From here we walk through the port to find our boat, there are hundreds of boats here, most of them small tourist vessels carrying around 30 people. We hop on ours and grab seats. Lucky for us we get nice seats right at the front where we can spread out a bit. The boat has seats in a covered area, an area outside by the engine, and a sun deck on top on which only 8 tourists at a time are allowed.
While we wait, a musician gets on the boat and stands at the front, regaling us with his guitar, panpipes and singing. 10 minutes later he is asking for tips and heads off again.
Our guide introduces himself as Bruno from Puno! And he says instead of calling us the Pumas or Incas like other groups, he will be orignal and call us "happy Bruno's group"... He asks us to maintain a positive attitude, and tells us about his father who always had this motto.
We leave the port, watching Puno getting smaller and smaller. The population is 130,000. The houses are brown in colour, and many of them are unfinished. Bruno explains that the attitude of the people is that they will start their houses even if they do not have enough money, always hoping that one day they will have enough to finish it.
He points out a large steamship - the Yavari. This ship was built from iron parts which came from Birmingham, they were individually brought from England via the Cape Horn of Africa, and then hauled over the Andes to Puno, where it was assembled. It took 6 years just to get the parts together. It was coal powered, and used by the navy. At one point when coal ran out, and they had to use llama dung! It is now a museum.
We start out in the small Puno bay, and then go into the large bay. There are many reeds here, and the boat is pretty slow. Bruno tells us about Amantani island, where we will sleep tonight - there is no electricity, no hot water, no internet, no cars or taxis or donkeys. People get around only by foot - in Spanish they call it linea once - line 11, 11 referring to the two legs!
We approach Uros and Bruno teaches us hello in Aymara is "kamisaraki". The answer is "Waliki" (I am fine). There are no credit cards accepted on here! He talks more about lake Titikaka, it means grey mountain cat. The pronunciation should be titi-jaja, not kaka as we all know what kaka means!
We get off on the first island, greeted by islanders dressed in colourful traditional attire. They are all quite large people and we wonder what they eat to make them put on so much weight! It is really weird walking on the island - it is made entirely of totara reeds, loosely scattered on the ground. It feels a bit unstable, and soft under the feet. The island we are on is pretty small, and about 5 reed huts are scattered around it.
Bruno from Puno gathers us around and shows us a map of lake Titikaka, pointing out Puno from whence we came, and the area that the Uros islands are located, quite close to Puno as well. 
There are now over 80 of these islands, each has its own name and its own inhabitant families. The island we are on is called Isla Uros Balsero. He shows us, with assistance from the islanders, the bouyant reed roots that form the foundation of the island, large bunches of these are tied together, and then the green reeds are layered on top, at least three layers. They then build their houses out of reeds on top of this, and lay stones on top of which to make fire, very cautious not to let the reeds catch fire! The demonstration is quite cute, with miniature houses and boats.
Next he shows us how they eat the reeds - they call it Uros banana, they peel the thickest white part just like a banana and bite into it. We try it, doesn't taste like much! 
He shows us the other things they catch: small fish, which they keep in nets in the water, and some horrible dried out birds, plus huge duck eggs. We are not sure how it is possible to get so fat on a diet such as this and we wonder whether they also frequent the KFC in Puno ;) After seeing the gross duck we are also more glad about the fact that our next two meals will be vegetarian!
The islanders introduce themselves and then we have free time. We follow Eloi into his small house, and he shows us his baby, Jose. Four people live in this tiny habitation. There is not so much a bed as a pile of clothes and blankets, and we sit on top of these. He offers the baby and Wendy is keen, she is a natural. Jose is a very good baby, chilling in Wendy's arms! We are impressed that they have solar electricity and a small energy saving bulb hangs from the ceiling.
We walk around a bit more and Van buys a small colourful boat made of reeds, for 20 soles. The people are not particularly willing to negotiate. I spot a huge spider in the reeds and suddenly i am happy we are not staying here tonight! Next we have the choice to be taken by reed boat to the next island, and we all go for it. 10 soles per person... The boat is very impressive and beautiful and can easily fit the 20 or so people. 
