Wednesday 17th March 2010

We Left La Paz this morning at 8am for a long all day journey to Puno in Peru. As part of this journey we had a short boat crossing across Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia It sits 3,812 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water, it is also the largest lake in South America. The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department.

Before we crossed the lake we had lunch at the Bolivian town of Copacabana at a nice hotel there overlooking the lake. Once we had crossed the lake it was about a 45 minute drive to the border where we crossed in Peru. We arrived in Puno at about 3.30pm to the bus station we then had a short transfer to the hotel. Once we had checked in Suzie and I went for a walk to the plaza to get some money and while we were there we just couldn't resist buying a Alpaca jumper each. Just a little bit of information below about Alpacas cause we had never heard of them really before we came to South America but they are big business here:

Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea-level, throughout the year.[1] Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colours as classified in Peru,

After we had got our jumpers we had a walk around the Plaza and had a look at the cathedral before going for a coffee. The coffee shop we went overlooked the square and cathedral and there was some kind of parade going on. We tried to ask the waitress what the parade was for and she said they where celebrating a saint but due to our lack of Spanish and her limited English that is as far as we got. It was quite impressive though there was lots of school children cheering, bands playing and fireworks.

We had to be back at the hotel for 6.30pm as we had meeting about ours plans for tomorrow. Tonight we all went for a meal at a pizza restaurant which was really good but obviously very popular with groups therefore we had to wait about an hour half for food which was worth the wait, I tried Alpaca fillet tonight which was really good.

Thursday 18th March 2010

This morning we left the hotel at 8am by tuc tucs and taken to the port for our two day one night tour of Lake Titicaca and the surrounding islands. Before we got on the boat we went to the local market to buy gifts for the host families that we would be staying with on the island. We brought them some pasta, salt, rice and tuna fish and them some colouring pencils and a colouring book for any children that they might have.

We boarded the boat which was very nice and was a private boat just for our tour group. While on the board we had a bit of a language lesson as the people who live on the islands speak Quechua and it was only polite if we could communicate with them a little bit they do speak Spanish as well but as we don't speak Spanish either we were a bit screwed really, I'll just tell you few of the things we had to learn:
Hello - Allillanchu
Good Morning - Allin Punchay
Good Afternoon - Allin Chusi
Good night - Pakarincama
Goodbye - Ripushayku
Would you like to dance - Tusuriwajchu

We had a 3 hour journey first off around Lake Titicaca and to the first island we visited which was called Taquile Island which is the most touristy island of the 41 islands of Titicaca Lake:

Taquile is an island on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca 45 km offshore from the city of Puno. About 1,700 people live on the island, which is 5.5 by 1.6 km in size (maximum measurements), with an area of 5.72 km⊃2;. The highest point of the island is 4050 meters above sea level and the main village is at 3950 m. The inhabitants, known as Taquileños, are southern Quechua speakers.
Taquile, whose Quechua name some believe was Intika, was part of the Inca Empire and has a number of Inca ruins. The island was one of the last locations in Peru to capitulate to Spanish domination during the Spanish conquest of Peru. It was captured for Carlos V and eventually passed to Count Rodrigo of Taquila, after whom the island was named by colonists. As the Spanish forbade traditional dress, the islanders adopted the Spanish peasant clothing. They are known for maintaining that as traditional dress today. They combine this with finely made Andean-style garments and accessories (ponchos, belts, mantles, coca-leaf purses, and others).
Taquileños run their society based on community collectivism and on the Inca moral code ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla, (Quechua for "do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy"). The island is divided into six sectors or suyus for crop rotation purposes. The economy is based on fishing, terraced farming horticulture based on potato cultivation, and tourist-generated income from the approximately 40,000 tourists who visit each year.
Taquileños are known for their fine handwoven textiles and clothing, which are regarded as among the highest-quality handicrafts in Peru. Everyone on the island - children, women, and men - spins and weaves. Taquileans also are known for having created an innovative, community-controlled tourism model, offering homestays, transportation, and restaurants to tourists.

Once we arrived on the island in order to get to the main square we had a very steep hill to climb which nearly killed us all even the fittest people in group due to the altitude. Once we eventually made it to the top we had about half an hour of free time to look around the island. They had a couple of shops selling local textiles and a good view point over the lake which was beautiful. We all then met up again and went for lunch at a island restaurant for traditional peruvivian food which was delicious. It was this lunch time we tried Inca Kola which is the biggest fizzy drink in Peru accordingly Coca cola tried to get the peruvivians into coke but couldn't succeed so they just took over IncaKola instead.

After lunch we walk back to the other port on the other side of the island the views were stunning coming down and there were lots of the locals trying to sell there textiles as we came down. Once we got on the boat there was free time for swimming in the lake we decided that even though it was warm it wasn't quite warm enough to swim and the 5 of the group that were brave enough to swim I think regretted it as it was FREEZING!!!

