It was at great personal sacrifice that I got this portrait. Europeans entered Bolivia without the need of any silly visa requirements. It was not the same for citizens from the good old US of A. For whatever reason, the two countries were not on the best of terms. I needed to purchase a visa at the border. And, it cost a whopping $165! I almost didn’t enter Bolivia, but I decided it was my only chance to ever see the Islands of the Sun and Moon. Since I was in the neighborhood, I should bite the bullet and pay the taxman.
The Islands of the Sun and Moon were important to the Incas. But, Lake Titicaca also had the floating island of the Uros Indians, islands made of reeds. In all locations you were likely to see men wearing chullos, those traditional Andean pullovers with delightful ear flaps.
The Uros used reeds to build their islands as well as their homes and boats. This man was in full oar stroke pulling a huge reed boat. When I first road on one of those boats (ages ago), it was this size of a canoe. Now, reed boats were built to carry a whole lot more tourists and give this man a whole lot more exercise.Continue on to Americas Image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 or back to the Portraits Home Page.