We had decided to to take a half day tour to the Uros Islands instead of a full day tour of Lake Titicaca. The primary reason was the later pick up time and being able to have a leisurely breakfast.

We were picked up just before 9am and taken by taxi to the harbour. Our guide for the morning, Erwin, was local to the area and spoke good Spanish and English as well as being a native speaker of Aymara, the language spoken on Uros Islands. He had perhaps been doing his guiding job for some time, he was funny and gave good explanations of the history around the lake. One thing he made sure everyone remembered was about the name itself, it should actually be called Titicala and not Titicaca which is the Spanish version. Titi means puma (animal revered by indigenous) and Cala means rock, whereas Kaka (or Caca) means ****. Nowadays, Bolivians say Titi is on the Bolivian side and Kaka is on the Peruvian, and vice versa of course.

A boat, close to the shore, was pointed out and we were told that it was brought from England when northern part of Chile, Arica, was still part of Peru and before the Pacific war. The boat was dismantled into pieces and Indians carried the pieces across the Andes over 8 years before being put back together. It was the first steam boat on Lake Titicaca and is now a museum.

We were taught to speak a bit of Aymara before arriving at the islands but we've forgotten already. Something like 'camisaraki' was the greeting for 'Hello, how are you?'.

When we arrived to the area of the Uros Islands, we were taken aback at actually how big they are, they are much bigger than we had thought. The islands are built completely from totara reed. And it's not just the base of the island made from reeds, it's the houses, the seats and the boats too. In fact the reeds are also used for food and to make fire.

We docked at one of the islands, Apu Inti de Corazon, and were taken to the 'living room' which was really just an open space with reed bench seats in a horseshoe shape. Once seated, we were given an explanation of how the islands are built using the roots of the totora as the main flotation and then carpets of reeds laid on top. They continually have to place more reeds on top as they decay. The islands are also 'anchored' to the lake bed to keep them from moving. The houses are built higher than ground level by using, surprisingly, totora underneath to try to keep humidity out. Houses get moved every 6 months to replace the foundation and will get a new roof at the same time.

The main source of food is found in and on the the lake through fishing and hunting ducks. Fish were traditionally speared with a sharp stick but now they use the more conventional net method. They also eat the totora reed that grows in the lake. The white part at the bottom is peeled before breaking off and discarding the end , like asparagus; it tasted ok but nothing special. On Sundays they go to the market on mainland to exchange fish for other food like potatoes to supplement their diets. Each island eats communally around a single, small kitchen. The cooking fire, using totara of course, is made over a flat stone to stop the reeds of the island catching fire and burning the island down.

Each of the islands has their own president, usually the eldest or his oldest son. On the island we were visiting, Jaime was the president and surprisingly young. Within the islands as a whole, they have the most bizarre way of settling disputes. If a family can't resolve their problems with words then a portion of the island is literally sawn off and floated to somewhere else on the lake for the disgruntled family members to live on their own.

It is thought that the Uros will become extinct at some point in the very near future because they have no real income as such and the children tend to leave the islands through lack of jobs. The women on the islands make handmade textiles and the men make souvenirs out of totora. The younger children go to primary school on the islands but need to go to Puno for secondary education. This of course raises their awareness of life outside the islands and increases their desire to leave, to the demise of their culture.

After the explanation of the islands, we were introduced to families living on this island. Normally each island has between 5 and 10 families living on them. Each of the families then picked a couple of tourists to invite them into their home. We were chosen by Jaime, the president, to see the inside of his home. It was very simple but did have a television and single lightbulb which used solar power. There was one totara reed bed for the parents and one on the side for their children, which would be rolled out on the floor at night. Houses are only really for sleeping so space wasn't so much of an issue.

We were then taken round to the on-island market where Jaime's wife showed her handicrafts and we ended up buying one partly because we felt we should give them some money but also because it was a very nice tapestry depicting their island life.

Every island has a viewing tower, the reason I can't remember but we were allowed to climb it and get great views across the other islands.

It was time to move on to the next island and we were given the opportunity to buy a ride on the island's Mercedes Benz equivalent totara boat. The boat was not simply built for fishing, it was much bigger and decorated and this one even had a talking parrot.

It was only a short stop on the second island for more souvenir shopping before we were back on the proper boat for the ride back to Puno.

We went to Plaza Vea, a large store, to stock up on essentials just in case they are hard to find in Bolivia. It's weird how you become very attached to particular brands of toothpaste and deodorant.

Walking around the streets, we tried to find a place to eat but it seemed to be the wrong time of the day, everywhere was between lunch and dinner, so we went back to the hotel with a bag of chips to tide us over until dinner in the evening.

By the time we headed out in the evening, half of town had been plunged into darkness with a power cut and we were wondering if restaurant Mojsa might have a generator. It wasn't looking too hopeful as we carried on down towards the Plaza because it looked pitch black in the distance. Fortunately, when we were a coupe of blocks short of Plaza, the electricity came back on. It was our last night in Peru so we decided we should have Pisco's before we ate. David went for the standard Pisco Sour while Maria went adventurous with a Muno Sour, a sort of wild mint of the Andes. We had come back to Mojsa to try their pizza after watching them being made and cooked last night. It was nice but not as good as their A La Carte dishes.