19th - Puno to Bolivia

Back on the water for the third day - though all of us feel we should be in the water, not on it. This time it was part of the organised transfer to Bolivia, and it took us on a trip out of Puno by bus, to Copacabana (the original one, apparently the Brazilians nicked the name because they liked it - or possibly the black virgin of the town might protect them from flooding!). the border was a strange affair, we weren't sure where the border was until we stood on a small brass plate which had a line through it between the two countries. In Copacabana we witnessed the ceremony of the holy insurance policy - where drivers brought their new (or second hand) vehicles to the front of the cathedrl draped in flowers and had them blessed with holy water by the priest - then for double indemnity had them 'blessed' by the shaman with beer to seal the deal. Apparently this is a much favoured form of insurance in Bolivia and a much needed one given the rate of accidents.

In the harbour we caught the hydrofoil, to the kids' great delight, which was ten times faster than yesterdays boats, and which sped us to the islands of the sun and the moon (OK, isla del sol y de la luna for you purists). Finn and Derry put their skimming stones to good use while the rest of us walked up to the Temple of the Virgins which predated the Incas by several regimes. Having heard that the 9 year old daughters of the Inca tribes were brought the island with 50% destined for selection by the King to be his brides or those of other leaders, 30% to be teachers of the Inca way to the tribes and 20% to be sacrificial virgins at Cusco, Siena commented she was glad she was growing up in the 21st century.

The meal at the Sun island was typical (quinoa soup and kingfish), under a white sheet keeping us cold while the food was served(cold by the time it reached us at the bottom of the steps) and the younger two once again running around the place in defiance of the 4000m altitude! A quick visit to the fountain of youth and then back on the boat for our trip to Huotajata. Our guide Cecilia was a fake guide, being a biologist, but she was just right for us - 5 minutes on the churches and 20 minutes on the ritual in the boat (a spirit combined with a christening style watering of the head whilst agreeing to not lie, not steal and not be lazy (Andean values, think I've broken them all already!).

In Huotajata we met one of the brothers from Lake Titicaca who had helped Thor Heyerdahl build the reed boat (Ra II) that sailed across the Atlantic - and heard of all the other trips - including the reed ship that was set alight by the Ethiopians because they thought they were smuggling guns.

The Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca seems much more picturesque and calm that Peru - especially compared to Punowhere you have to take the trip to Tequile to see the larger part of the lake - Puno Bay is quite unimpressive and the city itself is large, noisy and with no redeeming features.

The trip to La Paz over the Altiplano was a vista of yet more snow capped mountains, towering over small subsistence farms. Then suddenly we were in the mad traffic and crowded streets on the outskirts before we got a stunning view of La Paz city surrounded by mountains.

We were deposited at Hotel Rosario - which was full of English people - in fact there seem to be more English people in Bolivia than anywhere else we've been so far. Derry was feeling poorly so she crashed for the night while the remaining 4 had supper in the hotel - Finn taking lots of photos of the restaurant, his fellow (mad) diners and the chocolate mousse for James.