Would you like potatoes or rice with your island?

The Uros people inhabit 40-some odd islands on Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake. They also eat their islands.

Primarily for defensive purposes, the Uros people constructed islands out of totora reeds to avoid the invading Incas. At 2 meters thick, they are the world's largest water beds. The layers must be constantly replaced, and rot continuously off the bottom. Walking around on them, one's feet sink 6 inches at a time into the spongy surface. The islands are anchored to the bottom with ropes, but can easily be unattached and moved around. In addition to the "earth" below their feet, the totora reed is used to build their houses, boats, and watchtowers.

The totora reed happens to be an abundant supply of iodine and other nutrients, and so it can also be eaten. The Uros wrap the reed around wounds to absorb pain, duplicating some of the medical functions that the coca leaf resolves on the mainland.

Like any group of people, the Uros have feuding tendencies now and again, and so divisions between islands are somewhat visible to the casual observer. On the largest island, (and only the largest island), the roofs are all metal, a gift for converting from the 7th Day Adventist Church... ahem.

While explaining all of this, our guide produced a saw from one of the nearby houses. He explained to us that when the Hatfield/McCoy stuff really begins to hit the fan, people pick up their houses and float them to another island...or resort to more drastic measures. As he began to cut a small section of the island, he told us it was wise to get along with the community, as you could possibly wake up in the middle of the night with the wind whipping you around on YOUR OWN floating island in the middle of Lake Titicaca, the serrated edges leaving you only to ponder whose hammer you forgot to return punctually.