A homestay on Lake Titicaca

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The last stop in Peru was to visit a few of the islands on the huge Lake Titicaca.

Some islands are made of reeds and float on the lake, which are incredible to see, but not an ideal place to spend the night. Instead we went to a permanent island with 3,500 inhabitants for a traditional Peruvian night.

When we arrived at the port there were several families waiting to welcome us. Our host family lived on the other side of the island so we trekked for about 30 minutes to arrive at a small concrete house where a donkey called Maria, 2 cats, 1 dog, 3 children and the Mum and Dad lived. It was pretty basic – no heating or TV, no shower and no flush on the toilet. The meals that were made for us were all cooked over an open fire and were various forms of soups and potatoes.

The youngest child was a girl of 7 who was super cute and full of energy. She took us to a darkened, abandoned warehouse where the locals hold a party for all the tourists. Before you arrive they dress you up in their clothes, and then they dance with you all night whilst the local band plays. It was so surreal spinning around with Peruvian children, wrinkly grandmas, loads of tourists dressed in ponchos and massive skirts and it all being dimly lit by a few candles and the immense lightning going on outside.

The next day we carried on around the lake to the Bolivian side and have a few weeks to travel through, before going to Argentina.

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