The next morning we were up at 6am to shower and catch the 8am bus to Puno. We said our goodbyes to Ellen and on we went. The bus took about 7 hours to get there. On the way people got on to sell bread (they really love the bread here) and a little boy sang a few songs and played an instrument. We eventually arrived after passing through the mountains and impressive landscape to Puno which was a city full of houses surrounding the massive Lake Titicaca. On the way off the bus we met Daynee who travelled with us for the next few days. She was from Australia and traveling for a few months. We went for some dinner in the town and had a look about. We went to the supermarket and it was like a market rather then a supermarket. On the way back we had an amazing pastry. I had an apple and custard cake and it did not disappoint. We headed back to the hostel and booked our bus to Cobacabana and the tour for the next day of the floating islands also known as the Uros Islands.
The next day we went to the Uros Islands which are the floating islands in Puno on Lake Titicaca. Titcaca means the puma as the lake is actually shaped like a Puma. The majority of it is owned by the Peruian side. The floating islands are really unique and the people were so friendly. It was about 20-30 minutes out to the islands in the middle of Lake Titcaca. There we were greeted on the first island and the chief explained about the island (of course in their own language which was different to Castellono) He explained there was mud in big shapes all tightly bound together to form the base. They then laid these plants on top and then added the bamboo style huts and the oven and the boat. He made the story very entertaining. They had a boat they called the Mercades Benz and it was made of some kind of plants, really impressive. They welcomed us into their homes. One of them even had a TV so they still have some kind of modern day technology. They had little stalls where they weaved their artwork and it was really impressive. They guys made these little boats and an item which looked like something you would hover over a babies crib but in actual fact it was a present for a couple when they got married. They also showed us this plant they ate where you peeled it and then they ate it for calcium. We tried a bit and it did not really tase of much and looked a bit like a leek. We then had time to look around and climb their little watch tower before we headed for the second island. The second island was a bit more built up and had restaurants and a little pond with fish in. There was also a sheep roaming about. Again it had items you could buy. After looking around we headed back to land. We grabbed some lunch and then headed for our bus to the Bolivian boarder. We were going to experience Lake Titcaca from that side as well. It was a very simple and easy process crossing the land boarder. We just got stamped out of Peru and into Bolivia, it was really easy. We then headed for a short distance to the town of Copacabana. We then met our little German friend and he joined us and Danae for dinner and the same hostel.
After our night in Copacanbana we headed to the Isle of the Sol for the day exercusion. There were a few boats going out and we were packed in like sardines. It was a 2 and a bit boat ride out to the North Island. There we had a few hours to look around and then catch the boat to the south part of the island at 1.30. We did want to hike down south but there simply was not enough time so we looked around the town and then headed along a beautiful coastal walk to the Inka ruins. We took some gorgeous pictures and saw the sacred stone and the palace. We were running short on time so we headed back to the dock which was a good 50 mins walk away. We then headed to the south part and again it was a good little walk around and up the steep steep hill to the sacred fountain. It gave amazing views around the water. You forget you are almost 4,000 metres above sea level and this was one massive lake. We were so lucky as it was a gorgeous day so I sat on the top deck and spoke to a few people as we headed back to shore. They stopped at the 'floating islands' which was a poor mans copy of the Puno Islands.. these were literally on floats and just looked a tad silly.. they were alos connected to land so seemed abit pointless really :) We eventually got back and picked some snacks for our 4 hour bus ride to La Paz. We said goodbye to our German buddy and thought we would see him in La Paz. The bus ride was quite amusing. We had to get off the bus to cross a river . We watched the bus get loaded onto what looked like a massive float with a guy with an ore. We prayed it would not sink. :) We then got a boat across the massive river and reloaded the bus on the other side. I tried to get a picture but I think I blinded the guy who was guiding the boat and it did not come out. We had a good laugh about this and it was funny to experience it. On the other side we boarded the bus and continued on to La Paz.