Listening to Inca Pacha

DAY OF PACHAMAMA, OUR MOTHER EARTH

A river crosses the south part of La Paz. This river used to be clean but now, it is polluted with chemicals that some industries throw to it. I think something similar or perhaps worse happens in other parts of the world.

How different it is to be in the middle of a blue sky and a blue lake, than to be in front of a polluted sky and a polluted river.

We are on time to do something for our pachamama, our mother earth.

Andean indigenous cultures call pachamama to the earth and it is perceived as a mother since, she provides all of us all we need to live.

MEETING NAVIGATING TITICACA LAKE

Yesterday, early in the morning President Evo Morales, Vicepresident Alvaro Garcia, all the Ministers and Viceministers departed from Tiquina Strait to Sun Island in Titicaca Lake on a ship built by the loca navy. The purpose of this travel along the Lake was twofold. For one part, to promote the Titicaca Lake as a natural wonder of the world and for other part, to work in order to decide some policies that could help empoverished population.

During the whole day in downtown La Paz, people were voting for Titicaca Lake and at Sun Island President Morales and all the State autohorities voted too. According to results, this Lake is occupying the first place in the category F about rivers and lakes. If you want to collaborate with your vote you can follow the link Titicaca Lake.

As mentioned, three resolutions were taken as a result of the meeting developed along the travel. One is the Decree about creation of the National Council of Cultures. Other Decree is concerned with a bonus to be given to pregnant women and to children between 0-2 years. During, his speech President Morales, remarked the decolonization process that is living Bolivia and an important part of this process is to recover the knowledge, history, literature, music and dance left by our ancestors.

Titicaca Lake has a special energy, energy which I hope could have filled in the hearts of our governors to continue working to benefit all the bolivian population.

MOTHER WATER

I know there are lots of families in the world who don´t have clean and safe water. But nature is generous too as in this case. Water flows permanently for years and years. Water goes to Titicaca Lake but I don´t know where it comes from. Families of Yumani town collect water from this place early in the morning everyday and it is carried on donkeys up to the houses.

At the wedding

Part of the celebration.

AT A WEDDING IN ACHACACHI

Last Saturday I went to a town called Achacachi. Achacachi is indigenous aymara town which was celebrating its 183 anniversary. After participating in this celebration on the main square of that town, I went walking trying to find the house of a friend but suddenly I some people getting off a minibus. It was a couple of recently married arriving to a house, so I decided to take a picture. I approached the house when a cholita (aymara girl), told me ¡come in, take pictures to my sister...! With her permission I stayed for a while taking pictures of this wedding.

When the couple and the nearest family arrived they walked around the table twice as can be seen in the second picture. Later, other relatives started to arrive with presents.

DURING THE INAUGURATION

Music is an important part of life and, this time a group of Sun Island musicians played some melodies during the inauguration of the Centro de Información de Turismo Comunitario.

Arriving to Copacabana

Last Saturday I arrived to Copacabana after travelling for about three hours. I was going to buy a ticket to go to Sun Island when I saw a group of people from the communities. I wanted to know what it was, so I went to the place of the meeting. At that moment, they were starting a ceremony to inaugurate a Touristic Information Center from the community. I saw that this office also includes a shop to sell handcrafts made by women and men from Moon Island and two communities from Sun Island, Challa and Challapampa. According to the information I received, members of the communities participated in workshops and due to that they received their certificates too.

From inside the mountain

I found this place on the way to Challa, a town in the central part of Sun Island. Water coming out from inside the mountain is something uncommon.

Children of the Sun Island

I found these children when walking on one of the main streets of Yumani in the Sun Island.

Women´s life in rural area

Last Monday I arrived to Sun Island in Titicaca Lake. I stayed in Yumani which is in the south part of the island. Although I had planned to go walking to the northern part of the island I couldn´t because Monday night it rained until next day.

I share two pictures of activities in the island, the first one a woman guiding the sheep and carrying firewood on her back, the second one a young woman working in the land in order to prepare it to sow. In the middle of a storm I departed from the island Wednesday morning sharing the boat with about 23 inhabitants from the island.

Bordering the Titicaca Lake

There are a lot of towns bordering the Titicaca Lake and I decided to visit one of them, Camacachi. It is located in the small part of Titicaca Lake known as Wiñay Marka. One can get there travelling by bus for about two hours. One takes a bus in La Paz which arrives to Tiquina. From there, one takes a boat to cross Tiquina Strait and from there one walks one hour and a half more or less.

From this town, I could see two small islands Suriki Island on the left and Taquiri Island on the right. Suriki is a very well known island because there, inhabitans built totora´s boats. Totora is a plant that grows up in the lake as seen in the second picture.

While walking I found a beautiful tree called cactus. I saw in many places this tree but I never saw it with flowers. I wanted to be nearer it but I couldn´t because it was protected by a lot of bees.

MOON ISLAND IN TITICACA LAKE

Long time waiting and a late minute email from Samai last Sunday made me take the decision to go to Moon Island in Titicaca Lake, Bolivia.

Sunday morning I was taking a bus to go to Tiquina, then other bus to Copacabana. There I met Samai, Veronica and Arminda from Chile. Sunday was not a good day to go because there was no public transport, only private ones. So, we took a taxi to go to Yampupata on a land road. About fifty minutes later we got to Yampupata. There, Felix Mamani, a neighbour from Moon Island was waiting for us. This time in a boat, we navigated the lake for about an hour.

I wanted to go to that island long time ago, but it was very difficult. There are no boats to go to that place and if one wants to go there, one needs to take a private boat in Copacabana which is very expensive for local visitors.

