Latin America

We have arrived at the shores of Lake Titicaca. What an amazing view of a huge blue lake surrounded by mountains.

Titicaca: In Aymara, a language unrelated to and much older than Quechua, “titi” means “wild cat” or “puma” and “caca” means “eternal city”

Lake Titicaca is nowadays shared by the countries of Peru and Bolivia. Since the weather has been sunny, we have had a clear view of the country of Bolivia from the islands we visited. One of its capitals (yes, Bolivia has two capitals)  is also not too far away.  Can you name that capital of Bolivia that is closest to Lake Titicaca?

Here are some pretty amazing facts about the lake:

• It is the largest lake in South America
• it is the second largest lake in Central and South America. It is second to lake Nicaragua in the country of Nicaragua
• It is the highest navigable lake in the world
• It is the largest lake above 2000 meters in the world
• It is 1/3 of the size of the Great Lakes in the USA

Lake Titicaca holds a special meaning for the decedents of the Incas. Here is their legend:

The Sun God rose from Lake Titicaca and subsequently.  created the first Inca, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo. These two set about populating the earth with the Sun’s chosen people, before beginning the long march north in search of their promised land, finally establishing their dynasty in the fertile valley now known as Cusco. They raised out of the water with the divine assignment to establish an empire and unite the different cultures in the name of peace and civilization.

For those of you tracking our coordinates, Puno, Peru is located at 15.8 S and 70 W.