Day 19 Wed 12/04/06 Said goodbye to our Mamas, it was a wonderful experience to stay with the families, they have a very tough existence, but are so friendly and happy. Sailed for 3 hours to the reed islands, which are entirely made of reeds and float in 18m of water, take up to a year to build & have to have new reeds added constantly or they sink, but can last up to 10 years. Then sailed to the next reed island on a reed boat, which they let me have a go rowing, which was very hard as the oars weighed a ton and the handle was like a two pronged fork. The Islanders sang to us and then we sailed back to Puno, having lunch on the way..........by the way eat Alpaca the other day which was yummy. Visited the pre Inca burial sites, where they were buried in the fetal position, so they could be born again into their new life, plus some where buried standing up...........maybe so they got a good view of the lakes which were on either side and stunning. This altitude is really tough and saps your energy and makes you feel sick, but worth it to see these amazing people an views :o)