Starry Night

At 8 Am on Sunday morning we shoved off from Amantani Island. Our new friends waved us goodbye as the ferry lumbered out into the morning calm of Lake Titicaca. Lenay and I sat on the top deck, the morning wind at our backs, inspiring us for the new day. I listened to the sound of Andean waves smashing against the hull while reflecting on the past day's events.

Amantani has little as far as technological luxuries go. It is necassary to sail to three hourse Puno to purchase everything. They had public lighting. The posts still lie ready to be ignited. Unfortunately, the community cannot afford to pay the utility bill. Thus, the village goes dark at six thirty every night.

Walking home from the dance last night, I was proverbially blinded. Not from the unlit streetlights, but from the night sky. The southern cross and other constellations of this hemisphere lit the path to our farmhouse. I stood beneath an illuminated sky, each constellation new and brilliant and foreign to me. For the first time in memory I glimpsed the Milky Way, that splotchy, pale pathway that marks our place in the universe. I stumbled home, eyes and mind upward rather than the terrestrial in front of me.

This particular starry night made aware to me the merits of living so far removed from the rest of mankind. I then wondered, would the rest of civilization give up technology, even for just one night, to live the life free of crime, pollution and corruption that these people do? Agustin, the tenant govenor and my host for the evening, finds politics repugnant. What is important to him is caring for the community. I suppose this proverbial apple was already eaten by the rest of us, but it was truly inspiring to see a community relatively free from the yoke of technology.

We steam towards Taquile with changed hearts, pondering on this truly unique experience. This second rugged, heavily terraced island however looks equally promising.