Puno and Lake Titicaca

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We gave ourselves a day to relax in Cusco after the Machu Picchu trek then took the bus 6 hours south to Puno. We arrived mid-day, checked into our hostel, The Point, and explored the town. Puno is a small city, densley structured around the bank of Lake Titicaca. It was very quiet, hardly any travelers. We ate lunch at a hole in the wall Cevicheria, which we thought was a bit sketcy, but turned out to be one of the best meals we've had yet. Then we shopped around the tour companies and booked a morning tour to the Uros Islands.
We were picked up at 9am and brought to the pier to board the boat with 12 other tourists. Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake and the Uros Islands are it's main attraction. The islands are manmade, dubbed "the floating reed islands." When we arrived on the island we were given a demonstration as to how the islands were made and then the native woman grabbed us, literally, and pulled us to their houses. We had heard many stories of the locals charging people to take pictures of the islands, homes, and boats, but our guide told us not to pay them - that we are only teaching them to beg. Instead we should buy some of their handicrafts; therefore teaching them to work, not to beg. Due to my less than stellar packing skills there is limited space in my backpack, but I did manage to squeeze in one souvenir.
Many travelers we met along the way decided to skip Puno because it was too touristy - but it's for good reason. There is no other places like this, it was incredibly beautiful and at 20 soles (roughly $7USD) for the tour, it was well worth it. We arrived back on the mainland at 12:30, grabbed a quick lunch, collected our bags and caught the 2:30 bus to Copacabana - the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.

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