Temples, tranquillity and new perspectives

In the middle of Lake Titicaca, an ocean-like body of water that separates Bolivia from Peru high in the mountains, lies a small island. In Aymara culture it is said that the Isla Del Luna (The Island of the Moon) has acted as a tribute to women and the role they play in Andean culture since pre-Inca times. It is a haven of tradition and simplicity, embracing tourism only so far as to preserve the rich culture that has survived for so long. The tourist industry is constrained by a sustainable tourism project which has been set up on the island with the intention of creating new income for the people whilst retaining the character and culture of the island itself.

Isla Del Luna is just 3km in length and 1km in width and is characterised by its steep inclines on both sides, culminating in a long ridge which stretches the length of the island. Just 25 families live on the island, a total of around 80 people, and there are no vehicles of any kind on the land (llamas being the only exception). This peace and tranquillity permeates the island, adding to the spectacular nature of the awe-inspiring views across the lake.

On one side of the island lies the community square, with a large football field and volleyball court, as well as the small school, shower and toilets and the church. On the other side of the island are the ruins of a pre-Inca temple (Templo de las Virgenes), which acts as the main draw for tourism to the island. The temple is said to have housed and educated hundreds of young girls, organised according to their relative beauty. The least/most (this varied depending on the tour guide) attractive were then taken to specific ceremonies on the nearby larger island of Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun) to be sacrificed.

The remainder of the island is land used for grazing and agriculture, as well as a vast array of herbs which grow on the island and are used for medicinal purposes, particularly for stomach problems and dealing with the intense altitude (nearly 4000m above sea level). The houses are of varying sizes and standards but all are relatively simple, and although they do have electricity, this is mostly powered by individual solar panels attached to each house.

As a group we spent three days living in pairs with our host families, working and living within their culture, desperately trying to communicate in our broken Spanish, which is their second language after Aymara. Our family were a young family, with two daughters aged 11 and 12. Our father was primarily a fisherman and our mother a weaver of belts and bracelets, sold to the tourists who visit; however the family also kept sheep and rabbits to further sustain them.

On the first morning, we were invited to go fishing with our father, which meant an early start (5am), but also meant that we were able to witness the most beautiful sunrise over the lake. Fishing on the island essentially consists of laying nets the night before- which are marked by plastic bottles floating on the surface. These nets are then collected in the morning teaming with Ispie (small white-bait like fish) and taken ashore. The process of removing the Ispie from the net- by hand- was a slow and tedious process which the men did most mornings. On this occasion we then took the Ispie back onto the Lake and across to our father’s three static intensive farming nets to feed the Ispie to the Trout. Trout are not a natural inhabitant of Lake Titicaca and were artificially introduced by the US. However now they are seen as a key part of the economy as Trout fetch considerably more than the equivalent weight in Ispie.

Everything that is grown on the Island is grown specifically for personal consumption. Any surplus food is traded with other communities for other goods such as rice, bread and coffee. The fish is either consumed by people (or other fish) and then the rest is sold for a profit to buy other goods. This sustainable way of living means that although the island relies on the Copacabana (the nearest land town) for certain goods, generally they are highly self-sufficient.

From speaking to the local people the greatest threat that the island believes it will face in the future is the loss of its young people. The school provides for children up to 12 years old, but after that they must travel either to Isla Del Sol or the mainland in order to continue their education. There seems to be a divide between those parents on the island who see Isla Del Luna and the continuation of their culture as paramount and wish their children to return and live on the island. Then there are those who desire their children to move to the mainland, to La Paz and even further afield to find better jobs and new lives. Just as with any ancient culture trying to survive in the modern world, the island's inhabitants will face the long and difficult challenge of finding a way to carry on as they always have. 

Whilst we were there we also visited Isla Del Sol, which was considerably larger and considerably more tourist-logged. However the reason why the tourists flock to Del Sol was clear. If you ignored the chilly temperature and the debilitating affects of the altitude when trying to walk up a hill, we could easily have been in the Med. With white sandy beaches and crystal blue waters it certainly was idyllic. There are also considerable pre- Inca ruins on the island, much more comprehensive than those on Del Luna and the tour guide was equally ‘colourful’ in the stories and legends he told on the way round! The sad effects of tourism could also be seen, as one of the group attempted to take a picture of a large pig and her 12 piglets who were waddling along the beach, a little girl ran up waving a stick shouting ‘pay me! pay me for a photograph’.

The highlights of the trip are so numerous I couldn’t possibly share them all. However those that will stick in my memory include; the sunsets; the sunrises!; singing songs around a bonfire watching shooting stars; seeing the milky way so crisply it could have been just a few miles away; managing to communicate and share jokes with our family; swimming in the icy lake and sampling all the local cuisine. But most of all, what I will take from my time on the island is a new perspective on what we could all learn from the more simple and sustainable way of life led by the people of Isla Del Luna.