Taquile Island (Isla Taquile) Puno

This morning, again I was up before sunrise. I was lucky enough to be in a room with a view to the lake, which was just behind some buildings. Still I was able to see from my window the sun rising up with all its energy. It is coloring the sky with some light pink and orange colors.

At the pier I get into the boat to get to Uros. A complex …

After the nightmare of arranging a bus to get to Puno, and then the bus being delayed because of traffic, we finally got onto the bus. We realised then why the tickets cost so much, it was clearly top of the line. The seats were the size of recliners, we were given pillows and blankets, a meal and they also played movies. They drove us to the …

If all had gone to plan, I would have arrived in Puno from Arequipa around 6pm, therefore being rewarded with my first glimpses of Lake Titicaca as the sun was setting... This was not to be though as the bus eventually left Arequipa about an hour late (Julsa - mas economica company but sadly lacking in punctuality or cleanliness) and then was …

The only good bus to go from Cusco to Puno was a tourist bus that stopped at many sites of interest along the way. We decided to treat ourselves and take this bus, only to discover when we were on board that our ticket didn't cover us for entry to any of these sites! So we had a long comfortable journey waiting for everyone else to have a look …

I must say that Lake Titicaca was probably our most disappointing stop on the trip, which is a shame. We actually got quite a number of excellent pictures from the two days we spent there, but really only enjoyed about half a day's worth of the activities we did. And I don’t mean to sound like a travel snob, but since travelling is all I&# …

Our trip to Puno was our first night bus adventure. While Lindsay managed to sleep the whole way, I couldn't as the average temperature on the bus felt around 30 degrees. That and the crazy looking Peruvian sitting next to us talking in his sleep! Arriving at 04h45, our first mistake was to have booked a tour starting at 06h30 - still don't know …

Partis à 13h30 de Copacabana, il y a 25 min jusqu'à la frontière Péruvienne et 3h jusqu'à Puno.

Après les formalités douanières nous voilà au Pérou! La différence de richesse se fait sentir dès le poste de frontière, boliviens et péruviens n'ont pas les mêmes moyens (le Pérou est bien plus riche).

Une fois à Puno, c'est la cohue …

We had breakfast at half six, which was good apart from the margarine, not butter. We were picked up in a bus and taken to the port to board the boat to the floating islands. There was a busker man they let on board before we set off playing his challanga (miniature 10 string guitar) and pan pipes, who was good enough for me to tip even though we …

Our next adventure brought us to the home of floating islands, aquatic frogs, and deathly altitude. Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America and the highest (at 12500 feet) commercially navigable lake in the world. It is home to many endemic species, including the critically endangered Titicaca frog. This entirely aquatic frog is what …

Next morning we arrived at the port for 8am after having had a small breakfast at the hotel. There were an American couple, one of whom was a fighter pilot who we sat and talked to for a while whilst we waited for boat to be ready. Once we set off it was only a short sail round Lake Titicaca to the Islas de Uros where we made landfall on one of the …

... crumbled... right at the end of our stay on the island... and bought a bracelet on my way down to the boat. While on Taquile Island, we spent a little time in the main square, had trout in a restaurant, and then rambled our way down the other side of ...

... hat that was loaned to me. The next day, we said goodbye to our super friendly host family in Amantani and headed to Taquile Island which has been inhabited for over 10,000 years.  The locals all weave their own clothes and wear different colors ...

... took a full day boat trip from 7.00am to 6.00 pm on the lake visiting the Uros floating islands and Taquile Island - a real island. The floating islands are really that - they float!! The Uros people began their floating existence several centuries ago ...

... ; It nearly killed me!  Once we got the top, the wind was blowing freezing cold! The next day we headed out to Taquile Island, where traditions are still very strong.  The men all wear black pants, white shirts and the hat and belt tells if ...

... ! Not before loading Nalida (the little girl!) up with lots of goodies and a million pencils though! And then on to Taquile Island and a lovely coastal walk round to the main village where you could see the locals going about their daily business, herds ...

... They use a line of bolders to mark out where the middle is, handy as the locals cant tell. Took a boat trip over to Taquile Island, they were having their festival, which was 5 bands playing loudly in competition, lots of noise and colour and an absence ...

... Ayamari island in the morning and said goodbye to our host family. After a 3 hour deep nap on the boat we arrived at Taquile island. We walked for a very long time around the island until we finally got to the town square. We had lunch at Taquile island ...

... . Buy a postcard of an alpaca for my nephew. Leave. Lake Titicata, from further out, looks like a sea. From the bays of Taquile Island, it was possible to imagine the ocean stretching out in front of you. Indeed, this was the first impression. Once past ...

We left our homestay and bought another Peruvian Alpaca Hat!  We then took our boat to Taquile Island, the island was lovely and very quiet with magnificent views across Lake Titicaca.  It reminded me of a Greek island in the med.  We ...

... way, waving goodbye to our families on the shore. We’re on the boat for an hour before we reach our next destination of Taquile Island, also known as Knitting Man Island. It is the place most tourists visit when they come to Lake Titicaca and it is ...