Last Few Days - Puno and the Floating Islands, Lake Titicaca and La Paz

We were sad to leave Cusco, such a lovely city, with so much more to discover. We must come back!  Safe to say there was a small celebration after Machu Picchu, however a fuller description and photos have been withheld so as not to shock the more sensitive readers. I can tell you there were 3L of rum drunk on the coach back to Cusco and then the proper party started in a bar 24.00 followed by a club, shots and dancing on the bar………….. another excellent night!

On the road again to Puno for a night in order to visit the famous floating islands on Lake Titicaca. These man made reed islands are still home to a community of more than 2000 people. The small family groups have everything they need including shops and a school. Whilst they are no longer able to earn a living through fishing, they are still able to continue their traditional lifestyle through tourism.

Quite a palaver getting out of Peru and into Bolivia, especially when one of the group had overstayed her visa and had to pay a fine at a bank miles back from the border. When eventually through, it was only a brief drive to Copacabana on the Bolivian shores of Lake Titicaca. Unlike its swanky Brazilian doppelganger, this small local village is a popular place from which to explore the beautiful islands of the Sun and the Moon.

Ricardo, one of our guides, took us for an early morning market safari to sample the local breakfast delights. The tasty Bolivian version of empanadas come in deep fried and baked varieties and are much more ‘saucy’ than their Peruvian cousins.

One night in Copacabana and then we packed our walking bags for a trek along the peninsula and then to a small boat over to the Isla Del Sol for a lovely night in a tiny hotel on the Island.

La Paz is enormous and the traffic almost gridlocked. The noise, smell and colourful locals make for a heady South American experience. The local ‘witches’ market has all you need for an offering to the gods including dried baby llamas and dried llama foetus.

On our last day I went on the crazy 65k downhill mountain bike ride down the famous ‘Death Road’. Starting at 4600m in the snow and ending 5 hours later at 1200m in the hot tropical rain forest. The steep road winds and curves round some stunning scenery including under several waterfalls. Called the death road because of the number of fatal car and bus accidents, this single track road is carved from the sheer cliff face and has drops of hundreds of metres down the side. A new road twice as long takes traffic away today but it’s still popular with adrenalin junkies on bikes! From our group only 2 ended up in hopsital!

Deb on the other hand had a food and wine tasting lunch at La Paz’s only Michelin star restaurant. Which would you prefer?

 And then all too soon our 6 week South American adventure is over. We’ve met a great bunch of people and shared some great times together, learned about the pre-Inca civilisations, the Incas and the Spanish Conquistadores. We’ve partied in the desert, watched the sunset a dozen times, explored ancient cities and experienced the Amazonian jungle.

Thanks for reading about our adventures, sorry for the spelling etc. At least it’s authentic!

Tim and Deb