And the boat breaks down......

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Sooooo, not sure where I left off from last so I will just start with us leaving Cusco on Sunday and arriving into Puno/Lake Titicaca around 3pm. By the time we got to puno we were all starving, as these all inclusive breakfasts have the tendency to consist solely on buns, butter, and coca tea. I think once I get back to Canada I will never want another bun again for the rest of my life. Anyways......went for lunch at a really cool cafe, the rest of the afternoon was just relax time, and then a group of us went for dessert before bed.

Monday we headed out to Lake Titicaca, the reed islands, and to amantani island. The reed islands were absolutely amazing, it is hard to believe how established they are out there with solar panels (ELECTRICITY?!?), fish farms, gardens, tourism huts, boat rides, etc. James and I went on one of the reed boats to a neighbouring island, and then from there our "motorboat" took us to amantani island. What probably would take under an 1 hour on a speed boat, took 3 hours on some boat that has a truck engine, and steering wheel, with no neutral, so you better hope the boat does not stop. Just as our luck would have it the boat broke, thankfully only for about 10 minutes and with some tinkering the grass hose (being the fuel line) started to pump or do whatever it needs to do to move.

Once arriving at the island, we were separated into groups for our homestay. Our "Momma", which is what we are to call our parents altho i am not sure that she wasnt 5 years older than me, took 3 of us up to her house. We definately ended up with a better off family because we had a balcony, nice bathroom (no flush but still good) and really decent rooms. After that Beck and I help momma with lunch, at which time we also met Pappa and our brother Christian. (Later we found out that Christian might not have been our full brother but the mistress child of our pappa and the neighbouring mamma, where 3 of our fellow travellers were staying. Needless to say appparently real momma was crying all night and calling her sons name....it was all very confusing and even now we still are not sure!) We then all met up at the soccer pitch, where the locals vs the gringos played out...again who do u honestly think won. Altho James did get the MVP award, and did a fabulous grab the fallen sunglasses, but still maintain control of the soccer ball. Highly entertaining. I ended up leaving the game early and some of the group and I headed up the mountain to one of the two lookout mountains, where we watched the sun set and got a view of all angles of lake titicaca. Down from the mountain, and after dinner, we had to get dressed up in the traditional costumes, outfits that the peru women wear, and then headed off to the local dance, which naturally finishes at 10pm. Hard core you might say.

The following morning we got up, and left momma and pappa, and headed back out oon the boat for our 3 hour ride back. Literally 5 minutes from the shore, with everyone starving the boat breaks down again. This time it has run out of gas. We did have another tank, but to get the boat started afterwards was brutal, and needless to say another gecko tour boat had to tow us in. BUT WAIT! Wouldn{t u know it their boat broke next with smoke coming from their ford engine. Magically however ours suddenly turned over and then we had to pull the other boat in side by side. Very eventful you could say!

This is our last night in Peru, tomorrow we are off to Copacabana bolivia, and then onto La Paz for the death road. Wahoooooooo! Anyways all is well, tour is almost over, and we will be heading out soon on our own but we are both very excited. Talk soon,

Erin and James

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