Lake Titicaca

Today we awoke in Puno, which lies at an altitude of 3860 metres above sea level and the people of this region are descendants of the Aymara, a strong looking people who once ruled the high plateaus. According to legend, Puno was the cradle of Inca civilization. Manco Capac, the first Inca, is said to have risen from the waters of Lake Titicaca and under instructions from the Sun God, founded the Inca Empire.

Lake Titicaca at 3815 metres is the world's highest navigable lake and the second largest lake in South America, covering an area of 8400 square kilometres. From our hotel we had a ride on a tuk-tuk across the city to the port of Lake Titicaca where we boarded a boat for a 3 hour trip to our homestay on beautiful Amantani Island.

After arriving in Amantani, our tour guide Joseph walked us up quite a steep hill, which proved a bit more difficult than usual due to the altitude! As we climbed, we were slowly separated into couple to meet our host families and see where we were staying for the night. Our 'Papa' for the night's name was Rueben - he was quite old and lovely and adorable. We were served lunch by our 'Mama' and afterwards Rueben showed us his family photo album. It was hard to communicate with them but still a lovely experience.

We then met up with the others and some other travellers for a soccer game, before hiking up one of the mountain peaks on the island. Along the way we saw terraced hillsides with stone walls, grazing alpacas and the national flower, Cantua, which grows all over the island. Joseph taught us about the history and inhabitants of Amantani Island, who practise a very traditional lifestyle, free from the luxuries of city living and are also renowned for their handmade textiles - I bought some gorgeous beanies from our host family as souvenirs.

We enjoyed a delicious hot chocolate with baileys in the afternoon and after dinner, we were dressed up in traditional clothing and attended a dance with our Mama and all the other travellers with their families. It was fun, but exhausting after such a long day.