Ship, the Lady and the Lake

Book excerpt: An extraordinary account of one woman's single-minded campaign to restore a Victorian steamship to her former glory and make her an Andean attraction Here is a vivid account of Meriel Larken's incredible quest to restore the Yavari steamship against the odds—a ship that is now celebrating its 150 year anniversary in 2012. In 1862 the English-built Yavari was taken to bits and shipped to South America. In an epic logistical feat it was carried in thousands of pieces, by mule, up the Andes to Lake Titicaca, 12,500 feet above sea level, the world's highest navigable waterway. She was reconstructed and for more than a century plied her trade up and down the lake, but by 1985 she was a sad rotting hulk—until she was found by Larken, who led the quest to project to restore and preserve the ship. The oldest single screw iron passenger ship in the world, this nautical and engineering jewel is now a major Peruvian tourist attraction.