Today began my 2nd trip to Amantaní - this time for a full 3 days! The All Ways tour guide who was in charge of the group we were traveling with was a native of Amantaní, and our boat driver was from the Uros Islands. I think that in general, tourism agencies in Puno should try to employ more islanders than they do currently - both because they have the best knowledge of the area and because it would be a further way for the tourism industry to help islanders improve their lives.
I particularly enjoyed talking with the boat driver. He described how tourism has completely changed life on the Uros. It has certainly brought in extra income, but the ancient societal structures, food practices, and even moral values have been vastly altered. The Uros people devote all their energy to showing off for the constant streams of tourists that pass by the floating islands. They no longer fish for food or rely on the totora reeds for nutrients, and instead must buy food in Puno. They have even started to build hotels, but tourism still does not provide enough money for them to live sustainably on the islands, and they have no other sectors of their economy. Family members often must supplement their tourism income with work in Puno and beyond. My impression of the Uros is that it is a much more negative and superficial type of tourism, and I suspect that the reason for this is its proximity to Puno and the large volume of tourists this brings in.
The boat driver understood why his people would be drawn to the income that the tourism industry brings in, but he also lamented all the changes that have been made. In contrast, during my time on Amantaní, I have gotten the impression that many of the traditional cultural practices and day-to-day activities remain despite tourism, and I have only heard praise for the tourism industry.
We are again staying in the friendly community of Sancayuni Alto with Aloy, Luz Marina, and their daughter Jaquelyn, but this time there are no tourists staying at their house with us. This should make for an interesting comparison. So far, Luz Marina and Aloy don't seem as worried about always wearing what I would call their "uniforms" - the colorful traditional outfits that they always wear in the presence of tourists. The still won't eat at the table with us, though, and instead kneel in the corner of the kitchen on the floor. I'm still not comfortable with this divided meal set-up.
Working in the library was once again so much fun! We had a bunch of pupils, and with the whiteboard markers we brought along, we taught Spanish-English vocab. for animals, fruits, veggies, colors, and subject pronouns. The kids loved it when we let them come up to the board and write an answer. We also wrote very simple sentences in Spanish and helped the kids translate them to English.
3 or 4 of the older boys were our best students, and it was exciting that they really seemed to enjoy the attention we were giving them. The girls still puzzle us because they are either too shy to participate or just don't want to. I know they understand us - we'll just have to work on connecting with them.
After closing up the library, I really enjoyed having no other options for the rest of the evening besides burrowing in our covers to read and talk for a few hours. Dinner was quinoa soup, local vegetables and potatoes, and muña tea. It's the standard island fare, but I'm not getting tired of it!
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