My first impression of the island of Taquile was all about stairs. 500-or-so of them, reaching up from the blue waters of Lake Titicaca. A high-altitude climb like that can be brutal.

On my first visit there, I saw only this, the front side of the island. We climbed the stairs, had lunch in the town, visited the central plaza, and then returned the way we came. I had no idea that there was another route.

When I returned four years later, our boat landed on the opposite side of the island. From the dock we still had to climb up to the town plaza, but the path circled the island and consequently the slope was much more gradual. The first half of the trail was surprisingly unpopulated, too. Fewer houses, more terraced farms and animals.

This is a view of one of the many arches curving over the path. I love the serenity of this picture. It brings me back to the hike; a perfectly clear day, the crystal blue lake stretching all the way to the horizon, and a quiet section of the path just a little bit removed of the touristy hubbub.