Another unique wake up call this morning in the form of a very loud donkey who sounded like he was being murdered! Our mums were already sitting by the wood fired oven by the time we'd gotten up. It was still bitterly cold, about -8 degrees, but the breakfast of pancakes and muña tea fixed everything.

We then began the hike back to the port and said goodbye to our mums. It was an hour boat ride to Taquille island, and it's surprising how much these islands look like Auckland's islands. Our guide Junior took us up the hill, to an altitude of around 4000m, so we were all puffing like mad when we reached the top! He said people born at such a high altitude have a litre more blood than those at sea level, and our bodies would be producing loads more red blood cells to improve our oxygen transport. Can't wait to get to sea level and see how fit I am after hiking at high altitude for so many days now!

We arrived at the main plaza (if you could even call it that) on Taquille, and wandered around. You weren't allowed to take photos as these people believe they steal your soul, so we just watched how these unique people interacted. In their culture, a hand shake is an exchange of coca leaves as a sign of respect, and they wear different hats so you can tell whether they are single or married. Their wedding bands aren't rings, but a thick woollen belt with their wives hair woven into it. Their wives cut all of their hair off (at least a metre) as a sign of respect and love for their husbands. Their wedding ceremonies last for over a week in celebrations, and for the first three days, the married couple sit completely still and serious while their friends and family dance and get pissed around them. Then after the 'period of mourning' they are able to celebrate the transition from singledom to married life. Divorce is forbidden, so these people have to choose wisely. Also, there are no police on these islands, so theres virtually no corruption, and if there are any issues, an elected mayor solves them and the people completely respect the decision made by the mayor.

We then walked to the west side of the island for lunch - freshly caught trout straight from Lake Titicaca. It was delicious! After that it was time to head back to Puno, which took about 4 hours by boat. We had a group dinner in the plaza and then headed to a rastafarian bar for some tasty beverages - caipirinhas!