We left Cuzco quite early for the drive to Puno which was meant to be 9hrs but our truck Doris broke down along the way. We have a few engineers and mechanic on board plus our driver is a mechanic so they all started pulling the truck apart to see what the issue was.
We got hold of the other group and they came back to help us. After another couple of hours the other group with half of our group jumped on their truck Bernie to Puno as it was getting late. I was one of the lucky ones on Bernie, our journey took 12hrs but the ones that were left behind took 16hrs!!! They didn't mind too much though as they got stuck into the alcohol on board and made it fun.

Next morning we set off for our overnight excursion to Lake Titicaca by Tuk Tuk. When we got to the port we bought some gifts for our home stay family including rice, pasta, biscuits, oil and books/pencils for the kids.
We got on our boat which is the slowest boat I've ever been on and headed out to the reed islands. The islands are made from floating reed roots and the lay more layers of reeds to make it a fairly solid floor. Each island has roughly 6 houses on them and a kitchen. We were invited into their houses to have a look which is just one room with a bed made from reeds and a few items. We were a little suss as to whether anyone still lived on these islands as there was no clothes other than dress up clothes and no real personal belongings.
Afterwards we were offered a ride on the reed boats that they had made.
Stopped at another reed island where it was very touristy, only a couple of markets, a shop and a bar. At this island they stamp your passport for Lake Titicaca.

Next stop was another island which is where we stayed for our home stay. We were met at the port by our mamas and she walked us back to her house. The island has no running water so they have to get water from the lake and no electricity but some of the richer people have solar panels so they can have a couple of lights.
Our mama was named Roxanna who is 24yrs old (weird to have a mama that was younger than me!) and she lived with her daughter Sara who is 1yr old, her parents Constantino and Grandmama, 7 brothers but 5 of them were out working, the other two brothers were Bonnie who looked about 11 but was actually 18 & Roy Alex who looked about 5 but was 8!!
It was hard to converse with them as they spoke a local dialect and the younger generation also spoke Spanish. In our group it was me, Jessie-Mae, Laura and Kathryn. Kathryn speaks more Spanish than me but we really struggled so we kept having to refer to the phrase book.
We were given a room with four single beds.

We were served lunch of vegetable soup and for main 3 different types of potatoes, fried cheese (similar to haloomi) and a couple of pieces of cucumber. We were seated at the table and the family sat on the floor and ate with their hands.
After lunch we had a quick siesta before heading to the school for a game of soccer, locals vs gringos!! It was really hard for us as the altitude was higher than what we had been used to so everyone was getting breathless and had to swap over all the time. Not sure of the end score but pretty sure we were smashed by the locals.
We explored the island a little bit and went to the plaza which was tiny, just consisting of 2 shops, a church and a couple of buildings which were closed up. We watched the kids play in the plaza while some people hiked to the top of the island to see the sunset. It got very cold, probably the coldest we've been so far in South America.

While dinner was being cooked we gave the family the gifts we bought with us and Roy Alex was ecstatic with the presents and played with the balls and puzzles Kathryn had bought from the UK.

For dinner we were served more of the veggie soup and main was rice with potato chips fried with tomato. Again we were seated but the family sat on the floor. Afterwards we headed to the hall for a fiesta after our mama had dressed us up in traditional dress. The dresses and shawls were very warm, warmer that our coats! At the hall there was a little band playing and we all danced with our mamas. Was good to see everyone all dressed up.

The next morning we had breakfast of fried bread and said goodbye to our mamas. We stopped at Tequila island and hiked from one side to the other. I thought I was never going to make it as the altitude was making it impossible for me to breathe. Luckily Lou had the same problem so we just did it slowly and stopped when ever we needed to.
It was a beautiful island with great views over to different islands and you could even see the snow capped mountains in Bolivia.
Some people had lunch on the island but I was way too full from just eating carbs for the past 24hrs. While we waited a few people jumped into the lake to cool off. It was icy cold water though.
It was a 4hr boat ride back to Puno and it was hotter inside the boat than outside so half of us sunbathed on the deck.

When we got back to Puno we went out for a quick bite to eat then went to the market to buy a few things. On the way back Ariel had been spat on from above and when she looked up she was pick pocketed. She was lucky to only have about $10 on her and no cards. Not a fun experience.

Next day off to Bolivia!!