Peru: Lake Titikaka

We didn't have to be ready till 8.30, talk about luxury! I woke up before my alarm and had time to do a few things before breakfast (which was really nice, cereal, cheese, ham, bread, avocado, strawberry yoghurt drink, and coffee).

We got those bikes with seats on front to the port. I have a lot of experience with these in Indonesia, but this is the first time I saw one with a stereo. On the way to the port an angry van driver, irate at being beeped at by our bicycle men drove very slowly in the middle of the road, cutting off the bicycles at every opportunity.

When we arrived at the port we had 15 minutes or so to shop for gifts for our homestay family. Me and Slade coordinated; he got rice, pasta, flower, and toy soldiers, whilst I got salt, powdered milk, oil, and apples. They don't have much electricity (only one or two solar panels), so no fridges to keep food in.

We got in a boat, and headed off to the floating reed islands of the Uros. There are 75 or so, sitting in the middle of a sea of reeds, and the sight was rather impressive. We got shown to an island, where a man demonstrated the construction of the islands, then we got to wander around a bit. I was sinking half a foot with every step, it was like walking on a crash mat, and we had a chance to purchase island made goods (I got something for Kathy and Vicky, but I'm not telling what!), then we all had a bit of a trip on a boat made of reeds, which someone proved could have been used to cross the pacific.

We left the Uros islands, and headed onwards to our destination for the night, Amantani island. It was around a 3 hour boat ride, and Leo gave us some facts on the lake. The lake was formerly salt water, trapped when the Andes rose up, but over time melt water from the mountains diluted the water to fresh, though you can still find sea horses in here. Another thing you can find in the depths are giant toads, reaching 84cm!

The biggest indigenous fish though is only about the size of a sardine, which I found pretty surprising. Rainbow Trout and Kingfish have been introduced, and they started out at around 2.5 feet, but have shrunk to about a foot. They are also wiping out the indigenous fish, so efforts are being made to eradicate them outside of farms.

When we arrived at Amantani Island we met our 'mama' for the day. Ours was called Celestina, and she was a good few inches shorter than my real mum! We had to walk about half an hour up a 1 in 3 hill to get to our house, which at this altitude (42something meters) is no joke! The whole of the island us covered in terraces, some of which are 3500 years old.

When we arrived we met the rest of the family, Celestina's mother, daughter (2-3 years old), and husband (I think), and got a lunch of quinoa soup and mixed root vegetables with cheese, which was very nice. The little girl whose name we never got insisted I fold up my napkin, so I showed off my skills and did an origami swan. She called it a pato (duck in Spanish, so close enough), and told me to hold it's tail. She grabbed the head, and preceded to decapitate it with a knife! Then we had to kill all the napkins, she would hold one end, and I the other, then she would cut it to confetti. Peek-a-boo was also on the agenda.

After this Slade decided that the army men might be suitable after all, and indeed they went down a treat! A lot of the other guys on our tour helped with house work, but they told us we didn't have to do anything, probably thanks to our kid skills.

We got given a hat each to try out. I think each person has their own basic pattern, as upon meeting the rest of our group all were subtly different. Mine had llamas and dragonflies on it, in white, purple, and grey.

We went back down to the football pitch, met with the rest of the group, and had a bit of a kick around, before walking to the highest point on the island, where there are some ruins, and then back down to a little cafe for some hot chocolate, with flaming sugar bowls filled with some sort of black powder for light, which was very atmospheric.

We went back to our respective houses for dinner, which was soup and noodles, followed by rice mixed with potatoes and haloumi cheese. I was taking a photo of the family at work when the little girl noticed me with the camera, and demanded her picture taken, with her dolly. She spent about an hour playing with the camera, and she learned how to take a photo, scroll through the photos, and switch it off and on. She liked switching it off and on the best.

Me and Slade had to pretend to go to bed then, it was the little girl's bedtime and she wouldn't go while we were around! After 20 minutes of simulated sleep, we got given ponchos to wear, and headed out to the hall for some dancing. Peruvian dancing is fairly simple, mostly holding hands and swinging them backwards and forwards while walking about randomly, or if there are more than two of you, running around in a big circle. The last song ended up with everyone running around in a big circle, and lasted at least 10 minutes!

After that we went back home, and straight to bed. I had to get up in the night, and the stars were amazing, since there are only 2 or 3 external lights on the whole island.

The door to our bedroom. Slade is about my height, so you can see how small it is.