Off the boat, and definitely not wet behind the ears. But the endless lines of various debris, like roadblocks, on the road between Copacabana and the border were a surprise. As we got ever closer to the border, they became more frequent and thicker. Until eventually the minibus driver couldn't actually drive around the last one.

Since we were the only English speaking people on the mini-bus, the driver didn't bother to try and translate his rapid fire Spanish for us and explain what it was all about and what we had to do from here. But we knew enough to know that we would have to walk the rest of the 2km to the border and pick up the "proper" bus on the Peru side of the border.

And what were the endless roadblocks? The surrounding villagers were protesting something or another. Even the driver didn't know. All that we saw of the "protesters" was that of an old toothless man snoozing in the mid-day sun and a few kids playing on the bank opposite. Clearly a very well supported, and highly publized protest then!

Ah, that is what the mountain bike on the roof rack was for! Silly me for thinking that it was a mad keen mountain biker on the mini-bus with us! It was actually for the driver's mate to ride to the border. Why walk when you can ride. Clearly this protest has been going on a while now. Maybe they just need a little support and better PR and they could get what they want?

The change from Bolivia to Peru is immediately noticeable. Even though the two countries share the shores of Lake Titicaca, Peru's shores are very densely populated. In the 3hrs between the border and the strange town of Puno, it seemed as if one village, and its surrounding fields and livestock seemed to merge with the next one and so on. There never seemed to be a break between any of them. Either there are far more people in Peru than Bolivia. Or this part of the lake shore was highly sought after real estate! Or farming is a better income earner than anything else?

After Isla del Sol and the little picturesque village of Copacabana, Puno was a little of a culture shock. Bigger, uglier and a little rougher round the edges and a reputation of a bit of a crime hole. But like most places that we had come into, we didn't come across anything of the sort. In fact, everybody that we had contact with was very friendly and helpful and all done with a sincere smile. If there was a criminal element out there, then the pouring rain would have dampened their enthusiasm for taking on the likes of us!

Besides being a large administrative centre for the surrounding province, it is also the jump-off point for visiting the nearby island communities. Most of those that get here are very keen to see the Uros tribe's floating island communities. More often than not, they are surprised to hear of the other islands that can be visited. Amantani is Quechan-speaking and its neighbour, Tahile, is Ayamaran-speaking; each with their distinct cultures and we came to have a look, learn a little and experience a lot! And a two day/one night stay should be just the ticket. Especially since we would be staying with a Quechan speaking family for the night!

In the shallows of the lake three floating islands are anchored and their communities are awaiting our arrival with big smiles and happy faces. After a brief introductory talk from our guide, we were free to wonder around the island and interact with the locals and perhaps purchase some of the crafts that they had made. Staggering from place to place on the island takes a little getting used to. The island is actually cross-hatched layers of the local lakeside reeds piled up on each other for about 2m. But the reeds are piled on top of "floating earth" cut from another part of the lakeshore. So walking on the surface is like walking on a sponge! You sink in a little and walk off with a bounce. Here the little children have no worries about banging heads and scraping knees and elbows. Fall down to your heart's content, baby!

Everything on the island is made from the reeds. Homes and shelters are interwoven dried reeds and the vessels with Viking-like prows seem like they would too far insubstantial to float a 10m long, 2m wide vessel capable of punting 15 people from one island to another! Impressive they are. Little trinkets and ornaments depicting island life are also made from the self-same reeds. The freshest reeds can also be eaten! Bliss (if that is your thing!)!

The islands that we visited are just three of 45 communities relatively close to Puno itself. In fact, the smudge on the side of the hill on the other side of the massive sweep of reeds is Puno and not really that far away. Some others we chatted earlier in the trip expressed their disappointment that a visit to these communities is slightly contrived. What were the floating islands REALLY like? Of course it was a little contrived and "put on" and that they are being exploited for economic gains! "Hiss. Boo!" from certain quarters, I hear.

I suspect that these people expressing these thoughts would be disappointed to learn that the islanders' traditional lifestyle was no way near as exciting as they imagined it to be. Tourists were the new "invaders" the islanders had embraced, rather than fled from, on their islands and that giving visitors a glimpse into a traditional lifestyle would help the islanders maintain a legacy of their own (and a chance to generate income from other sources). Look a little closer, my friend, and you will see the solar panels, the TVs and the motor boats tied up on the other side of the island out of view. These people are no more different to you and most likely have pretty similar aspirations too.