Lonely Planet describes Puyo as Disneyland made of reeds, or something to that extent. It was my least favourite place on the trip so far but one I wasn't going to miss out on as there is nowhere else like it on earth.
Las Islas Flotantas are situated on the Reed lakes just outside of Puyo, somewhere all visitors will pass through if coming from Lake Titicaca. We decided to do a tour which included a homestay on another of the islands on Lake Titicaca a had heard how touristy the reed islands were and didn't want this to be our only memory. A good decision. The reed islands where amazing and great inspiration for artists or story tellers, tiny islands made completely out of reeds, come on! However the whole thing felt not only as though we the tourists were manipulated (every 10 steps something cost you more money, a boat ride here, a souvenir there) but also that the inhabitants were trapped in a tourist machine. They sang us a song in numerous languages and showed us inside their homes while their Adidas tracksuit bottoms snuck out from under their traditional dress. It was worth going but totally weird, especially as they shouted 'hasta la vista babies' as we set sail and waved goodbye.
The homestay had a similar feeling but nowhere near as bad. We stayed in a beautiful farmhouse with children's school achievements pinned to our bedroom wall. We hiked to the top of a ceremonial mountain, leaving rocks of thanks and wishes at the alter on our way up to watch the sunset and then dressed up in traditional clothes to go to a dance. This last part was a little awkward but it was fun to dress up and dance stupidly to the local band.
Our last day consisted of going to another island where the men wear hats to show their status, single, married etc and the men with more decoration showed their wealth or political status. Very cool.
SURVIVAL TIP: Take extra cash when visiting Puyo, it's expensive but the island people are generally ripped off by the tour operators and at least when you buy their local crafts you know the money's going directly to them.
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