The phone rang at 05.00 and a disembodied voice told Sarah that our pick up time had been moved forward from 07.30 to 06.00, but breakfast would be ready at 05.30.

Well, that's alright then!

We set a new world record for packing, breakfasting and checking out with personal bests for not leaving anything behind to boot!

True to their word the Vicuña Tour coach hove into view at 06.00 and we stumbled aboard, taking the front row, thinking 'this is a big bus for four'.

After 2 hours we completed the hotel supermarket sweep picking up others with destination Copacabana (no, not that one, the one on the shore of Lake Titicaca), including some Arabella on her gap yah who left her boots at her hotel. Alfie interceded with the driver's assistant who was refusing to stop, and showed the benefit of 5 years of Spanish and the attributes of a head boy! Gap yah had to get off, collect her boots and take a taxi to the bus' final stop

We finally rocked into Copacabana at a little afternoon and spent 25 minutes enjoying Bolivian banking, which included me popping next door to photocopy my passport twice so there is evidence that the money was properly collected!

The customer ahead of us signed the requisite documents with her thumb print, while commenting that in Peru she'd use her index finger.

After a 90 minute crossing of Lake Titicaca we disembarked on Yumani, Isla del Sol, and were besieged by old women demanding a 5 boliviano archeology protection fee.

At least we received a printed ticket in return, so that's all above board then!

A small girl of maybe 9 bade us wait while she corralled a few mules and asked us to help prepare their loads - our backpacks!

The 4 of us plus a Swiss couple and a Brazilian meant there were 8 packs to be carried to Palla Khasa Eco Lodge - Sarah was willing to carry her own pack when it looked as though there was only 1 mule for the whole load.

As described by PKEL, the path to the accommodation was indeed 30 minutes up and 7 level minutes.

The 'up' wasn't in the Colca Canyon order if magnitude, but it was up nonetheless and at an additional kilometre of altitude it made the rumblings of mutiny from the ranks unsurprising.

On arrival, however, the view and the upgrade from 2 standard rooms to a family hut (sleeps 3) plus a standard room compensated.

The Swiss couple and Matheus, the Brazilian, shamed me with their multi-linguistic capabilities over a wide ranging conversation covering among other things Monty Python, comparative benefits of our respective national education systems, the over-abundance of lawyers in Brazil, medical qualification transportability and the career of Jeff Dunham, amongst other topics!

After the rigours of the past few days, tomorrow is a rest day!