Hostal Qoniwasi Puno

... O' Clock on Isla De Sol there are no lights and NOTHING to do. The next day we headed back for our last night in Copacabana. It was also, after a month travelling together, our last night as a three. We spent it watching terrible romantic comedies in our huge hotel room. It has been good fun being in a team and as we all have a certain cynical but comic side to our characters and got on well it was a thoroughly enjoyable month.




The next day I ...

... br>Premier arret au bout d´un quart d´heure pour faire tamponner le passeport coté bolivien. Il faut etre rapide pour pas trpo se faire mouillé et pour récupérer sa place au retour - des gens sont debout dans le couloir de bus. On se la joue Michael Schummacher - ca va vite.
Deuxieme arrete cote Peruvien pour le tampon d´entrée - un policier pour tout le bus. On a notre tampon, on peut repartir.
Arrivée a Puno glauque, les rues sont sordides, une ...

... okolicy, przejechalismy sie pleciona lodka i ropszulismy w dalsza droge na kolejna wyspa Isla Taquili oddalonej 2.5 godziny od plywajacych wysp.

Dotarlismy na miejsce nasz przewodnik chcial pokazac nam zycie mieszkancow tej wyspy wiec zamiast robic standardowej trasy wejscie na gore schodami, obiad w restauracji i zejscie spowrotem na dol, oplynelismy wyspe od tylu zeby przejsc nia inna trasa.

Wyspa miala klimat bardzo podobny do Grecji ...

... Mamma Mia but let's not ever talk about that. EVER.). But the town of Puno is grim- it's only redeeming feature is that it is on the banks of one of the best-named lakes in the world. But they've messed that up, building
ugly structures so you can't see the lake from town, and not finishing the buildings so it looks like a construction site.

Right, the boat trip to the islands. The very helpful hostel boss booked us on a trip leaving the morning ...

... the bay with a channel through for the boats to pass. Although we knew what to expect we were still visually awed at these grassy islands. There were dozens of them, fairly close to each other such that you could hop from one to the other, all providing huts for a small community of families. Each island had its own unique identity symbolized in some way by some statue like a bird or other animal made entirely of reed. The islands were awesome, and both Jody and Niamh were ...

... glory came out in goal, though if only because the altitude here made running and breathing more than a chore. It was in the second match that we really pulled up our socks, and with some skillful play from the Kiwi contingent, we held the hosts to a 2 goal margin until they finally finished us off. A great match, though and we were wiped out!!

After the footie, we were introduced to our host families. The group of 16 travellers were split into ...

... blue and it was a spectacular day. The lake really shined and in the distance on the other side of the lake you could see the sparkling silver of corrugated tin roofs in Bolivia. We hiked up and around the outside of the island to get to the town square where there wasn´t really much to do. We took some photos and had a bit of a look at their artisan market and a small photo exhibit of the local people and their customs and then sat down in ...

... separate roll. After a few years they rotate. For ex, you might work farming potato's for six years and then rotate into running a local restaurant.

The island is also know for producing some of Peru's finest handwoven textiles and clothing. All men,women and children each play their separate roll in producing the textiles that are worn locally and sold to tourists. You will not find a single clothing store on the Island because everything is hand woven from sheep's wool.