Lake Titicaca, ALMOST Bolivia & French Fry Soup!

So, who knows if this is the highest, navigable lake in the world, and who cares really? It´s beautiful...even when riding on a boat that moves slower than you can swim ( I guess sometimes it pays to do what tourists do and buy a tour- the tour boats were blowing past us out on the water). Our "motor boat," and I use that term loosely, stopped at the floating reed islands of the Uros for a quick explanation of how the natives live off the reeds. The reeds, which grow in the shallows of the lake, are used for building homes, boats, toys, fuel for cooking and are even eaten. After a short visit on these islands, our captain guided the boat on the long 4.5 hour journey to Isla Amantani, where we´d spend the night in a local´s guest room. Pam was ecstatic to hear that the islanders are vegetarians, for the most part, since meat and fish are only eaten on very special occassions. Our hostess, Olga, prepared lunch for us upon our arrival- a bowl of quinoa soup and a plate of rice, boiled potatoes, boiled carrots and fried cheese (what healthy vegetarians!). We roamed the rock footpaths of the island for a bit before heading back for dinner- a bowl of quinoa soup and a plate of rice, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes (we enjoyed the slight change on the plate). After dinner we were asked to put on some of Olga´s clothes to attend the party in the square...we somehow got out of dressing as locals. Danielle and Pam had to represent us at the party, as I wasn´t feeling well. Being the only two wearing "western clothing," they didn´t stay too long. The next morning our boat headed across the choppy water for Taquile Island, where Pam did all the exploring on her own and Danielle and I waited out the departure time at the dock with a few games of cards...we couldn´t wait to get back onto firm land. Our celebration of New Year´s consisted of a mini-bar crawl to some of Puno´s finest watering holes and a great game of Jenga. As the sun came up, we had our goodbyes with Danielle, as she left to catch her flight(s) back to NYC. Pam and I decided to get it together and head to Bolivia. Packs full and bus tickets purchased, we signed the "customs" form and boarded the bus headed for Copacabana, Bolivia. About 20 minutes into the ride we were informed that as US citizens, we each had to pay fee of $136 to enter the country, little did we know! As you might assume,

there are no ATMs at the border and with about 40 bucks on us, we were let off on the side of the road to catch a collectivo back to Puno. Back at the bus terminal, we begged for our money back from the bus company, no luck there, but the lady did give us 10 of her "very own" nuevo soles as compensation (that´s about 3 bucks). In planning our next move, we decided on an overnight bus to Chile (which was cut out of the plan due to how expensive it is there). After a dinner of french fry soup and laughing at the day´s experience, we boarded a very comfy bus to Tacna, Peru where we´d arrive in the AM to cross the border to Arica, Chile.

And so, the adventure continues...