Anna and the other ladies stand on the side and sing to us as we depart, first in Aymara, then Quechua, then Spanish. Then they sing row row row your boat in English and we sing along. Very funny. 
Eloi and his friend are rowing us with oars. It is pleasant and peaceful.
We reach the other side to another island. This one has a restaurant with coffees and hot chocolates, and a gross chemical toilet for 1 sole. There are more ladies selling their wares: embroidered textiles and reed ornaments among other things, we check it out and then hop back onto the boat. 
We head up to the top of the boat as we head off and enjoy taking photos of the fabulous scenery.
The sun is warm and we shed some layers. We head between the peninsulas of Quechua and Aymara, and see the Isle of Taquile in the distance.
Bruno explains more about Uros: the Uros people were forced onto the lake by the conquering Inca and Aymara tribes, they lost all their land. They are now Adventist or Catholic in religion, but still practice Andean religion and believe in the Pachamama (mother earth) and mother lake. There are 5 primary schools, and a nursery school. About 80 islands with average 5 families each. About 30 of the islands are not open to tourists. Each island has its own president, and all the islands have one president as well, this person can be male or female but must be married.
We approach the island of Amantani, and a small beach. Bruno says the lake is good for swimming. There are no piranhas, crocs, or alligators, or sharks! The island is almost completey terraced, these are pre- Inca terraces. We will be staying in family houses - minimum 2 people per family, maximum four. We have requested to be together with my Dad and Wendy.
We pull into the port in the North, the water is beautifully clear as we get off the boat. We follow Bruno for a while, and he confers with the administrator of the accommodation. A number of ladies are standing around, in beautiful traditional dress and hats, smiling and chatting, waiting for their tourists. Then the four of us are called first, and we are met by a lovely smiling lady, Lucila "Lucy". She greets us with a handshake and a kiss, and leads up up the meandering hill towards her house. We explain our names to Lucila. The island is at 3800m, and this altitude, combined with the climb, make us feel like really old people. We rest twice.
The guidebook mentioned that tourism had kind of ruined some of the islands in this area, and that the tourist money typically went to very few in the community. This has resulted in a lot of resentment towards tourists. Amantani decided to prevent this by forbidding any form of accommodation on the island apart from "home stays", enabling the local people to open their homes to visitors. The system is enforced to be completely fair, and is done on a rotational basis, so that everyone gets a chance.
We finally reach the home after about 25 minutes. After being warned that the accommodation would be really simple, we are not sure what to expect. The house is larger than expected, constructed of brown adobe mud bricks. It is double storey, with a courtyard surrounded by the bathroom, kitchen/dining area and some other rooms on the bottom floor, and our rooms and one other room on the upper floor. 
The two rooms are spacious and have two single beds each, with lots of blankets on top, and a small table and chair. The walls are painted and decorated with local textiles and posters.
Lucila calls us for lunch, and we offer her a gift, we have have put together what we have bought, and have a fairly large packet with oil, tinned fish, pasta and tea. Lucila looks really pleased, and gives us each a kiss of thanks. We sit down at the quaint dining table and are served quinoa soup for starters. The bowls are huge but the soup is warming and tasty. We also have hot water to mix with either coca leaves or muña stems and leaves, to make tea.
We meet Lucila's husband, Ruben, a friendly smiling guy who fires up the gas stove to fry us some cheese. This is served with very large green lima beans in their pods, and potatoes. There are at least 6 varieties of potatoes on our plates, 3 long thin ones in white, yellow and pink, and 3 small round ones, in black, white and purple. Some are nice but they could use a little butter and salt! The cheese is delicious, just like halloumi. Van is the only one able to finish his plate. As we are eating Van spots a tiny mouse in the kitchen!
We try to chat to Lucila as we both speak very limited Spanish (the language on the island is Quechua). She says she is 29 years old, and has two children, Danny who is 6, and a baby, Mialady, who is 2. Once we are finished, we offer Ruben to help with dishes, and he gratefully accepts, placing the dishes in a large plastic container and washing them while Wendy dries. After this we head to our rooms for a nap, but it doesn't last long as Lucila knocks to show us her work - gloves, scarves, little sheep and other souvenirs. We buy a few items, and then Ruben takes us to the meeting point, at a rather large soccer and athletics stadium. We meet up with John and Mike, the two ladies have decided to rather stay in as they are not feeling great. 
