Lake Titicaca

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Hi Everyone.

Someone just told us it was Saturday...so I suppose most of you will read this on Monday...thanks for all the messages...it´s great to hear that we´ll be making you jealous again at the start of the working week :o)

We can´t believe it´s almost three weeks gone. Today is our last day in Peru and we are off to Bolivia tomorrow (fingers x´d on the bus journey, 8 hours).

So since we last spoke (!!), we´ve travelled across Peru to Puno. We decided to go ´First Class Travel´which was a tour company offering air con coaches (with Loo) and it was great...cos in eight hours we stopped off at loads of churches, Inca ruins and the odd tourist market.

In particular we stopped at Andahuaylillas and visited the church of San Pedro. Steve was so taken by it he said he´d become religious if he lived close...just so he could go and see the alter every day. We were not allowed to take photos, but there are some at the bottom of this web site.

http://www.go2peru.com/webapp/ilatintravel/articulo.jsp?cod=19988136

So we arrived in Puno and checked into the Pukara hotel (another great find by Lou). The next day we had a relaxing day exploring Puno and booking trips etc. Once again, a very easy job. Puno is a great town. It´s very disappointing that people run it down just because it doesn´t look like Cusco etc...for us this is real Peru.

We also visted the almost resored steam ship The Yavari, which was shipped from the UK over a hundred years ago, taking 6 years to cross the Andes on mules!!! It was a great piece of history in action and apparently will soon be ready for passengers (at a substantial cost no doubt!) It was an absolute must if you come to Puno.

We went for a few drinks with an Aussie couple we met on the bus (Lou had too many Cubra Libras...but seemed to be putting it down to alltitude sickness the next morning !!)

So..we started early (again - Jon you would hate this trip) and joined the group off to the floating reed Islands of the Uros. It was just as we imagined...very beautiful and the reed constructions were amazing. The only shame was they are totally turned over to tourism, so it did feel like a Spanish Package holiday tour.

We then travelled across Lake Titicaca to the island of Amantani, where we stayed overnight with a local family. It was a great experience again..the Island is a beautiful farming community, with no electricity or roads and cars. We had a great room overlooking the lake and were fed a diet of vegetables for the time we were there.

At 4pm we all met back and climbed to the top of the Island to see the views and sunset. Lou walked 3 times round the monument (but she won´t tell me what she wished for - I´m worried !!!)

Later in the evening, after another meal of soup and potatoes, we all got dressed up in traditional costume, lent by the family, for a "Fiesta", held in the local community centre. Great fun (Lou got pulled by a young local lad...who was almost her height). The dancing seemed to consist of lots of running in circles...Lou was sweltering in her layered skirts....luckily the enterprise spirit was alive and they were selling beer etc for outragoeous prices...Good fun though..

The next day was a visit to the next door Island of Taquile. What an amazing difference..the locals were not as friendly and just looking for the tourist dollar, rather than accepting us into their community as in Amantani...

Anyway...we are back in Puno now. We are looking for a massive steak tonight (24 hours of veggie food !!) and off to La Paz (the world´s highest captial) tomorrow.

See ya and don´t forget to comment

Steve and Lou
xx

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Photos

The Family
complete with "old woman" and "cute kid"

Come dancing...
Lake Titicaca style

Comments

[Anne]

I can remember Louise dressing in simular costume for one of her Ballet exams! You should do a demonstration for the locals! That looks like a very large guinea pig, do you see them in the wild? Enjoy Bolivia

[Dad]

Had a drink with my namesake
Great to see your exploits - a bit different from my trip-don't forget to write down the registarations of what you fly in! Hope you are adding to your "restaurant database" , Moved your car back outside the house yesterday (as well as caning the Sacre Coeur) On way back we popped into the White Horse at Hedgerly for Sunday Lunch and sat at the same table as the REAL Dennis - yes, Terry from Minder! Of course, mum and him are great friends now and she embarassed all concerned by telling him that he looked just like me ! plus getting him to autograph Russ's wedding photo - don't you just love her ! Enjoy Bolivia - they were having a revolution when I tried to visit. Dad

[Kate Murphy]

Oh my god I did that exact same trip...the costumes and dancing were so funny!! Have fun in bolivia - make sure you do the salt flats xxx

[Bec]

Hi you two, I'm on half term so have time to comment for once! It looks like you are having a fantastic time and really enjoying yourselves. It all looks amazing not sure about the picture of the cooked guinea pig though I had some pet ones in a school at I taught at once called Bbble and squeak they'll never know the irony of it! Take care xx

[Russ]

Nice hat steve, xmas pressies all round?.......

[Dad S tuart]

waltzing matilda
Louise were you kneeling for the dance with your Peruvian matelot or is he taller than we think?