Uros and Taquile... hmmmm.

We spent an extra day in Cusco than we intended, so that we could go to the honorary consulate and get the ball rolling on Sal's emergency passport. The good news is that she'll be able to fly home when scheduled, the bad news is that the passport can only be issued in Lima and it takes a week, so we won't be going to Bolivia together. Sad times! Ciaran and I might still go but we haven't decided yet.

A large chunk of the day was used going to the consulate and getting passport photos done, then we had to book our overnight bus to Puno, so before we knew it all we had time for was dinner and a quick drink in the hostel. Still, it was really nice to be in Cusco for another day, it's such a nice city to spend time in.

Then it was time for our overnight bus to Puno. It started off well - we had nice and big seats on the bottom level of Tue double decker bus. But then the AC came on and no blankets or pillows appeared. The small Quechua lady sat behind me did not understand how to put her seat back, so insisted on kicking mine when I put it back to try and sleep. Her and her family proceeded to chat all the through the night, and they smelled pretty bad too. So, by the time we arrived in Puno at 5am, we were all quite tired.

We didn't really know what to do, as it was too early to go to the tour agency we wanted to use, so we chanced it and went straight to our hostel, Duque Inn. As luck should have it we were able to check in straight away and the lady immediately helped us organise a day trip to the islands of Uros and Taquile on Lake Titicaca. An hour later we were on our way there!

I have really mixed feelings about the day we spent on these islands. After about 2 hours on the boat we arrived at Uros, which is a large group of small reed islands inhabited by Aymara and Quechua people. Each one has a couple of reed houses on it and the people there move around on reed boats. There seemed to be about 9 people living on the island we visited, where we were greeted by the family singing us a song in a mixture of Spanish and Aymara. It sounds lame but it actually choked me up a bit, hearing their almost child like voices sing some Spanish-Aymara song about it not mattering where you come from, and everyone being amigos.

And then I felt completely voyeuristic. The sort of leader of the family then described to us how the reed island is made into a home, using scale versions of the huts and dolls to represent the people, and the way our guide kept butting in made the whole thing feel a bit contrived and almost demeaning to these people.

After this we had the option to go for a 10 minute ride round the island in a reed boat for 10S/. each, which actually felt a bit extortionate and almost 'like highway robbery' as Ciaran put it, as the Aymara man steering the boat wouldn't take us back to the island until everyone had paid him their 10S/. After that we had about 10 minutes to look at the handicrafts the islanders were selling before another tour boat arrived and we were quickly ushered back onto our own tour boat to make way for the next meal tickets. It sounds cynical but after initially feeling like a bit of a voyeur, by the time we were getting back on the boat I felt that we were just some of many, many tourists moving along a pretty well-oiled conveyor belt.

After another hour on the boat we arrived at Taquile, a larger island in the middle of the lake. It was a beautiful day, so we took our time to walk around the island and up to the main square, where the tour guide had instructed us to meet an hour later. The setting on Lake Titicaca is incredible and the island itself very beautiful and peaceful. But again, as we were walking round I couldn't help but feel that all the indigenous people we met were just waiting to relieve us of our soles. A single pathway wound round the island up towards the main square and at regular intervals there were women or children or both trying to sell us their crafts or a photo of them. The thing is, you can obviously buy crafts everywhere you go, but here on Taquile I got the overarching impression that the locals saw dollar signs as we approached and really, it just made me feel a bit sad.

When we reconvened with the tour group we were told that the next place we were going to was a restaurant recommended by our guide. He dragged us all for another 20 minutes and really annoyed us by telling us that lunch was  15S/. only for us to find out that it was 20S/. when we got there. Only 5S/. difference but it was the principle, given that we didn't really want to go there anyway.

We had lunch and the view was nice but after glimpsing Bolivia in the distance, we were all glad to get back on the boat, not least because we were so tired and we knew it was a three hour journey back to Puno.

The lake is a really special place and feels a bit magical. Maybe because of its size, I'm not sure. But I did feel disappointed by our experience on the islands. I'd read and heard about people being sceptical as to whether the islanders really do live like that on the reed islands or whether it's just for show. It was definitely an experience meeting them but I think I might now be in the cynics club.

Back in Puno we had the most delicious dinner! A slightly caro menu del dia at 20S/. but for the tastiest tomato soup and alpaca steak!