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The Race to the port!
Not sure who won, but our driver was exausted! Up a tad later this morning after our MAD night on the town. We had to check out of the temporary hotel and move to another hotel just down the road. The hotel we moved to was a really really nice. It was filled with quirky wall ornaments and decorations plus it had a cool rooftop balcony. Of course we where on the top floor AGAIN which meant hiking up 5/6 flights of stairs..... something I wouldn't normally mind but at this altitude it's a killer 😞
We had a quick 'chifa' for lunch - a chifa is a cheap chinese restaurant which Peruvians seem to love - then we went back to the hotel and slept for a few hours in an attempt to catch up on the lack of sleep from the previous night (our own fault, we know!). At around 7pm the group met in the lobby of the hotel for our pre-homestay briefing where we learned about what to expect while staying with the local families on Lake Titicaca. After our briefing Manny took us to a gorgeous local Peruvian restaurant and the food was TO DIE FOR!!! I had beef stuffed with veggies and served
Lake Titikaka
On our way to the home stay! with a berry sauce while paul had Alpaca steak.... something he has grown VERY found off. Oh and for future travellers to Puno - if you order a baked potato.... you won't get the large fluffy jacket potatoes we're used to back home - instead you get a tiny reddish potato that looks more like a radish (was yummy all the same).
We woke around 8am the following morning for our transfer to the local port where we would take the boat out to lake titicaca. We were told our transport to the port would be
cosy.... cosy is one word you could use to describe our transport alright!! We ended up in a bicycle taxi - it had room for 2 people in the front and a couple of small bags in the back near the driver. So off we went, having a competition on the way to see who would reach the port first. Our driver got off to a cracking start..... but unfortunately ran out of steam close to the port... God love him... hi was knackered! 😊
Beside the port is a local market where we bought some gifts for the families we were
The floating islands of Lake Titikaka
An island made of reeds. There are loads of islands like this floating on the lake. going to stay with. We were told not to buy sweets for the children so instead bought colouring pencils, copy books and lots of fruit.
After stocking up on gifts, water and snacks we got on our surprisingly big boat and headed off on our lake titicaca exploration. Our first stop was one of many 'floating islands'. These man-man islands were amazing. The island was filled with lots of local women making crafts, etc. They made us some yummy bread to snack on while our guide, Henry, explained how the islands were made. In short, it takes about a year or so to make each island. The local men have to dive deep into the lake to cut some soil from the bottom of the lake. This 'soil' when dried is like a cork. When enough of the soil is fixed together with rope, etc. it floats..... giving you a floating island. Reeds are placed over the dried soil and are replaced every year or so. It feels really weird walking on the reeds at first. After learning about how the islands are made, the local women took us our on a short boat-trip around the island. The boat
Mini me island
A local explains how the islands are made. was really cool and kind of looked like a small viking ship 😊
After our visit to the floating island we got back on our boat and traveled another 2 hours to Amantani island for our homestay and to meet the 'mamas' from each of the island families!
Our mama was quite young and had a really friendly face. Since we had bought presents for children we requested a house with kids! The hike to the house was horrible!!! Up mountains, over valleys, across streams... and we still weren't there! Plus the altitude was a killer 😞 All I kept thinking was how was I ever going to do the Lares trek!!
Once we arrived at the house we met the rest of the family and the children. Our mama had two children, a little girl and a little boy. The little girl was facinated with my glasses. The house was very simple, but our room was nice. It had four big single beds and some posters on the walls. We had an hour or so to rest before lunch was served in the kitchen. So to pass the time we had a look around the house
GOAL!
Extreme football at high altitude :) and garden. We ended up playing volleyball and teaching the children how to play the card game 'fish'. The families on Amantani island don't speak Spanish (well some of them do) - but their main language is
Quechua. So while playing the children tried to teach us how to speak their local language.... without much success I'm afraid!!
The kitchen was a small stone structure separated from the rest of the house, with an open stone fire at one end and a table with a few chairs at the other end. The lunch was delicious. A hearty local soup of potatoes and vegetables to start with followed by more potatoes (some looked like caterpillars) and cheese. I thought Ireland was well-known for our dependency on potatoes but Peru takes the biscuit - there are thousands of different varieties of potatoes in Peru alone!!!
After lunch we hiked up to the community hall (and I mean HIKED!!!) to watch the guys playing football - I don't know how Paul played. I was feeling pretty rotten (Think it was something I ate the day before!!). After football, Paul hiked up to the top of the mountain (a difficult fete) but
Sunset from the top of the Island
It was difficult to get there but so worth it! the views were spectacular - sunset over lake titicaca!! The other Paul, who insisted on doing the hike as well (and who made fun of those of us who didn't do the hike) ended up renting the mayors horse about 2 mins from the start of the hike!!! We have the picutres to prove it!! I, one of those not feeling up for the hike, stayed by the community centre sipping cerveza with Manny, Natalie and Louise 😊 It's such a hard life!!
After the hike we went back to the house for dinner. Over dinner we gave the presents to the family - the children seemed really pleased with their pressies 😊 Afterwards our mama dressed us in traditional clothing for the 'fiesta'. Paul's clothing was simple - a poncho!! Mine on the otherhand was a bit more complex. Not one, but two skirts (I was amazed at how warm they were), a lovely blouse, a head scarf/wrap and a thick belt that felt like a kind of torture device as the mama tied it around my waist. On the plus side it had the effect of a corset ;-) Once dressed, off we went to the fiesta,
How much for the horse?
While we all walked (struggled) to the top Paul (not me) rode the mayor's horse. Made us laugh though! where we listened to local music and danced with the 'mamas'.... and boy could our mama dance!!
We woke early the following morning and had a gorgeous pancake and cocoa tea for breakfast. Here they serve a mixed tea made with cocoa leaves and some other herb (kind of minty) which is really tasty plus it's supposed to work wonders for altitude sickness. After breakfast we hiked back down to the port and met the rest of the gang. We got back on the boat and visited another local island (Taquile) on the way back to Puno. We hiked for about an hour on this beautiful island before having a gorgeous local lunch and then walked down over 500 steps back to the boat again... really felt it in my poor knees 😊
The weather was lovely on the boat journey back to Puno so we all just sat out on the deck relaxing. Once we reached Puno, Paul and I went for drink together in a pub call deja vu... very nice. Later that night we went for dinner followed by a few more drinks!!
Tomorrow morning we're off to Cuzco. I have to say, both
Our new family
Us and our new Mama and her family. Made our stay wonderful. Thank you! Paul and I are loving the trip so far. Our group are such a good laugh and everyone gets on really well. It's a fairly fast-paced trip but we've seen and done so much. Really looking forward to the next few days 😊
-- By Karen
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Aaron
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Sounds like a class trip Paul...Keep it coming :D