YEP, that´s me with my new purchase! I just love the hats the women wear here and was determined to get one!

I´ll tell you all about the hat purchase later but now for my Bolivia trip update; it'll be in probably 2 parts as there's lots to tell....

We´ve just got back from a week long trip. It´s been amazing and we´ve had a right giggle.

We left Cusco on the 9.30pm overnight bus. We'd booked the recliner "posh" seats so climbed aboard ready for a relaxing trip. As we climbed aboard we headed left into the sleeper cabin...a small "box like" affair, pretty claustrophic and hot! We settled down but surprisingly within c. half an hour we were bloody freezing! No heating/air con...just freezing! We brought out all our layers from our bags but they didnt really help; suffice to say....not much sleep was had! We arrived in Puno and had to wait c. 2hrs for our bus to Copacabana....hot chocolates all round were the order of the day to warm us up. We arrived in Copacabana and headed to the Colonial Hostel just off the main square. At 3GBP per night it wasnt too bad, en-suite facilities too! I was sharing with Jess, Harry and Lily (the young ones!). First impressions of Copacabana weren't that good, a little tacky and the waterfront resembled a sunny Skeggy (as we nicknamed it).

We decided to go on a wander and came across the beautiful church. All around the square we noticed loads of vehicles all strewn/adorned in flowers/petals. What was happening was a blessing of vehicles, a priest was moving from vehicle to vehicle blessing it with holy water whereupon the owner then sprayed their car with champagne and lit firecrackers....a mad scene!

We all decided that there wasn't much to stay here for so we headed straight to the booking office and booked our tickets for the next day to Isla del Sol. After an early dinner we all headed to bed to get a good night sleep.

Next morning we were up to catch the 8am boat to Isla del Sol, a 2hr journey which was lovely. Isla del Sol is a small island, not touristy at all; the north side of the island where we landed was idyllic and we bought our tickets and headed off for the 1hr walk to the ruins. On arrival at the ruins we headed on the second path and undertook the 3hr walk to the south of the island, a journey that was stunning scenery wise if a little bit knackering because of the heat and the altitude. The one thing I've noticed here are the clouds, they are sooooo beautiful and so low! You'll see what I mean from some of the photos.

On arrival the south of the island looked a mixture of unfinished buildings - think its pretty new tourist wise hence only just "up and coming". We noticed one finished building at the far end and headed there. Puerto del Sol hostel was to be our bed for the night (cost c. 1.50GBP per night). A lovely little place with stunning views. My roomies here were Jess and Lily, snoring Harry got the single room! Communal showers/toilets, no hot water and no flushing loos, the floods and lack of water back home stood me in good stead when I was faced with a bucket of water!

The sunset was just amazing and I took loads of photos...the colours just kept changing so I couldn't resist!

We decided that pizza was the fav option for dinner, a distinct lack of anything else so we headed down the hill to the restaurant sign we'd seen. We wandered along the track and were met by a guy called Ben who mentioned that he'd just had a beer in a great little place and if we were heading to dinner could he join us. A yes all round so we headed along the path and into the wood. The restaurant was a really quaint little shack, no electricity but lots of candles. We had a good laugh ie Harry having to nip outside in the dark and squat as there were no toilets! The food was fantastic, the best meal I've had so far (trout cooked in garlic and tomatoes). As the evening drew to a close the owner asked if we had torches, errrr we hadn't thought of that! It was totally black outside, no lights anywhere! Luckily he produced a headtorch and a hand torch....he led the way and Wayne came up the rear, a right giggle us in pairs wandering across rocks and shrubs...the point where he mentioned be careful of the sheer drop on the left brought screams of laughter...we couldn't even see the sheer drop! Suffice to say we all got back to the hotel in one piece and lots of thank yous were given to the restaurant owner.

We decided that we wouldnt go to the Isla del Moon the next day as it was a tiny island and would take another long boat journey so after brekkie the next day we wandered down the hill (doing a little shopping at the street vendors on the way) to the water front where we planned to book our return 1.30pm journey. As we were going down the last part of the path a local boat had just left the harbour, we waved to him and managed to get him to come back and get us. The return journey was lovely, not many on the boat so a quiet 2hr journey back taking in the scenery. Unfortunately the day before we had all burnt on the walk. I'd burned my scalp so had to wear my string top on my head the whole journey back....a good look, NOT! Didnt feel too conscious though as Harry had to wear a cardigan "granny stylie" to cover her head!

On return to Isla del Sol the place appeared a little better, not quite so tacky somehow. We checked back into the Colonial and went for a wander. I managed to find a hat shop...no-one in there but could see one being made and there were lots in a cabinet. I just love the hats the women wear here, they are just soooooo lovely!

We headed back to the hostel, and after a chilled day had another fairly early night as we were catching the 0730 bus to La Paz.

Classic....lunchtime back in Copacabana I ordered muesli with yoghurt, fruit, nuts, coconut and honey. What I actually got was a small plate with a sprinkling of cornflakes, a couple of pieces of banaba/papaya and this was served with a pot of strawberry yoghurt! This got lots of laughs from everyone let me tell you!

I will have to add photos tomorrow as system is so slow.

My La Paz blog will follow next...