Hotel And Spa Taypikala Puno

... They were filthy, remnants of the previous occupant bobbled around. Flushing was done by scooping water in a small bucket and chucking it into the toilet. Handwashing was done by dipping your hands into the same tank of water outside. When we got back to the bus they were ushering all the occupants into a waiting minivan. Apparently there were not enough passengers to warrant the expense of a large bus travelling the last hour to Puno, there were just 10 of us left. The last hour ...

... be in a band. <br>Back to our homes and to get ready for bed which was a challenge. The bathroom is an outhouse and it´s really cold outside and the donkey is tied up right next to it. So we had to brush our teeth with one eye on him lol. <br>We got up really early for breakfast and said our goodbyes. I have to say this was one of the most incredible experiences i´ve ever had on any of my travels. To be completely submerged in a completely foriegn culture and way ...

... sandals (most locals use sandals made of recycled tires!!), he showed us his school(taught in native Quechua), the small plaza and the camino constructed by the poeple of the island. His father participated in its construction and Abraham proudly showed us his father´s name engraved in a small plaque as dedication. The paseo was well constructed as it should be. These people walk everywhere on the island and there are no motorized ...

... were meant to change to another bus to go onwards to La Paz. It wasn´t entirely clear which bus was going where so I count ourselves lucky that we ended up on the right one. We were in Bolivia by now but unfortunately the town has only one ATM that doesn´t take foreign cards, and we had no money... we had been told to come back to the street corner we were dropped at in an hour and a half but when we got back there were no drivers in sight ...

... islands on Lake Titicaca for an Island stay . We visit the Uros floating islands made of reeds (people do actually still live on these islands, only now with some solar energy for help) , on route to Amantani Island for our overnight stay. We stayed with a lovely local family. They didnt have running water (but a very big clean fresh water lake) or electricity but they made us some really good food! They dont speak spanish here, they speak quechan, their native language. We ...

... uros, the ladies all sang to us, a variety of songs, but ended with twinkle twinkle little star!<br><br>IT was 3 hours to Armantani Island where we were going to stay with a family for the night... we got chatting to some Englsih guys, all from London (Milo, Jessica, Paul and Kelly).. when we arrived we were allocated families and set off up the hill to their houses for lunch, we for a cutelady called aunt selma. Her husbad was Don Juan, very kind and friendly ... we had lunch of ...

... or a reaction from eating the reeds the day before. They both had oxygen and appeared to brighten up afterwards. So a day of leisure was the order of the day. Infact the strenuous activity was a little canoeing and lifting our beer bottles. <br><br>The following day we took a boat around the island and later in the evening we took walk to the tallest point and watched the sun setting. Kerry bought a bottle of champagne to toast our time at the island. Once the ...

... ride back to Puno. I listened to my mp3 player and napped on the upper deck in the sun =) I kept thinking about the SNL skit ¨I´m on a boat, *****!¨ and giggling (to myself) =)<br><br>Later that night, met Giuseppe for dinner and I tried alpaca for the first time. It was a cheap cut and tasted a little gamey, but pretty much like beef. Decided to head to Copacabana and Isla del Sol (largest island in Lake Titicaca)...<br><br>

... then carried over the Andes to Lake Titicaca by men, mules and llamas &#8211; which took a mere 6 years!!!! The ship has been restored since the eighties - and was really cool to walk around with loads of old brass instruments and stuff.<br><br> On Wednesday we went on a boat tour to visit the Uros Islands - which are islands made out of woven reeds by a tribe of people who migrated to the middle of the lake as defence ...

... was <br> going nowhere. <br><br> <br><br> Earlier on we had met a Dutch guy who had taught English in Buenos Aires at <br> a private school. All he had to do was hold conversations and he got paid US$10 <br> an hour. That sounded great! At a certain point while we were in Puno (Peru) <br> for a trip to the islands in Lake Titicaca, we passed a school building and <br> I saw a poster in the window recruiting students for their English courses. <br ...