terraces. This island was a holy site for the Inca and for many others before and after. We climbed to the top – to the peak called Pachatata that faces the other slightly lower peak of Pachamama. The third piece of this trinity is the lake itself, also referred to in the feminine. Titikaka means “puma of the stone in the before days” according to our guide.

A temple at the top is now blocked off from tourists. Looking from outside through cracks in the walls you can see a square structure made of rock. The corners of this structure line up directly with the four directions – east west north south. There are solstice alignments on June 21 – winter solstice in the southern hemisphere. For those who worship the sun, this shortest day of the year marks the beginning of a new year and the return of the sun.

The two mountains face each other across a field honeycombed with rock walls like those in Cabanaconde. Rocks are piled everywhere. It is said that people still bring 3 stones to the top of the mountain to pay homage – one for Pachamama, one for Pachatata and one for Titikaka.

We stopped at the Uros Islands on the way to Amantani. These are the famous floating islands, made completely of the totora reed. The reeds are piled up on top of each other so they form a squishy, deep and dense mat that is the “island” where people live. The island we visited had kiosk-houses (also made completely of the totora reed) circling the outside edge. It was about 30 - 40 feet in diameter. Inside this circle of houses was a circle of vendors selling trinkets and pottery, and many small gift items. The islands were surrounded by 15 foot long dragon-headed boats also made of the totora reed that were selling rides to boatloads of tourists.