We then sailed for another hour to the island where we were staying for the night Amantani:

Amantaní is an island on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. According to a 1988 census, it has a population of 3,663 Quechua speakers divided among about 800 families.[1] The island is circular and about 9.28 km⊃2; in size. It has two mountain peaks, Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth), with ancient Inca and Tiwanaku ruins on top of both. The hillsides, are terraced mostly worked by hand and planted with wheat, quinoa, potatoes, and other vegetables. Livestock, including alpacas, also graze the slopes.
The temples at the top of the peaks are generally closed during the year. Entrance is permitted on January 20, the annual feast day, at which time the island's population divides in two, with each group gathering at its respective temple. A race is then held from each peak to a point somewhere between the two, and a representative of each group is chosen to run. According to tradition, a victory for Pachamama portends a bountiful harvest in the year to come.[2]
Similar to the Taquileños, the inhabitants of Amantaní are also known for their textiles, as well as their ceramics.[3] Most of the inhabitants live in houses of adobe.[4] There is a small health clinic and school on Amantaní, and, while there are no hotels, some families offer meals and overnight lodging to tourists. In return, guests are expected to bring food (such as rice or sugar) as a gift. The island has no cars and is powered for only a few hours a day by a generator.
Amantaní is known as the "Island of the Kantuta", after the national flower of Peru and Bolivia, which grows plentifully on the island.

Once we were arrived on the island we were met by our host families, our host father met us Simon and took us back to there house. Sandra our tour came with us to stay as she felt sorry for us as she knew we didn't speak any Spanish. The host family had two children a teenage girl who had just finish girl and was taking a year out before going to university in Puno next year and a teenage boy who was still at school. Once back at the house we were shown to our rooms we had a choice of our own room but in the end we decided to share with Sandra as there was 3 beds in her room anyway. The House was actually really nice a lot better than we were expecting it was a traditional village house with an outside toilet and a mud kitchen with a open fire for cooking. Once we had settled in we were taken to the village square for a game of football and a sunset walk.

Most of the boys played football with the locals while we were typical girls and just watched. The island had a really nice café and im afraid Suzie and I got tempted by the hot chocolate and baileys and missed the sunset walk but after looking at the pictures I don't think we missed much!!!

We then were pick up by our hosts and taken back for dinner. We had soup for starter which was really good unfortunately the main meal was not so tempting it was plain rice and boiled potatoes so Suz and I were very polite and tried to eat a bit but then Sandra translated for us we were full but it was really delicious. After dinner we were dressed in traditional dress ready for the disco the hosts had put on for us at the village hall.

We walked to the disco, which was not really what we would call a disco but it was nice there was a local group playing traditional music and traditional dancing. We all had a dance with our host families and a beer before going back to the house to bed. Must add that the stars on the island were amazing probably the best stars I have ever seen.

Friday 19th March 2010

We were knocked awake this morning at 7am as we were leaving the island at 8am and we all had to meet at the port. The mother of the family had made us pancakes for breakfast this morning which were really good. After breakfast we packed our bags before going to the port. At the port there was lots of goodbyes to all the host families before getting on the boat for another 3 hours where we stopped at a floating island of the Uros people. These floating island are a major tourist attraction of Lake Titicaca these islands are hand-made from a native species of reed (totora) that abounds in the shallows of the lake. These islands are made and inhabited by the Uros people, who settled in the middle of the lake and started their strange lifestyle as a mean to avoid confrontations with the more powerful Collas and Incas. Uros, however, have long been intermarrying with Aymara Indians, so nowadays it would be more precise to refer to the families that inhabit the totora-reed islands as Uro-Aymaras.

These floating islands where absolutely amazing like nothing I'd ever seen before everything was made of these weeds all the houses, beds, boats, swings, and the actual floor of the island I think you have to see it to believe it. Once we arrived onto the island we were given a demonstration of how they actual build the island which was really impressive before having free time to look around the island. We then paid a small amount to be taken on a short boat ride in the reed boat which was fun. After we had finish this it was time to get back on the proper boat to go back to Puno. Once back on the boat we had a picnic lunch before getting back to Puno.

Once back at the hotel we had a well deserved shower before I went to Skype Rachel and Suzie went to the cocoa museum with some of the group which was unfortunately closed. So they went to a bar for hot wine instead before coming to meet me at the internet café. We had a meeting tonight at 6pm for arrangement for tomorrow regarding our journey to Cusco. We then did a quick food shop for lunch tomorrow on the bus before going back to the hotel for a DVD and pizza night with the rest of the group we watched Up which was really good before going to bed another early night.

Saturday 20th March 2010

This morning we left the hotel at 8am and we were taken to the bus station for our 7 hour bus journey to Cusco with one short stop at Middle point.