After the Inca trail we spent a few days resting and recuperating in Cusco. This was partly a necessity as Rich had been bitten no fewer than 21 times on his left ankle including by something unsavoury enough to make the whole leg swell up, so we couldn't move very far. But it was a welcome break, and Cusco is cool. Loads of really nice bars, restaurants and things to see. Our Inca trail mates were still around too, so we had a good night or two on the pisco sours with them.

Next stop was Puno, on Lake Titicaca. We originally planned to spend just an afternoon in Puno and go straight through to Copacabana on the Bolivian side of the Lake. But, having got up for our onward bus at 6.30, we found out that a strike on the road had blocked the only route to Bolivia. Perfect, so we had an extra day in Puno to fill.

Our hopes were not high, but the ingenuity of the Uros people and their floating islands totally sorted us out. The Uros people moved into Lake Titicaca around 600 years ago to escape the Incas. They spent a solid 100 years or so living just on boats that they made out of reeds that grew in the bay. That must have been pretty miserable, and as they say, necessity breeds invention, and someone then figured out that they could make whole floating islands out of earth, compost and the same reeds. Everything they do is linked to the reeds, they eat, sleep on, live in houses made of, make boats from, fish with and walk on the same reeds. The best bit is that if they don't get on with the neighbouring family anymore they could simply cut the island in two and drift apart from each other.

This filled part of our day so with the remaining afternoon we went to check out this boat called the Yuvari… it was originally designed and made in Birmingham and then shipped to Peru in 6000 parts and carried over the Andes using mules and man power, before finally being constructed and sailed onto Lake Titicaca… a process which took 6 years around 1862. However, when we got there it was for some unknown reason moored out of the bay so we could only see it from a distance and with Rich's impressive camera lens…. Shame. But nonetheless it was good to see it.

This time our 6.30 start did result in a bus journey to Copacabana, and we crossed the Peru-Bolivian border. After lots of probably unnecessary confusion from the bus company that we had paid to assist us, and about 10 different queues we crossed the border!

Other updates and things we have been told: Inca people, although supposedly short, were mad keen on heights; Michelle is winning 3:2 at cards; Rich lost a bet and had to eat a spoonful of garlic butter (which seemed funny until I had to sleep next to him); Puno is very polluted; booking flights Pervian style includes photocopying, faxing and 6 emails; HSBC suck and still cancel credit cards no matter how many times they are told we are on holiday; all the kids have em (don't know they're born), but netbooks while traveling are great.