Before we left Arequipa the next morning, our little sub group headed back to the main square to visit the cathedral which was free entry early in the morning. That was ok, but the real brucey was we witnessed the start of an annual event celebrating the old inca messengers that ran 650 km from Arequipa to Cusco. They had a school group, a cadet group and a group of genuine marathon runners who will run as a tag team the while distance. They now use the event to promote sports and partnerships over the regions.

We left Arequipa by 8 on a bus that would be ours for the next three days with a driver and another guide and headed up higher into the Colca Canyon region. After an hour we passed the runner of the event that had set off early in the morning, he was at least forty going at a decent pace! The scenery of the open plains and snow capped volcanos opened up, this was the South America I was waiting up get my teeth back into. Unfortunately the bus journey was broken up by our guide on the microphone delivering potentially interesting information in a listless un-engaging fashion and I know I wasn’t the only one who wished she’d shut up. We stopped to take photos of lamas, alpaca and the sweet doe eyed Vicuña. We passed the highest point of the crossing at 4800, just getting on and off the bus for a few photos left us all panting! Chewing on coca leaves, drinking coca tea and plenty of water are all things that should help with the altitude.

We arrived in the village of Chivay at 3635. We had a tourist lunch in a buffet restaurant with plenty of local food, and our first taste of alpaca, very nice! We headed out on very short walk to check how we were doing with the altitude. Even though it was really short, it was a steep climb and I was not the only one gasping for breath. Dinner was in another touristic restaurant with some local dance performance we all were forced into, but as the place was so cold we didn’t mind! But again after two minutes twirly we were all panting. We tried the local variation on a Pisco sour made with the acidic sour fruit of one of the cactus plant, very good too.

The following morning all wrapped up we set off for the Colca Canyon itself and the hope to see the famous Condors. The landscape as we traversed the valley into the canyon was spectacular to say the least…too many photo oops! We arrived at the main view point of the canyon with hundreds of other people. All ready there were two Condors perched on the cliff below, within half an hour we had over twelve of these gigantic birds flying back and forth silently on the thermals. I couldn’t believe how many there were, and cameras were going berserk. They were like flying cats, or dogs, or cows, or horses, or elephants….slight hyperbole I know but they were massive! It was hard to leave the area on a short trek back along the canyon. Our poor guide kept trying to give us information on plants and wot not but she’d lost the crowd by then. On the journey back we stopped at a few other view points, just incredible vistas!

We had another massive buffet tourist lunch before some of us headed to a hot spring for a few hours, it was nice to get really warm finally! I was feeling that my wardrobe was not up to the climate. Even though I’d been in Patagonia earlier on my tour, I don’t remember being so cold. Partly as the hostels were at least warm, but up here our hotel was pretty freezing, we had so much bedding I woke up feeling bruised from the weight.

After another massive lunch that day we’d asked for a light dinner, and our main guide took us around the street food stalks. Again I’d rather have gone off on my own, but she wanted to explain what everything was before clearly explaining if we got ill it was not her fault. Once the explaining was done I slipped away from the group and sat down for chicken feet with corn, once I got the hang of just putting the whole bits of feet in my mouth and lightly gnawing at the matter around the bone to break it free and spitting out the bone it was delicious enough. A few alpaca skewers, a dozen mini fresh churos and a few cups of a hot sweet herbal tea of ten different ingredients and I’d had my cheapest meal of the trip!

Next morning we said goodbye to our lifeless guide, and continued by our private bus to Puno (3830) on the shore of Lake Titicaca. I was on the fourth floor, with some others including the elder couple. I’d say we only just made it without a heart-attack between us! We had a late lunch, & as we finished we heard a procession in the street and went outside to see classes of primary school kids dressed up in different vibrant coloured folk costumes dancing through the street. It was such a treat, the kids were amazing, from the precocious cheeky girls, to the shy boys with their heads down. The area is known as the heart if folklore in Peru with lots of different costumes, and we had a great preview to it all.

We headed on mass to a huge street market, selling fake, genuine and second hand anything. I was on the lookout for some fake or second hand ugg style boots, and found a pair for £5, that went straight on for the rest of the day; warm feet=much happier Bex. I also bought pair No6 headphones, genuine hooky panasonics for £6…fingers crossed! My final purchase was a massive shawl/poncho, and whilst I looked a proper tourist in it is was the extra warmth I’d been missing!

