A friend of mine who travels a lot within Peru talked to me about Suasi Island in 2007.
The first time I heard of it, I did not even know where it was.
Suasi Island is a wonderful private island located on the north-eastern part of the Lake Titicaca shore at 3,816 msnm / 12,520 ftsl.
The fact that I did not know about it and the amazing things I had heard of made me finally book my trip to Suasi in May 2008.
I had high expectations of this island; hence, I decided to go on my own given that none of friends could go along.
To get there, I first had to flight to Juliaca and then drive for 45 minutes to arrive to the city of Puno, the capital of the department of Puno.
I stayed in Puno for one day to acclimatize to the high altitude.
That day I rested, took some oxygen, had an Andean soup and walked around the city for a bit.
Without knowing if there were more travellers going to Suasi Island during the three days I spent there, I waited for the transportation to pick me up and take me to the port.
To my surprise, I happened to meet a couple from Spain, a couple of newlyweds from Italy and a group of 5 Peruvians, all going in the same direction.
After introducing each other, we all immediately bonded.
The boat ride stops in the floating Islands of Uros and Taquile where we had the chance to interact with the local high plateau people.
It was just fascinating to find out about their ancient ways to live, their eating habits, their music and dances, and their traditions.
After leaving Taquile Island, we continued our boat ride for one more hour.
As soon as we could make out the first views of Suasi, we all went quiet to absorb so much nature, so much beauty.
We arrived around noon time and were welcomed by the hotel staff that really spoiled us all the time we were there.
Before we had a BBQ based on local products and meats, the island guide explained to all of us all there is to know and to do.
After lunch, we walked up the island towards the hotel installations to get our rooms assigned.
We all had rooms overlooking Lake Titicaca and terraces full of flowers and hummingbirds.
An incredible view! Visiting Martha's cultural cabin, canoeing around the island, walking up Itapilluni Mountain at sunset time, observing vicunas and the island's unique fauna or just contemplating the blue immensity of Lake Titicaca which could be seen from every corner in the island are some of the breathtaking activities we shared while in Suasi.
If you were not doing an activity around the island, you were reading a book in a hammock or just sharing interesting conversations with some of the travelers in the hotel's terrace.
All these together with the hotel's superb Andean-nouveau cuisine makes of this trip an experience beyond travel.
Suasi Island is a refugee for travelers who want to discover the marvelous experience of Lake Titicaca, a place where men and nature remain in harmony.
More than a place, Suasi Island is a contemplative experience!