We are now in the Amazon jungle in northern Peru as I write this, so lots of catching up to do. First, Lake Tititcaca and the home stay, which was on 22nd May!

We were to be picked up in the morning to be driven to the port, but were quite surprised when we emerged from the hotel, to find a fleet of bicycle rickshaws waiting for us! Luckily for the poor guys peddling, most of the journey was downhill. When we got to the port, there was a little market where we went to buy gifts for our host families, we took rice, pasta, porridge oats, satsumas and apples, and a small jar of coffee. The boat was a small motor launch, and it was a lovely day,  so Tony and I spent most of the time outside. 

Our first  stop, was at one of the Ouros people's floating reed islands, which was extremely touristy, but also very interesting and funny. We rather suspected that the people we saw probably had a flat in Puno, and just went to the islands each morning, and got dressed up ready for the arrival of the tourists! But they showed us how the made their islands, and talked about their life there, before showing us their handicrafts, which of course we were expected to buy. We rowed over to one of the other islands in a traditional twin hulled reed boat, and took it in turns to help with the rowing (very hard!). When we got there, we could get our passports stamped, for a fee of course.

We then set off again in our own boat, for Amantani island, about two and a half hours away, where the traditionally dressed 'Mama' from each host family was waiting for us when we moored at the little quay. One of the single ladies in our group was billeted with us, which was nice, but we got a bit of a surprise when we were shown into a room with three single beds! (Luckily we got that sorted out later!) 

The house was set facing the sea, on a small plot of land, where the family cultivated beans, onions, quinoa, wheat, passion fruit, and potatoes. They also had a donkey, (tethered and hobbled, of course), 8 sheep in a small pen, and 4 hens. The two story house was made of adobe bricks, and all the rooms led off a tiny internal courtyard, where piles of assorted vegetables were laid out on sacks to dry. We picked our way past the vegetables, and various sized basins and buckets of water, through a small archway to the back of the courtyard, and into the kitchen. 

In the tiny, dark smoky room, there was a fireplace, with a small brick-built wood burning stove, with a couple of pots bubbling away, and a narrow table and bench where we sat for lunch. Our mama was 24, with two children aged 4 and 5, who had just got back from school, so her sister, who we'd suddenly noticed sitting on the floor in the hearth, surrounded by a pile of bowls and pots and pans, dished up the lunch. We had potato soup, followed by an assortment of 5 or 6 different kinds of small but very filling potatoes, with a slice of haloumi cheese, and muña tea (a local mint-like herb). We were joined by their mother, who looked about 70, but turned out to be only 58! They had all eaten already, so they sat and watched us, which was a bit awkward, but then the children, Mildred and Alexis came bursting in, so that relieved the tension. 

Tony went for a swim in Lake Titicaca in the afternoon, much to the amusement of some passing locals, who said it was much too cold. After the swim, it was time for a pre-arranged football match with the local youngsters. Mama led the way up a track across some fields at the back of the house, then up a rough path, then up a paved path, and up, and up, until we were puffing and wheezing, and eventually we got to the (concrete) pitch, set at over 4,000m. The locals obviously had a great advantage, being used to the altitude, so the Gringos were allowed to swap in and out as they needed to, and most people managed about 5 minutes at a time, apart from Tony, who kept on playing, and scored a goal. Eventually the match just kind of fizzled out, due to the lack of viable players on the guest team, so the locals declared a win.  

 It was then time for more (very slow) walking uphill, this time to the very top of the island, to visit the ruins of a temple to  Patchatata, and watch a beautiful sunset. We made our way back down, but it was getting dark very quickly and none of us were really sure how to find our way back to our various houses, so it was quite a relief when the various mamas emerged from the shadows near the bottom of the path to claim their various guests. Supper was by the light of a single candle, and consisted of more potato soup, followed by pasta and rice, (it's quite usual in Peru to just eat carbs!), then we were told we had 45 minutes to rest before leaving for the party. 

About 30 minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and in came mama with armfuls of traditional clothing, and despite Tony saying earlier he didn't want to go to the party, before he knew what was happening, she had bundled him into a red striped poncho and an Andean hat! I was dressed up in the traditional women's outfit, which seemed to fit perfectly, (although the waist sash could have done with being a bit looser after eating all those potatoes!) and was surprisingly warm.

Then off we set again, back up the hill of course, to the community centre, which was lit only by a couple of 40 watt light bulbs, and met up with the rest of our tour group. The local band were actually very good, and played their pan pies, charrangos and drums with great passion. After the first few bars, the dancing began, and Tony was the first Gringo to be dragged onto the dance floor! The dances weren't hard, but they were about 15 minutes long, and like all folk dances, got faster and faster as they went on, so pretty exhausting! 

After about an hour, the band came round with their hats in hand, collecting money, and with that, the party seemed to be over. So back down the hill, stopping on the way to turn off our head torches and admire the stunning night sky, (the best we've seen since Aitutaki), complete with milky-ways and shooting stars, and off to bed!

The next morning, we went to Taquile island, about an hour's very choppy boat ride away, which is famous for the fact that only the men are allowed to do the knitting, and the women do spinning and weaving. It is also run along the lines of a co-operative community.  It seems a very peaceful place, and they don't have any police there, as they discuss and resolve all their problems as a community. They are very proud of their traditional costumes, worn by the men as well as the women. Among the men, different hats denote their marital status and ranking within the community. I much preferred Taquile to Amantani. We had some great walks and a really nice lunch, followed by a descent of over 500 steps to our boat, and a very pleasant cruise back to Puno. The following day was the long drive to Cuzco, and that evening, the briefing for the Inca / Lares trek........... Goodnight!