When we arrived at the top of the hill and already on “terra firma”, we realized that no one was waiting for us , so we decided to continue walking until we found someone who could give us some clue of Mr. Huatta’s house, because we already know that in a place like Taquile everyone knows each other, especially when they have lived there for many years. Luckily, we found a man with his typical Taquile dress, to whom we asked if he knew the house of Mr. Hector Huatta and he told us: “walking a few minutes more we will find a fence on the right hand side and entering we should follow a path full of animals that would lead us directly to the house of the Huatta family”. He also told us: ” It is impossible to get lost! With a kindness typical of the locals.
Indeed, after a few minutes we arrived at Mr. Hector’s house, his house looked like a forest full of plants and we saw more farm animals in the distance and other more houses (also of the Huatta family) . Normally when you do traditional tourism you can not see these places, because they are not tourist places but normal houses that keep mystery and beauty for those who do not come from these areas of Peru.
Arriving at the door we were greeted by the matriarch of the family, we introduced ourselves and she told us that her husband was waiting for us in a different port (apparently it was a communication problem) she apologized, but we did not worry much about it, as we were very happy to be there, so the incident was not a problem but an adventure.
The lady was waiting for us with lunch ready, her lunch was based on trout and fried potatoes with boiled vegetables, accompanied by a hot tea for the cold, we were very hungry so we ate everything right away. After lunch, they gave us to choose the dormitory where we were going to sleep, so we chose the nicest room, one that had a view towards Lake Titicaca. I can’t express in words how beautiful that place was (but here are the pictures to give you an idea), the gentlemen were very warm and kind, you could feel the nobility of their hearts.
The next morning, we had a breakfast based on scrambled farm eggs, accompanied by serrano breads and a cup of café pasado☕. Mr. Hector’s mother was weaving looms in her garden that she would later sell in the Taquile handicrafts market, she explained to us a little about the process of the looms and the importance of this technique in Taquile Island, since it has been learned from generation to generation.
On our last day, we were given a typical Taquile dress, which we could wear to take some pictures and tour the island and, thus, live the experience of dressing like a Taquileño. Honestly, it was a unique and exciting experience, which made me feel even more proud of my Peruvian roots and also grateful to share a great moment with my family and Mr. Huatta’s family.
Afterwards, together with Mr. Hector’s father, we headed towards the beaches of Taquile called: Collota and Huayllano, we walked and explored while Mr. Huatta told us a little about the island and how its inhabitants live. Already on the beaches we enjoyed the rest in some beach chairs that had placed some taquileños, we saw in the distance other travelers who ventured to enter the beach, but we did not want to because we felt cold, the waters are really cold.
Back at Hector’s house, we had lunch and changed clothes to start our hike to the busiest port of Taquile Island, on the way we passed by the Mirador Mulsina Pata and other viewpoints with arches made of rock of the island, highest points of the island, where you can see Lake Titicaca in all its splendor, the road was long but the fatigue was worth it.
Arriving at the port of Taquile our kind guide (Hector’s dad) spoke a few words with the owner of a public boat so we could have access to some seats, already seated on the boat heading to the port of Puno, we rested for a moment as the journey is long, 3 hours approximately, we arrived at the port puneño at 5:20 pm and exhausted by a long walk full of emotions we decided to go to rest at the hotel to continue our journey through the city of Puno the next day . Thank you for reading our beautiful experience of 2 days 1 night in Huatta family home from Taquile.
