2018 First week

Arrival on Taquile
We arrived in Puno on Thursday, January 11, after over 24 hours of travel, we met at the Juliaca Airport by Silvano (our son by virtue of being his padrinos de matrimonio) and Fredy, beloved young man we've known since baabyhood. A happy, happy reunion. Friday was a day of shopping for supplies and then immediately on Saturday to Taquile, where the rest of the family helped us carry all the bags and bundles up to the house where our old room and lunch were waiting.

After lunch, a volleyball game broke out. One wonderful thing that happens while we are here is that extended family and friends get together in ways they never do in ordinary daily life. Rains have been regular and everything is green and beautiful.

We slipped away from the games to visit our goddaughter, Natalia, who has recently given birth to a baby boy, Roland Bradley, here wrapped in a crocheted blanked made by my mother, Irene Miller:

Taquile citizens have learned that we bring solar gear for sale or trade, this year our goodies include charge controllers and inverters, efficient LED lights, USB ports and battery voltmeters, as well as rechargeagle headlamps and flashlights. Within a couple of days we have traded or sold a large percentage of what we brought.

controller, inverter and lights traded at Rosa's family

The winter season, is the time to preserve their staple, potatoes.  The technique is to freeze the potatoes at night and then, after they thaw in the day, step on them to break the membranes so the water can evaporate and dry. Thus they can be stored for years. Since global warming, they can no longer do this job on the island and the family has to take their potatoes to a higher altitude place on the mainland to make chuño, or freeze-dried potatoes. To help make this more comfortable, we brought a tent!

The various families will share the tent, and, ¡wow! were they happy!

We also brought gifts of objects and money donated by the many godparents and friends of Taquile who help us make a difference here. !THANK YOU!

It wasn´t all trades and gifts, though, Clever turned Edith's plate of egg and potatoes with tomato into a bearded face!

 And some baby chicks were hatched at Celbia's house. Lizbeth loves their soft fuzzy life:

The school system suffered a teacher's strike last year, so the school year went late. This is the first time we have been privileged to witness the closure of the school year, something like graduation in the US, with honors presented to special students. Our grandson, Ivan was president of the school last year and this photo shows him passing his regalia of office to next year's president, a girl for the first time in history. About time, I say, but Ivan says the boys aren't so sure.

Back at home, Clever and Ivan are in a fierce competition, a chess tournament:

They take time to teach young Charles how to play the game.

Everywhere we go, women are weaving, getting ready for Carnaval:

Kusi has almost completed this chuspa, or coca purse

Alicia, Celbia and Kusi get social with their weaving

And, of course, we meet up with our little kid buddies and play games.