Chica de Taquile

In the middle of Lake Titicaca lies the island of Taquile. The residents there are doing a good job of controlling the excessive tourism that could threaten their lifestyle, but still our influence leaks in. Take this picture for example. I don't take many portrait pictures when I'm on vacation -- I'm usually too worried that a local will be offended (and too shy to ask) -- but this little girl ran right on up and started chattering: "Foto. Foto. Foto!" Of course, she charged a small fee, a few soles, for her "modeling." Hey, it's more than worth $.50 to me when I get to capture a smile like that...