Puno and the floating islands of Uros - Peru

We first crossed the border into Peru on the 5th of July. Three weeks later, having travelled over 800 miles on buses we arrived at the shore of Lake Titicaca, the 'highest commercially navigable lake in the world'. It sits 3,811m above sea level and is shared by Peru and Bolivia.

Puno isn't memorable; it's cold and built from brown adobe bricks making it seem uniform and devoid of a colourful persona. But it does hold one attraction, it's the embarkation point for trips to the floating islands of the Uros people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uros

The pre-Inca Uros decided dry land real estate was a little too common. They experimented by digging one meter blocks of a dry airy soil, similar to peat and put them in the water. When they realised they floated, they put bundles of dried totora reeds on top to keep the place nice & dry... hey presto, a floating platform for family and friends. It's been the same for hundreds of years.

Today, around 2,000 people live on 42 islands making their money from giving tourists trips around their community and homes; rides on their fancy reed boats and selling the usual nick-knacks. They are self sufficient and even have little floating allotments, solar power for lights and little tv's in their straw houses.

It was an entertaining morning and we even got the president of the islands to row us to one of the other islands for a bargin $2 in 'Reed Force One'.

That afternoon we set off for the Bolivian side of the lake - the birth place of the Inca's sun & moon, Isla del Sol (and Luna).

Titicaca.... to be continued.