The following morning we were collected by bike ridden rickshaws in pairs and taken down to the dock to our boat for our trip our to the lake. Lake Titicaca is the worlds largest lake over 2000km. Our first stop was to the now heavily touristic but totally fascinating reed islands of Udos. (Local language Aymara) Whilst we were very much part of a tourist operation, I’ve never seen anything like it before. From the islands, the boats, the houses, furniture, and handicrafts all made out of the Tortora reeds. The families were all very welcoming showing us their homes, introducing the children and elders…before selling us their embroidered handicrafts, and a short boat ride. I’m sounding a bit cynical, but actually it was a magical and intriguing place and one I’ll deal with the commercialisation for.

We set off across the lake for a further three hours to our next island. The sun was out, blue sky, yellow reed beds, green hills, white capped mountains and blue sky..it was mesmerising. But after two hours, boredom set in…luckily the roof of the boat was a perfect location for a silent disco, and two of us shook our stuff for a good half hour, another surreal awesome experience dancing like idiots on a boat in the middle of a lake. We arrived at the island of Taquile, were the local language is Quechua. We climbed up (panting again!) to the village were we had a traditional (& touristic) lunch of quinoa soap and some of the best grilled trout I’ve ever had. Our view with red roofed houses in the foreground, blue lake, and Bolivia’s white mountains on the other side of the lake did not disappoint. A forty minute walk down through the pre inca terracing that’s still been used by inhabitants for farming and rendezvoused with our boat for a further hour sail to a remote rural village on a peninsula of the mainland “Amantini”. Here we were paired off and introduced to our hosts for the night. I was with Holly, a twenty year old from Truro. The local language again here was Aymara, but most of them spoke enough Spanish that I was able to communicate for us. Our family was a 28 and 18 year old son, their 65 old father and 15 cousin Elizabeth (who I think was brought in for our stay as the mother was in Puno for the night, and it wouldn’t have been appropriate for the three men to have us to girls in their home without a female host). We were quickly given the task of peeling spuds for dinner which we made look much harder than the nibble cousin. Big blunt knives, tiny potatoes and spoilt English girls make a great combo, all though the father said we were better than the previous tourists they’ve had stay. Dinner was a quinoa soup, followed by potatoes and rice. We were in bed by 8.30. Our room was bigger than the room than four of them slept in. We had an ensuite bathroom, all though not plumbed in, and electricity. I was expecting much tougher conditions, but this is the improvements the families have to make if they want to take part in the tourism programme. We’d also bought with us some fruit, groceries, and toilet roll as for them to go to Puno for such things is a weekly two and half hour bus trip. The family was much bigger, but five of the eight grown up children lived in Lima and Puno. The two sons that were there with us didn’t want to stay the whole of their lives there, but they were doing their stint helping the small farm out for the time being.

Having gone to bed so early I was awake at 4.30, and went for a wander once is light before breakfast of fried bread at 7.30. We then helped our for a few hours, all though I have a feeling without us things would have been done quicker! First we moved their three cows ten mettes to a different grazing spot and gave them some fresh reeds. Then we herded their twenty sheep down through the village and then tethered them in pairs in a small meadow. It was brilliant fun, and we made a great team. Not sure I’ll ever do that again..

We had a scenic walk back taking in more of the scenery of the lakeshore, before a forty minute relax and then down to meet the rest of the group for a football match. Holly and I seemed to have got off lightly with the workload when we caught up with some of the others. One lad had been moving heavy mud bricks all morning. The football match started six aside with our six males, but when our slightly elderly goalie had to come off I ended up on the pitch. I was just there to get in the way, but had a couple of successful dirty tackles and we won by one goal. I was totally shattered! But straight after we all had to dress up in the local clothes. Four layers of heavy felt skirts! “Does my bum look big in this?”……expletive yeah!! We then joined in for some local folk dancing and took twirling my three layers of skirts very seriously! Massively touristy of course, but all good fun (sometimes you just have to get involved.).

We had lunch with our families before we left, and the mother and 15 year old son were back from town. Potato and barley soup which was plenty, followed by fried cheese with rice and potatoes. Carb’d out! No place for anyone trying to follow a Atkins or Paleo diet. We said goodbye to our family, and I gave my inappropriate too tight Colombian football T-shirt to the younger son…hopefully he wouldn’t care that they beat Peru just the week before! We said goodbye on the shore and headed back to Puno. I couldn’t believe how much we’d seen, done, and experienced in the past thirty six hours, unbelievable!

But there was just one more bit if adventure left for the really stupid ones of us. Jump off the top of the boat into 8 degree water. I’ve been in a lot of cold water, this was another level! And then there was the ordeal of the people who hadn’t jumped in trying to pull us idiots back onto the boat which was over a metre high from the water. Back on board of course we were all so pleased and proud that we’d done it, but that it was also a little bit scary being stuck in the freezing water waiting to get dragged back on board! A great end to an inspiring two days.