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We had some very loud guests staying lastnight and at about 6am they started yelling, screaming and running up and down the hall and staircase. It is one thing that really annoys me when people have no consideration or respect for the other guests and to be honest it happens a lot here - unfortunately more often then not the culprits are the Argentinians. Anyways I had trouble getting back to sleep with all the racket and decided to get up - thankfully the sun was out and once again the island was heating up. I am ready to move on from Chullami (the small town on the Northern point of the island), its been interesting but not somewhere I want to spend anymore time. I have about a 4 hour walk ahead of me today and as its off the tourist trail it should be peaceful and slightly more challenging. Beginning the walk was quite difficult specially the breathing side of things. It is said that at this altitude for every breath you take at sea level you must take 1.5 breaths here and the thing is you really need to focus on taking deep breaths. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular and to remind me of home eucalyptus trees surrounding the cliff side paths. The sun was out, the wind had stopped, no tourists in sight just a few shepherds and old men out for their morning walks. I passed the small bay of Challa and wow even more beautiful then the North where I had been staying - I contemplated staying but I had really only walked 40 minutes so I continued on. Up and over the next ridge was quite a challenge on both lungs and body and I really felt a sense of satisfaction making the peak. Looking back over Challa I contemplated the simple lifestyle - maybe one day. Surprisingly 30 minutes later I had arrived on the outskirts of Yumani and had another bit of a win - in that there was no one asking for my Challa ticket and so I didn't need to buy one. Reaching Yumani I did have to pay another ticket to visit the temple and the staircase. I went about finding some cheap accommodation but unfortunately Yumani is much more expensive then where I had stayed the previous two nights. After wondering around for hour I find a nice place and told the lady I had only $2.30 to spend and amazingly she gave me a room (was no one else staying so better to get some money). I dumped my things and then made my way through the hillside town down to the Inkas staircase. Although the town is very touristy with every second building a hostal or a restaurant the town has a nice feel to it and the locals seem nice enough. Making my way down to the bottom was quite an effort and when I arrived I decided to park-up on some nice green lawn and eat my packed lunch. The sun was out in full strength so I sun baked and had a nap for the next couple of hours, only to wake up very sunburned. I had seen a place offering wifi so I went and got on the Internet for the first time in nearly a week. I spent the next few hours catching up on emails and Facebook before the electricity went out and with it the Internet connection. I decided to head back to my accommodation, which was quite a hike up a steep set of old Inkan stairs. I was excited to have my first shower in days and you wouldn't believe it - it was hot, actually too hot I couldn't stand under it without scolding myself - ohwell better then a bucket of freezing cold water. In the late afternoon I hiked out to the sun temple - much more of a hike then I had anticipated and when I arrived I found it was all locked up. A fence and a gate wasn't going to keep me out, I snuck my way in and I am glad I did - it was a magnificently well kept and well made temple with many enclosed rooms, tunnels and places to explore. I explored for a while before the sun went down and with it the temperature. Making my way back I could see the snow-capped volcanoes on the other side of the lake which made me think of maybe doing a tour to hike them when I get to La Paz. Thankfully there is no wind where I am in Yumani and although I am rugged up I am nowhere near the point of freezing as I was for last two nights. With not much else to do I got out the iPad and started reading up more on Bolivia.
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