Arriving at the bus terminal for our trip up to the plateau and Lake Titicaca we took our seats and sat back and enjoyed the view as we rose higher and higher into the wilds of the Peruvian high grounds. On our journey we witnessed an area of Peru left unspoilt by the likes of us tourists where the houses are made of mud bricks and traditional dress is the norm. 'Inca' paintings adorn many of the houses and later we found out that each different object was related to the political persuasion of the person inside. At the bus station we had our first real encounter with Vanessa and her ability to almost get stranded everywhere she goes. With a little bit of help and persuasion our tour guide helped her on our way and we departed for our hotel. Eventually arriving at our hospedaje we were quietly pleased with our penthouse suite that included not only windows but also an on suite bathroom. The railway track that was only 6 inches from the side wall of the hotel was not a real problem although on leaving the front door of the hotel you did step right onto the tracks which was only once a problem when we encountered a train. We left the room behind for a brisk walk around the town. On our walk we stumbled across a market selling all kinds of animals and brick-a-brack, most notably the stall that sold sheepheads. A bit too Indiana Jones for my liking but Jo got a couple and even got them wrapped to send home (not really). We then walked down to the lakeside which was very pleasant until the building next to us got hit by lightening and everybody around us started to run (there was only one person there but it was pretty dramactic never-the-less). Cutting our losses we got out of the storm and headed into the nearest eatery which was just the other side of the train tracks from our hotel. The waiter, who we named 'quart' as he wasn't even clever enough to be a halfwit, made a complete hash of everything we asked for but we got there in the end and even stopped at the cake shop before bed. The next morning we were woken early with breakfast and boarded the boat for the islands of Uros. These islands are made up completely of the reeds that are grown in the lake. The islands themselves are floating masses of reeds, the houses (huts) are made of reeds, the shools are made of them, the hospitals are reed hospitals and even the menu is a little bit reedy. Following a brief explanation of how they make their islands and how they survive (if you dont like your neighbours you can just cut the reed islands in two and float away) we departed for a ride on a boat made of reeds and then back on the normal boat and anchor away for the next island stop at Amantani. On the way we learned all about the lake of puma/stone (titi/caca) and how Peru and Bolivia own half each (each claiming to have the better half). Arriving at Amantani we teamed up with Vanessa and settled in with our host family upstairs in the guest quarters. The basic shelter was very comfortable and you felt like you had stepped back in time sitting at their hearth where light was from the candles or the fire and dinner was running round in the back yard (I felt a slight trepidation that the guinea pigs I had just been cooing at would end up on my plate that evening). There were no cars or dogs on the island - it was my idea of heaven. We went with the tour group up to the top of the island to watch sunset and tucked ourselves away to admire the peaceful panaroma. Sunset was pretty but it was going back down we suddently saw the colours deepen and the whole sky light up like it was on fire and it was then we felt we had seen a real sight worth seeing. On our return we had dinner and felt really uncomfortable as we sat at a table while the host family sat on the floor. We felt slightly more in the swing of things though when our host mother came to dress us up in traditional dress ready for our evening of dance at a hall somewhere in the community. The dancing was simple but fun and we felt like we'd had a good evening out. When we got back to our host house we watched as a soundless storm raged and battled many miles away - so far away we could not hear it - and then finished off a perfect day by looking at the stars which were unblemished by unnatural light. It would have been like a scene out of a novel had we not been Vanessad and been made to giggle. We were given another chance to see just how empty this girl's head was - when I told her to look at the stars she shone her torch up at them...never mind. That night we were huddled in blankets but actually slept really well considering there were no comforts and no heating.

The next day Vanessa makes some weird excuse about leaving her trainers outside and they are all wet so she has to wear flip flops to trek up and down the island (flip-flopping crazy girl). We say goodbye to Olga, our silent but steady hostess and the grandfatehr (who spent much of his time weaving - something that is unusually a blokes thing on this island) and we get the boat to Tequile. We saw an exhibition of photos of the islanders by themselves to show how they viewed themselves. They had never used cameras before and the results were interesting and fun. We then went to a restaurant where we had a last 'group lunch'. There was no toilet door so you had to make do with placing your poncho carefully to cover any offending body parts - nice. We then got the boat back to Puno where we stayed in local haunt and went and saw our favourite Peruvian waiter, Quart. This set us up for an early night before our transfer to the Bolivian launch pad. Next stop: Copacabana, Bolivia.