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People that appear to walk on water! Islands that float! A floor that isn't a floor, a house made of reeds, and ground that's always changing! Where on earth is this place?

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I'm at Lago Titicaca, on the Peruvian side, panting for air at 3810 meters above sea level. Lake Titicaca is so big it looks like the ocean, but it's a huge, clear lake, nestled on a plain in the Andes. "Titicaca" in the Aymara language means "Puma's Rock," a sacred boulder found on the southern side of the lake. This is the largest body of water in the world to be found so high above sea level. It is 284 meters deep and covers an area of 8562 square kilometers. It's deep, deep blue except near the Puno dock, where it's a scummy, greenish color. Today Liz, who I met on the Inca Trail, and I took a boat from the docks to visit the Uros Floating Islands.

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There is no place else like this on earth. The Uros people have lived for centuries on the lake on reed islands they make themselves. The Uros use reeds for everything: shelter, food, and transport. They build houses out of reeds, raising a platform off the "ground" and putting in wood stakes to form the bottom of the house. Today, many of the Uros have added modern improvements to their traditional fishing and bird-hunting lifestyle, including putting solar panels on their reed houses!

The Uros have always lived freely on the lake. Many cultures have tried to invade the Uros, but they have kept their independence. Thanks to Lake Titicaca and its floating islands, the Uros have been able to flee invaders and live peacefully in their floating waterworld.