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Paramis, 3880 m, end of the road. The driver brings his moto taxi to a stop. Right on Lake Titicaca’s shore, the village is reduced to a group of scattered houses along the main path.
To reach Venancio’s home, it is mandatory to walk about 15 minutes more. No one comes here, on Capachica’s peninsula, by chance. A strong desire for calm, tranquility and humility, or simply the wish to avoid the main and often overcrowded touristic circuits, are as many reasons to end up in this “end of the world” village. No agency will take the wandering tourist by hand to bring him here. The approach is personal and requires some basic Spanish and a little knowledge of the local transportations.
Some years ago, Venancio has decided to welcome tourists and to do so he has added some rooms to his house in order to accommodate visitors. No one should come here as a consumer and there is actually nothing here to consume. Coming here simply means sharing a couple of days of a simple and humble daily life: waking up and going to bed with the sun, pulling up the net set the day before in the lake’s clear and cold water, hiking on the trail used daily by the kids to go to school on the other side of the peninsula, playing cards with the kids, chatting again and again with Venancio,… Without falling into some unwholesome voyeurism, this short visit reminds us of the extent to which our Western system has sunk into excess and uselessness, while emphasizing the incredible comfort we enjoy every day. Whereas mobile phones have invaded the most remote areas, there is still no running water system here, and I’m not even mentioning hot water or any kind of heater. Cooking is done in a corner of a small room on an old gas stove while the dishes are cleaned in a bucket of cold water, right on the clay ground. As we talk, Venancio explains that tourism is important for his family because it brings enough income to be able to stay in Paramis. However, he does not want it to evolve to the point of becoming uncontrollable like it is often the case elsewhere…
From Capachica, it is fairly easy to go to Amantani by boat. There, it will be mandatory to spend the night on the island in order to reach Taquile and finaly Puno the following day, by looking for some available spots on the tourist’s boats.
Although invaded by visitors of all kinds, tourism on those islands seems particularly well organized and supervised. All nights are hosted by locals and a rotation system organized fairly allows everybody to gain some benefits from the touristic manna.
In theory prices are fixed and fair but some agencies are always trying to push for a lower fee… It is mandatory to understand that it will have a direct impact on the locals, not on the agency…
Leaving from Capachica, we arrive on Amantani earlier than the first tourists’ wave coming from Puno which is perfect to enjoy the quietness of the place. We quickly notice the consequences of the mass tourism: exchanges are limited to the bare essentials, nobody is trying to understand the other one. As is often the case, it is not uncommon to observe the total lack of respect for the place and its inhabitants.
The main summit of Amantani offers an incredible view of the entire lake as well as the Cordillera Real, in Bolivia.
In Taquile, a guide explains to his group the way the community is living, the traditions. Born on this island, he confirms that those islands would be deserted without tourism. I don’t dare to mention the severe issue of pollution caused by boats (growing in number) whose engines do not meet any standards… As usual, during those tours, I have the feeling of quickly visiting a museum without being able to go beyond the scope of a primary commercial exchange, but obviously necessary.
The city of Puno has a bad reputation. For most, it is only a place of transit between Bolivia, the lake’s islands and Cusco or Arequipa. From far, the city is grey, unappealing, but, to my biggest surprise, it is a pretty vivid Peruvian city welcoming us. It is actually a crossroads between the altiplano, the city and the rest of the country. It is quite pleasant to walk around in those actives and animated streets.
By chance, the celebration of the city’s day occurs on the last day of our visit. A huge parade, organized by the local school, is taking place downtown all day long. Costumes, dances, music… For the photographer, it is a unique moment to shoot pictures of this great show as well as street scenes.
In order to visit Venancio and his family :
https://titicaca-paramis.jimdofree.com
