The Uros Islands are entire villages made of reeds that float around the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. Everything is made from reeds - houses, boats, kitchens, towers, schools, churches. They even eat the fresh reeds which have the consistency of an apple (and are very good for your teeth). It's truly amazing!
Since they drink the water from the lake around their home, they don't have bathrooms on their floating islands, otherwise they'd contaminate the drinking water. When they have to use the bathroom, they must take a boat to the other side of the lake, about twenty minutes of rowing.
They also use the boats to go on dates. Since there isn't much common space or privacy on the islands the boyfriend will pick up his girlfriend in a reed boat and they will picnic together on the lake.
They mainly eat trout from the lake. There used to be 23 different species of fish in Lake Titicaca but the government introduced trout many years ago and the trout ate all the other species except a type of catfish and a sardine-like species.
The population of these people is decreasing rapidly as more young adults leave to live a more modern life in Puno, so this community may not exist in the future. We are very happy we had the opportunity to see it!
Question for Mrs. Barbier's class 2A: What is the biggest daily threat to the floating islands?