After Machu Picchu we both came down with some kind of flu thing which held us up for a couple of days, but finally we headed to the southeast to the world´s highest lake- Titicaca. En route we drove through the remnants of a major protest and for miles there were boulders of every size thrown in the road to thrwart travel and we even spied an overturned car. Our bus driver was an excellent swerver. We found out that the citizens were protesting against some major company in the area that was polluting their river to such an extent that the people could not eat the fish in it any more.
When we arrived in the town Puno, we had the chance to take a boatride out into the vast lake. The destination was these traditional floating islands made out of lake reeds that people actually live on. They use the lake reeds to build their boats, their houses, and literally to build the ground they walk on! It was fascinating.
When we arrived in the town Puno, we had the chance to take a boatride out into the vast lake. The destination was these traditional floating islands made out of lake reeds that people actually live on. They use the lake reeds to build their boats, their houses, and literally to build the ground they walk on! It was fascinating.
We seemed to become instant friends with a particular family there, and I spent a long time singing songs with them (twinkle twinkle little star was a big hit, and I had to sing it like 10 times so they could get the pronunciation just perfect), while Damien hung out with grandma in the kitchen discussing pollo de lago (chicken of the lake) - his and her own personal joke about a certain duck the locals enjoy eating. 
Hanging out on the floating islands
After that it was another dramatically beautiful busride around the lake, past intermingled herds of alpaca and sheep grazing in the treeless, windswept highlands of the Andes, past adobe villages, and miles of potatoes of every variey. We reached the Bolivian border and crossed over (sketchy policia there asking if our money was fake) to find another beautiful little town on Lake Titicaca- Copacabana (not the one from that song) which is situated at 12,600 feet and leaves you breathless the moment you walk out of your door. Bolivia is known as the most culturally traditional country in S. America, and we are enamoured already. Bolivians believe that they are all direct descendants of Pachamama (mother earth).
This morning in front of the church in the central plaza, the people were decorating cars and buses with flowers, garlands, ribbons, bows, praying with incense under the hoods, and sprinkling wine on the tires all in an effort to please the spirits that protect travelers. I like it here.
Hanging out on the floating islandsAfter that it was another dramatically beautiful busride around the lake, past intermingled herds of alpaca and sheep grazing in the treeless, windswept highlands of the Andes, past adobe villages, and miles of potatoes of every variey. We reached the Bolivian border and crossed over (sketchy policia there asking if our money was fake) to find another beautiful little town on Lake Titicaca- Copacabana (not the one from that song) which is situated at 12,600 feet and leaves you breathless the moment you walk out of your door. Bolivia is known as the most culturally traditional country in S. America, and we are enamoured already. Bolivians believe that they are all direct descendants of Pachamama (mother earth).
This morning in front of the church in the central plaza, the people were decorating cars and buses with flowers, garlands, ribbons, bows, praying with incense under the hoods, and sprinkling wine on the tires all in an effort to please the spirits that protect travelers. I like it here.
Need anything to decorate your car with?
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