As soon as we got off the boat we went our home where we stayed two nights. In the picture you can see the wooden bridge to enter the house. This part of the island has neither electricity nor water. Felix went to the lake and took some water for us. The lake was not very far from the house but it was a bit difficult to carry water from there. Hortencia, wife of Felix, gave us candles but we also made a fire.

We decided to take a walk around the island. The beach was full of stones. If some day you decide to visit this place, be prepared to walk on different sizes of stones, small, big and huge ones. There is no sand there, only stones.

Moon Island is the place where the most beautiful and intelligent women during Inca period used to live. Men were not allowed in this place. Felix told me that the original name of the island was Khoya Huata, which means the place of the queen. It is also called Ajlla Wasi, the house of the chosen women. It is said that during Inca period, authorities used to choose the most beautiful female children from all the Empire to be taken to Ajlla Wasi, in order to learn how to knit the most delicate clothes and prepare chicha. Chicha was made of maís and was used in rituals and special events.

IN THE SUN ISLAND, TITICACA LAKE

A last minute decision took me to the Titicaca Lake again last July 25th. I had waited for a long time to stay in the Sun Island and to celebrate my birthday was the reason than motivated me to go to this place.

I arrived to Copacabana at about 3 in the afternoon. I had the fortune to find a boat which took me to the Sun Island where I arrived about 2 hours later. But, I was left in other community different from the habitual place where boats arrive, so I had to take a walk up a hill for about one hour and a half.

Saturday, I decided to go the the northern part of the Island where there are some Inca ruins, called Chinkana or Laberynth built completely on stone. It takes about three hours to go there walking. One can take a boat to return more or less at 13:30 but me and a swiss girl, Nicole, whom I met on my way to Chinkana, went back walking taking other way which was Challapampa and Challa. Neither me nor her, took into account the time, and we stayed on a white sand beach in Challapampa and then we decided to visit a very interesting local Museum which includes pieces of Tihuanacu culture found on the depths of Titicaca Lake.

We started walking again, but night came soon and we had to walk in the middle of the mountains accompanied by the wind, the shining stars and a small lantern.

Picture1. It is the northern part of the Island and the stone way leads to Challapampa town.

MARVELOUS TITICACA LAKE

Titicaca Lake is participating in a contest to become one of the new seven wonders together with other sites of Bolivia. But whether it gets that goal or not, it is the most beautiful lake and very important in the life of indigenous peoples. When I have the opportunity to visit one of the towns that sorround the lake, I am always surprised by its beauty and mystery.

More or less two weeks ago, there was found a group of ancient tombs in Copacabana, in Lake Titicaca. Up to now, archeologists have found 11 tombs buried in Cundisa. Cundisa is near the main square of Copacabana, aproximately one block. This place was supposed to be a peasant market but each day archeologists work, they find more and more buried people together with beautifuld objects that belong to Inka and Tiwanacu age. In the ancient times, people used to be buried accompanied with many valuable objects including gold ornaments. That´s why indigenous aymaras are still vigillant to the movements of the people working there, because they think some valuable pieces could be taken abroad as happened many times in the past.

DARIA CCALLA, AN AYMARA ARTISAN

I had the fortune to meet Daria Ccalla Huayllara, an aymara artisan involved in alpaca knitwear since some years ago. She was born in Cochiraya, a rural town located near Titicaca Lake. Daria together with a group of other aymara artisans knit different products: scarves, sweaters, gloves, etc. She also knits the type of toy we see in the picture using other kind of wool.

Last February, she was preparing to participate in a regional event of women, when she fall down and broke her leg. This hasn´t allowed her to develop her activities as she used to do and that has meant losses for her but also for the women that depend on the contacts she could make to sell the products.

Two weeks ago, I visited her in Puno, Peru. In spite of her health difficulties she tries to manage this situation with strenght, but although she has always a smile I feel her sadness too. I see that she hasn´t been receiving medical attention because it means a lot of money. Something should be done in order to help her, so that she can receive the adequate medical treatment.

FROM HUATAJATA

Huatajata is a town located more or less in the middle of the road that connects El Alto with Tiquina Strait. One gets there approximately after an hour of travel by bus. Huatajata is an important place because from here depart boats that connect with the islands, especially with Pariti and Suriki Islands.

IN COPACABANA

Copacabana is a town within Titicaca Lake. It is highly visited by nationals and foreigners. From this place, one may take a boat to go to the Sun and Moon Islands or to other places within the lake.
Each year on May 2 and 3 they celebrate a big event that joins folkoric groups: morenadas, tinkus, cullaguada, llamerada, etc. All the groups start dancing on the main square of Copacabana and they go dancing for about five blocks. They go up to a hill named Qolqepata. Qolqepata is an aymara word that means the place of the money. There, dancers pray and ask for prosperity.

TIQUINA STRAIT

This is Tiquina Strait. One needs to cross this strait if one wants to go to Copacabana City, to the Sun and Moon Islands and to other islands.

One takes a minibus from La Paz to Tiquina and after about two hours one is in Tiquina. Then, one needs to buy a ticket to take a boat to cross the strait.

On the other border, one may take a taxi or a minibus to go to Copacabana. For me this is the best way to go to Copacabana.

One thing to take into account: one may cross the strait up to 21:00, but there are times when it is closed at 5:00 in the afternoon, especially in windy or rainy times.

One day, I crossed it at 20:00 and it was really cold but as a gift I had the pleasure to see the stars shining beautifully.