Puno, Peru.

We arrived in Puno at around 7pm and the city was in full swing with street vendors lining the narrow roads and people bustling about everywhere. A taxi was cheap and easy to acquire so we were soon standing in the reception of a local hostel asking for a bed for the night. I am going to say right now NEVER stay at a “Point” hostel. Although nice enough we were later astounded to discover that they charged for the use of the kitchen. They tried to assure us this was common but after three months of dossing in hostels we knew that this was utter pomp. So the first night we had the luxury of paying five soles (which isn't actually that much but hey it's the principle!) to cook our super noodles or pay their supposed five star chef for a pizza. Ok rant over.

For those of you who don't know Puno is a city that surrounds part of Lake Titicaca which is the highest lake in the world and also home to the famous Uros (floating) Islands as well as other islands which are the home to different colonies on the Peruvian and Bolivian side of the lake.

We booked ourselves on to a one day tour of the lake which included a visit to the Uros islands and Taquile island which was 2hrs away from the Uros. It was another early start of 5:30am where we were picked up and dropped off at our boat to begin our journey to Uros. The boat journey was one of the slowest ever with a guide giving us random facts about the lake. We listened for a while before popping on our ipods and catching a snooze. We awoke just before arriving at the Uros and were rewarded with an amazing first glimpse of the floating islands appearing beside our boat. These islands we learned are made from one meter of dead roots which cause the islands to float and are then topped with another meter of reeds which grow in the lake. When you first step on to these islands it's a strange experience. The ground is spongy but the islands feel stable as they are anchored to the bottom of the lake bed with sticks. Everything on this island is made from reeds, the islanders even eat the root of the reed which provides them with a great source of calcium. What they need but cannot get from the lake they trade for at Puno with reeds. This is the islanders only real way of attaining what they need as they have no money other than the little they make selling hand made goods to tourists who visit the islands.

After Uros it was back on the boat and another two hours or so before hitting the island of Taquile. This wasn't a floating island and pretty average in standards as far as island aesthetics go. The beautiful aqua blue water surrounding the island definitely added to it's advantage though and once on the island the sight of eucalyptus trees was quite interesting. Once on Taquile we trekked to one of the local towns and were treated to the sight of the locals performing a traditional dance for us. We then got invited to dance with them which of course we both grasped unlike many others who rudely declined. After shaking our asses about with the locals in what was a very similar dance to Strip the Willow we wandered around to look at what they were selling. The job of the men on Taquile is to knit and the women to weave. Once a Taquile boy turns seven he works in the afternoon after school and learns how to make a traditional hat that all men on the island wear for their entire life. Before marriage they wear a half white half red hat and after marriage they wear a completely red hat. The standard of a hat represents the standard of the family, so a well made and decorated hate will demand much more respect. The men also wear white shirts which represent the moon, Black waistcoats and trousers which represent the sun and rainbow tastles on their hats which represent the indian flag of which they worship. The women in comparison wear the usual Peruvian clothing but with a black shoal with rainbow pom poms. Smaller pom poms mean you're married and bigger ones mean you're single, as the bigger ones suggest flirting.

After browsing through the usual collections of hats, blankets and bracelets we settled down for lunch in a local restaurant. Trout from the lake is one of the islands main food sources so we tucked in to some after polishing off some tasty veg soup which was made from island produce. Coca tea is a firm fixture in Peru so we supped on the leafy concuction before heading off back up and over the island towards our boat. It was a pleasant enough experience but didn't wow us as much as the Uros islands but all in all an interesting day out.

Back to the hostel we trotted to relax before, through spite, we decided to eat out at one of the local restaurants. We had heard good things about one in particular called Mojsa so headed directly there and weren't disappointed. An awesome two course meal by any standard plus two large beers came to the grand total of £20 so we rolled back to the hostel happy and full that night. The next day it was another early start to catch the bus to Cusco which we were pretty excited about. So it was another early but sleepless night thanks to excitement.