Just sit right back and I'll tell you the tale....

FYI: More pictures will be up tomorrow bc the internet connection here is WAYYYYYY to slow. So just check out this entry later tomorrow to see more pictures.

Today began bright and early (does anyone else see a pattern here?) and we got ready to head out to Lake Titicaca. We met out taxi driver and headed toward the dock where are boat tour began. We boarded the boat and took our seats and as fate should have it some people sat right across the aisle from us. We looked over and who could it be?? Why it was Jared and Marcy, the fine folks we met on the train the day before. Jared was feeling much better today, and we were glad to have familiar faces on our tour.

on one of the Uros. Check out Jared and Marcy behind us!

a reed boat...

We headed out and our tour guide Julio started explaining a little bit about Lake Titicaca. The lake lies on the border between Peru and Bolivia with 60% of the lake in Peru and the rest in Bolivia. It is 283 meters at its deepest (928.5 feet for us Americanos). It's 165 km long and 60 km wide (102.5 mi by 37.2 mi). 5 rivers drain into it and it drains into 1 lake in Bolivia. With the increase in global warming, evaporation is becoming a bigger problem.

so is Jeffrey Maillo...I had to frisk him for matches before we left.

cooking utensils on Uros.

We were scheduled for a full day tour, so we began by visiting the Uros floating islands. These islands and made entirely of tortorra, which is a reed that grows in the lake. Not only do the inhabitants use it but it acts and a natural cleanser of the lake. We made our way to a little island where we got off our boat and got to walk around the island. It was crazy!! You cant wrap your mind around the fact that you are floating on an entire island made of reeds. We sat through a little demonstration about how the islands are made and maintained. During the demonstration teh guide invited us all to eat some of the reeds but warned that they might make us sick. Marcy, being the brave soul she is and willing to overlook the pain Jared was in yesterday, stepped up to the plate and took a honkin bite. We salute you Marcy, for having more cahones (balls) than we do.

some floating islands...

From there some of the inhabitants invited us to look inside their huts. We made our way into Francisca's hut where 7 people lived! The government recently outfitted some of the islands with solar power and now they can use radios and TVs. After that we explored the island some more, Dad went into the watchtower (aka a giant fish made out of reeds) and we browsed the local merchendise. Afterwards, we got to take a ride in a reed boat that the locals use. We found out that now they recycle plastic bottles by putting them inside the boat and then covering them with reeds.

Me and Francisca. There are 7 people who live in this house!

notice the solar panels outside the homes.

Dad taking pictures from up in the watchtower.

We made our way to another island and then had to get back on our boat to head toward Taquile island, on of the larger islands on the lake, of the nonfloating variety. It took us 2 hours to get there. We passed the time by hanging out in the back of the boat (outside , sucking on fumes) and chatting with Marcy and Jared. The smell reminded me of the old ford truck and camping. huzzah.

from our perch on top of the boat

We finally made our way to Taquile and began our climb to the top of the island. This is the one place where the altitude affected us. We made our way up the hill slowly but still panting (in my case) and headed toward the main plaza. The view was awesome. We took in the sights of the snowcapped mountains of Bolivia and browsed the islanders handicrafts. Dad almost had to throw a bucket of cold water on me to revive me after the hike. I thought i was gonna puke. But we made our way to lunch anyways, passing out candy along the way (the candyman reared his head in Titicaca as well). For lunch we had quinoa soup (a soup made of broth and little grains, the best soup ever.), dad had trout and jen had an omellette and coca tea. We learned about local customs on the island. You can tell every man's marital status by what hat they wear; there is no police presence on the island and the life expectancy is around 95 years old! Thats what hard work and coca can do for you, says the addict twitching in the corner.

Bolivia in the distance.

We then made our way down over 500 steps. We handed out all the candy would could, probably leading a pied piper like procession of kids down the hill with us (just kidding). It led us to the dock and the view was gorgeous. We boarded our boat and immediately PASSED OUT. the whole boat did in fact. I blame the sun. Even the candy man crapped out. We woke about an hour later and decided to get some air, so we went out back to suck on fumes again. We even went on top of the boat to get one last view of the Uros. We pulled back into the dock and decided to shop around a bit.

run while you can...from the candyman.

The steps and path we climbed down.

We shopped for a while and came home with our wallets significantly lighter and our packs MUCH heavier. We came back to the hotel and had dinner. Now we have to prepare ourselves for tomorrow. We have to leave our hotel early (the airport is about an hour away) and catch a plane to Lima. We'll stay in Lima tomorrow night and then head to Iquitos, where our Amazon adventure will begin.

Stay tuned readers...because when we're in the Amazon we wont be able to blog. But you dont have to worry about that yet. We still have a few days. Savor it.

Adios!

P.S. SHOUT OUT TO MARCY AND JARED!! What up guys! You're famous, you made our blog yet again (this time with names). Have a safe trip and if you're ever in California look us up, that is if you survive the natural disasters. and we should have taken a picture together!!!! And hopefully Marcy, you're not sick by now from eating that reed banana :)