Preserving the Inca spirit

On the Peruvian island of Taquile in the middle of beautiful Lake Titicaca, time seems to stand still. No hotels, no police, a healthy age structure and largely self-sewn clothing. The Spanish colonists however, tried hard to change the islanders’ traditional way of life, but the Taquileños and Taquileñas seem to have stood up to it, and in order to keep it that way, they are now organized as a cooperative. When I arrived on the island with my husband, we were assigned to a private household where we could stay. Taking turns, each residents gets to host tourists, allowing everyone to benefit from the visitors. Laws are replaced by the time-honored commandments from the Inca era. It seems to work; on our peaceful walks over the small island we met exclusively proud and content people – although these siblings may have had some quarrels with each other.

Isla Taquile (Peru), July 2017