Easter Bells

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Before I forget, HAPPY EASTER! Not like I could forget considering that I was woken at 5am by church bells - maybe getting a centrally located hotel wasn’t such a good idea after all!

I am at Lake Titicaca, which straddles the Peruvian-Bolivian border, and at 4000 metres altitude, is the world’s highest navigable lake. The last few days were spent on the Bolivian side, exploring the Isla Del Sol. Somehow we managed to get on the wrong boat, taking us to the north of the island instead of the south as planned. The downside was that we had to therefore do the six mile hike across the mountains twice - Grrr! All good training for Machu Picchu I guess...

Today was a really good day. We did the totally tourist-trap thing of the floating islands. They are basically huge reed islands which float in the lake. As they rot from the bottom, the reeds are replaced from the top. It is really strange to walk on them - very spongy! We were all joking that they all sit around watching Sky Sports, see the tourist boats arriving, and quickly hide the satellite and TV.... Probably close to the truth! They admitted that a lot of them live on the mainland and travel to the floating islands every morning to wait for the tourists. There is a rickety look-out you can climb up on one island. At the front are the traditional reed houses, but behind you can see tin houses with solar panels where people do actually live. There is even a floating football pitch - a bit of a pain if the ball goes offside I’d imagine! The funniest part is the numerous “pig islands”. They live on small islands separated from the main islands where people live. I suppose it is to keep the smell away!

I just almost died in a cycle tuk tuk. They seem to get their speed up and therefore don’t want to lose it all by stopping at junctions and so just ring their bell and plough on through, despite the fact that EVERYTHING else on the road does the same and is bigger! I was glad to crawl out in one piece. It reminded me of the mad rides in similar contraptions in Thailand and the Philippines. I wonder if these things have to pass MOTs?

Tomorrow we are off to Cuzco to find out about the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Can’t believe we are about to pay lots of money to be dragged up and down steep steps at altitude, sleep in tents full of insects, and eat non-descript food from non-descript animals...should be fun...

Stay happy,

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Photos

Reed Houses
On reed islands on Lake Titicaca

Reed Island
Lake Titicaca