Wednesday 8th April

We have to leave by 8 to catch our lake tour. We leave our bags on our rooms as we will be returning to them and only take what we need for 1 night. I am feeling better and grab some breakfast, but find I am only able to eat a little before being full. We leave the hotel and our side there are tons of push bike rickshaws to take us 8 blocks to the wharf. It's a nice ride, but tons of horn honking all around. That is Peru drivers favourite pass time. At the wharf there are small markets where we are to buy our home stay couple a food gift and something for children. We buy rice, spaghetti, Pringles and soda crackers. We also take bananas and pineapple. Trying to find something for an unknown child is more tricky. We settle on marbles as most other things seem plastic junk and who needs that?? We think they will be good to give away to the local children.
We climb aboard and start out tour of the lake. It's quite shallow and there are lots of reeds. There are floating islands made of root filled peat topped with about 3metres of reeds. In the rainy season (now) they need toping up bi-weekly. Adventists where the first to bring primary schools to the floating island ppl and the guide said lots of ppl now follow that religion. We stop at a floating island and get a demonstration of island creation, moving the island and life. The island has 3 families living there plus a hut for a saint. It was all very fascinating, and strange. Don't think it was my style, but children ran around having fun. They make living with fishing and tourists. The women make woven and reed goods. The reeds can be harvested twice yearly and the fresh base stems can be eaten; like cross celery and cucumber apparently.
We continue our journey to a terra firma island where we walk up a hill to a main square where we have lunch. I talk to a man from another small tour joining ours for the lake tour. He was from Canada and is involved in many health studies. I only manage some bread and a few fries from my plate. Malcolm are his and mine. We wandered around the square and then made our way back to the boat.
We arrive at the mainland and are greeted by our local home stay families and taken with local music to a basketball court where they form a Soccer team against the locals. The locals win.
After the game out home stay families dress us all up in traditional garb and show us the traditional dance. Then we all attempt to dance. It's harder than it looks. Our home stay family then take us back to their house and show us our room. It is like a sleep out and has three beds. Two single and a double, each base is built up concrete. Permanent beds. There is a bathroom at the back with toilet and shower and basin. The shower appears to be disconnected, or never connected? In a few minutes our hostess comes for us and we hurry through the pouring rain to a small dirt brick courtyard. In a small dirt room we sit at a table and we get given a big bowel of quinoa soup. We think we may be eating alone and how awkward that would be, but the lady joins us and then a man with a little girl almost 2. He speaks a little English and us a tiny amount of Spanish with the help of the phrase book. We give them our food gift and the marbles. The couple are not married and been together about 3 years. He is 34. The soup is hearty and probably with best quinoa soup so far. After soup there is white rice and potato stew. I dislike the rice. Plain with a strange 'no taste' flavour. The stew is yum. I do not eat all the rice. The meal is too much for me having been only eating tiny meals. After the meal I offer to help clean up, but they say no, in the morning as is an awful wet night. We are dismissed for siesta and it's only 7.30pm.
We open the door and there is a large frog sitting in the doorstep!

We put some extra blankets on the bed. They are thick and heavy. It feels like lying under an avalanche (maybe not :p). The sheets smell earthy. When we lie down we start to feel ill. Especially Malcolm. He has lots if pain and has to get up lots in the night.