hi there, me again! i left la paz a few weeks ago, but remained at high altitude. i traveled to copacabana, on the edge of lake titicaca and there, visited the isla del sol, which was enjoyable. and then, on leaving bolivia, went to puno, in peru, again on lake titicaca. its quite a nice place, but the main reason for visiting, was to see more islands on the lake. i did an overnight trip, which i really enjoyed. first we went to the uros islands, which are actually made of reeds, and are floating on the lake. the islandsers have to keep laying more reeds in order to maintain the islands. they also make their boats and houses etc from the same reed, and they can be used as food. very versatile! then i traveled to amantani island, where i stayed with a local family. its such a different way of life they have. no roads or cars, they only started using electricity about 15 years ago, and even now, its only for two hours a day. fortunately the family i stayed with spoke a little spanish, as well as quechua, the local language, so there was a little conversation. they cooked me meals, and in the evening, they dressed me up in the local costume, and we went to a party. i wore a very brightly coloured skirt, with a white blouse with bright embroidered flowers on it, a thick brightly coloured belt, tied very tightly and a black shawl, also with very bright embroidery. im hoping the photos turn out! the guys costumes were dull in comparison, a poncho and knitted hat. we all joined in local dancing. extremely touristy, but good fun, rather like going to a ceilidh every night!! the next day we traveled to another island, taquille which was far more geared towards this century. they were in the midst of a week long festival, so most people were wearing local costume (different to what wed worn the night before) and we saw dancing. from puno, i headed to arequipa, whch is only about 2300m above sealevel! its a really pretty town, and i spent a few days there relaxing. i saw juanita the ice princess. its the mummy of a young girl who was sacrificed at the top of a volcano, maybe 500 years ago. the body was only found about 8 years ago, and is in scarily good condition. i also visited a monastery which is still in use today. and it was actually really interesting!! it was like a small self contained town, and i spent several hours there, and took loads of photos!! i also visited the colca canyon, from there. it claims to be deeper than the grand canyon, but wasnt as impressive. there, i went for a dip in thermal hot springs, which were the perfect temperature, and we saw condors swooping and soarng right above our heads. i got a few good photos of them. and from there, i traveled on to nasca, where i took a scenic flight over the famous lines. noone quite knows why the lines were created, though before the flight, i saw part of a video, which discussed some of the different theories, including that they were used to communicate with aliens! i saw all of the most famous pictures, including the dog, the spider, the humming bird, the condor, the lizard (through which runs the panamerican highway!!) and my favourite, the monkey. the flight was cool, but over really quickly, and i was kind of left thinking, is that it? but im glad i saw the lines. then i travelled on to ica, where there was as good museum, with lots of trepanated skulls, and deformed skulls, and a few more mummies, as well as the usual kinds of exhibits, such as weavings found in the region, and ceramics. it was pretty good. i also visited the oasis town of huacachina, but didnt go sandboarding, as it looked a little dangerous! (ive been put off high adrenaline things since that bike ride!!) and from there, on to pisco, which was really quite disappointing. the weather was miserable, caused by the "paracas phenomenon", which id never heard of, and still am not quite sure about. basically, i think it causes dust storms and things, and is in three day cycles. it meant i couldnt visit the islas ballestas, to see the bird and animal life there, but ive seen seals and sealions before, so it wasnt the end of the world. i did however visit the paracas reserve, which was quite a letdown. there was a viewpoint to see flamingos, but they were so far away, they were barely even pink spots on the horizon. and the cathedral cave/rock formation. put it this way, i think it was named by someone with a rather active imagination. still, thats one of the few things ive done that i dont really recommend (the other being that bike ride!!)