Lake Titicaca
Trip Start
Nov 25, 2004
1
115
169
Trip End
Jan 26, 2005
Puno,
Peru
Friday, July 15, 2005
Another reed village shot
! Shopping seemed to be the theme as well as we purchased lots of woolly hats and finger puppets!!!!!What an amazing start to a trip though the next day! We jumped on our little boat out onto Lake Titicaca, the sun was shining and the lake was the bluest of blues and we kept sailing past lots of reed islands with lots of locals dressed in the most colourful outfits you've ever seen!!! We actually pulled off and got out on one of the islands and our guide had us sat round in a circle explaining how the islands are built, some local fishies and giving us some of the local fodder to try! We all did some major shopping (DW is decorating his whole flat I think!) and spent a wonderful 2 minutes in a stuffed bird museum!??!! We then went on a proper totora viking boat across the lake to one of the other islands! Oh BVS! All in all a great morning and then it was on to one of the bigger islands and our home for the night! (apparently I was being v unsociable as I had my head stuck in the Da Vinci Code!!!)
We arrived on Amantani Island where all the locals speak Quechua and flukily abit of Spanish too or we would have been useless!!! All the locals were there waiting for us in their traditional costumes and we were designated our host family for the night! We had a lovely woman called Itan who had to have competed in the national speed walking championships!!
Dave tucking into some reeds, mmmmmm
! As it turned out, our little house was the furthest away up the hill and we arrived 20 minutes later shattered and panting! Well it was quite high!!! We spent the next hour messing around with her kids...very cute...Dave perfected the art of making paper aeroplanes and robin hood stylie paper hats and I drew the worst piccies you've ever seen and then we introduced them to the digital camera and they just wanted to see movie clips of themselves over & over again! Hee Hee! We had a scrumptious lunch with lots of potatoes (great for my tum!!!) and then headed back to the group for a hike up the mountain but not before a tourists v locals footie match! I represented Team Smedders & Williams but no goals I'm afraid! Must be losing my touch!!! And then it was more puffing & panting up the hillside to be rewarded by the loveliest sunset out over the lake...highly amusing watching Tweedledum & Tweedledee wandering about in their pointy hats as you'll see from the piccies!! It was then an evening of festivity down in the village hall with all of us dressed up to the nines in local costumes! I swear my skirt must have had about 16 layres and the frilly blouse! Fwoargh! The boys looked very cool in their pointy hats and ponchos and were made famous throughout the night as everyone kept taking piccies of them! Hee Hee! We were setting the dance floor on fire with our moves and it was all abit like a barn dance really
F bad viking boat, we sailed on it later on
! Our host was the friendliest dancing queen out of the group really and we didn't get off the dance floor!!! We made sure Dave didn't anyway by dancing with each other so Itan just kept grabbing Dave...hee hee! And then it was the long slog home and sleeeeeeeeeeep!Up the next morning for yummy pancakes and then it was back on the boat and goodbyes to our little family! Awwww! 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 of sheep passing you on the path and gorgeous little harbours with colourful boats everywhere! A very nice morning and then it was back to the mainland and ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum or 2 which equalled night, night Mr Smedley and lots of v drunk conversations! Hee Hee! A great end to a great mini holiday with Mr Williams!!!