John tells us we got the nicest family, as Lucila was the only one to have a really nice smile and greet with kisses at the port... Mike is keen for a game of soccer with the locals, but this doesn't materialize, probably a good thing as this altitude is killing us!
Bruno says he will take those who are keen to the top of the mountain - Pachatata. It is at 4150m so quite a climb! We start walking - the three of us and Mike, and immediately feel out of breath and old again! There is a paved walkway most of the eay up. Halfway up, Bruno points out some beautiful snowy mountains in the distance. They are in Bolivia. There is one standing on its own, which is very close to La Paz, our final stop on the itinerary. He also points out another island, Soto.
We continue to the top and reach there in time for the sunset. Mike also makes it, despite really struggling his will prevails! We find that the mountain is in fact a volcano, and the caldera has been turned into a Pachatata temple. Apparently the communities always visit this temple with offerings on the first Thursday of January, each year. Bruno says that we won't be offering anything, as we don't have enough young girls (joke)! But if you walk around the temple anti clockwise three times, it is very good luck.
The view from the top is awesome, we can see most of the island and most of the lake. Both look huge from this vantage point! We also see Taquile Island, and all the terraces which are being farmed with at least 12 different crops, mostly potatoes and quinoa. 
There is an arch up here, it seems these are dotted throughout the island, and make for great photo opportunities. They are used to segregate the different communities. 
We walk around, and then back down. There are ladies selling their wares the whole way, they wrap them up in cloths and carry them up of their backs.
At the bottom we are supposed to meet Ruben, but don't find him, and decide to walk back, as we remember the way. We get back to the house, and Lucila asks where Danny is. We say we don't know, we didn't see him, and she looks worried as he was waiting for us, she has to send Ruben back to find him.
We chill in Dad's room for a while, as our room's solar light doesn't seem to work. It is starting to get really cold, and Van and I hop into our sleeping bags. Soon Lucila calls us for dinner, and we meet in the dining area again. We start with soup again, huge bowls of semolina soup, very warming. The main course is rice and mixed fried veg and potatoes, washed down with fresh camomile tea - stems and flowers picked from the garden!
We help Lucila with the dishes. Then she brings a bag of traditional clothing and starts to dress Wendy up, over her normal clothes. There is a beautiful embroidered white cotton shirt, two layers of colourful skirts, a wide colourful waistband, and a black embroidered shawl. Next she dresses Van in a grey poncho with very vibrant bands and a traditional wooly hat. 
I get the same treatment as well, but Dad declines as he is not feeling great. We take photos with the whole family, including shy Danny, and then they lead us to the community hall, where Uncle John, Aunty Bev and Sandy are already dancing away with their families and all the other tourists and families.
The hall is quite large and can accommodate all the tourists and families, maybe 60 of us in total. There is a band of four young guys playing the traditional instruments (banjo, drum, pan pipes and flute). They have cute hairstyles and look a bit like the Beatles or the boy band of the island. The music is energetic and infectious. 
Lucila shows us how the dance is done, very simple, we form a circle, all holding hands and then move around clockwise or anti-clockwise, twisting our arms and hips. It's fun and it also warms us all up in an instant.
All the tourists are dressed in the traditional clothes, and for once it is almost impossible to tell tourist from local. The only real difference is the height! People are sharing large Cusquena beers and chatting and dancing. Sometimes the people form one huge circle of interlinked hands, moving fast around the room and weaving in and out, it's exhilarating and exhausting! At one point they also form bridges of two people, and each couple duck under all the other's arms. We take turns to dance individually with Lucila and Ruben, Lucila has tiny Mialady strapped to her back, the adorable baby never makes a peep.
Bruno is there, enjoying himself, and he asks for a group picture with everyone. This is quite a challenge but we manage to get it right, then he also takes of the individual groups.
Close to 10:00 people start leaving, and we decide to do the same, feeling rather tired, and conscious that it is way past poor Mialady's bedtime. Bruno seems to be the only one who wants to party all night! We crawl into our sleeping bags and blankets and sleep extremely well in the peaceful village.
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