We’d been on the road for almost a month. We went from the desert to the mountains again, followed the carnival celebrations from Colca Canyon to Puno and now… we were on mythical lake Titicaca.

A couple of days in Puno and we finally went to check out the highest navigable lake in the world, but, we wouldn’t be doing it in a boat. We decided to drive in search of a beach. The idea was to see life around the shores along the way and… hopefully by the end of the day – bathe in the lake’s cool waters. 

We got lucky. It was sunny. This meant that by afternoon, hours under the scorching mountain sun would make the cold water at least little less cold. 

And… we got even luckier. Along the way I saw a few men with musical instruments. “Are there more carnival celebrations? A party?” I asked. “There’s a traditional dance competition.”

We drove a little further and it was soon clear where the event would be taking place. I parked the car on a hill and ran towards the first group of the beautifully dressed dancers that I could see. 

I’ve had that surreal feeling of being in a Nat Geo documentary more times in my life than I can remember. It was happening it again. Honestly, it feels just as special every time. Colourful dresses, music and the amazing backdrop of lake Titicaca. Nature. People. Ancient traditions taking place now. FREEDOM! Now that many of us are over a month into this lockdown, the Covid-19 madness, it doesn’t feel real that this happened so recently.

The dancers had costumes which were like nothing I’d ever seen before. I was excited. I told them how I felt like I was in a Nat Geo doco. One of the men joked “Yeh, well, here we are in the flesh!” 

The dance group was rehearsing the moves and having final discussions about the details. In moments they’d head to the village basketball courts (of all places) to wait their turn to perform in front of the judges. 

The stuffed lama are sadly real. They’ve been used in dances, ceremonies and rituals for hundreds of years. It’s part of the tradition and it seems that all around Titicaca, tradition still reigns.

Suddenly, one of the younger dancers was picked up and thrown into the air. It was part of the dance rehearsal. The men were talking about how to make their performance more impactful. A lot of excitement all around. 

Suddenly the rehearsals are over and the dancers gather together. They head towards the basketball courts where they’ll for their turn to perform.

As they headed down the hill, I asked if I can follow them and photograph them. “Yeh, but… buy us some beer or soft drinks.” I figured it would be ok and made sense during this festive event.

Men playing Andean flutes right next to the improvised dance-grounds.

Dance-groups and musicians wait for their turn to perform.

Women walking through the basketball court towards their dance-groups.

Men from a dance-group discussing the nuances of the performance.

I didn’t see these girls perform, but they were past of a dance-group too.

One of the things I love about being in these more remote places is the interaction with the people who live there. The elderly men in particular would come up to say hello. They’d ask me questions. I was glad to answer and to express my happiness about being welcomed at these cultural activities. 

Elderly drummers waiting for their turn to perform with the dance group. 

Many of the performers were elderly. It was clear that the event meant a lot to them. They might have struggled walking, but once it was time to dance, they were lost in the music and the moment.

Dance-groups would take stage on these basketball courts. The dances that I saw seemed to last over 5 minutes. Few performances I’d seen anywhere had such a beautiful backdrop.

The costumes, the detail, the hairstyles - tradition still permeates all facets of lives of the people who live around lake Titicaca. I thought that I had already seen all the pockets of this culture and traditions, but, I was surprised.

I still wanted to go for a swim and we all still wanted to see one of lake Titicaca’s beaches. Sunset was getting closer so we left the dance competition to continue towards a beach.

On the way back we saw another group of dancers rehearsing. I wanted to get a few more photos in a different setting before I’d leave.

This girl was very enthusiastic, so she naturally became my focus. After this chance finding of the dance competition I felt like I was finally hitting my groove.

I’ve missed so many special events in Peru in the past, but now, it was like everything was finally falling into place. First the carnival celebrations, now this.

Everywhere I went, things seemed to be going my way photographically. Just a couple of weeks after this… we all know what happened.

By the time we found beach access, the wind had picked up, the water was murky and the prospect of swimming didn’t seem that attractive any more. We drove off and found another beach. The water here was somewhat more calm. It was here and now or never.

With only farms around, the beach was very quite. We had it all to ourselves. The ground was rocky, which made swimming even less attractive, but I had a pair of rock-boots in the car for diving, so in I went.

The water was COLD. Cold enough to stop one’s breath. With a few strokes and fast movements I got acclimatised. Now I was floating in one of the world’s highest lakes. A very sacred lake for the people of the region. Hills around us. The rays of the setting sun beautifully illuminating everything. Pure bliss.

Mia hates cold water, so she wasn’t even slightly tempted to go in, but she did enjoy playing around, looking for rocks and all kinds of sticks.

The were few high mountains or hills around this part of the lake. To get a better view flying the drone was the only way. What you see here is from about 500m above the lake.

Most of us are amidst a very frustrating moment in time. I don’t know whether having these memories and photos makes everything less or even more frustrating.

It’s amazing to look back at it all, but, it’s a reminder on what I’m missing out on. What we’ll all be missing out on. It’s hard to imagine the world getting back to these celebrations any time soon. I just hope that we can at least travel and interact with people without them totally freaking out at the sight of a foreigner.

For now… all of us will have to keep traveling only through our images and memories.