.last.images.of.peru.islands.Hija.

I.love.peru.

today I got to go navigate the islands on lake Titicaca! first off let me give you a little info on this lake... um....its.huge! haha it cuts in the middle between boliva and Peru...its the largest lake in South America. but to get to the lake you have to start somewhere, the miss and I spent last night in a hostal in .PUNO. this is Puno from the boat...we left nice and early at 7 am for the islands!in order to get from my hostal to the port, I took on of these...they are NUTS...it really is just...a guy, and a bike, and you sit in the front and pray you dont get smashed by a taxi...neat experience tho, and only one sol...I felt bad for the guy, one sol is like...40 cents. and he BIKED.ME.THERE.! this wasnt the guy who took me...duh! its a kid, I just thought it was cute how he attached his car to the back... so our first stop, about 30 minutes out on this ricketty old boat, was

.THE.FLOATING.ISLANDS.OF.LOS.UROS! now THESE are cool...let me tell you about them...

this guy was giving a little explination...I guess The purpose of the island settlements was originally defensive, and if a threat arose they could be moved. like...float away...haha The largest island still has a watchtower almost entirely constructed of reeds. these islands can float, but are docked down...they are made up completely of .TOTORA.REEDS. which grow all around them in the lake...so when I step on the islands it goes...squish squish squish...it was unreal, they also eat he reeds (they taste like.... apples?) and use them for medicine.... first I thought...who could live like this! but they do, they live off of what the tourists pay to come visit...sad, but true, they have almost none of their culture left except for how they dress....

they eat fish...I love the picture after this...

I guess thgis little girl touched one of the fish...she giggled SO.CUTE. look at her little fingers...shes so grossed out!

this little boy LOVED Hija...he is SO adorbale...we just sat on the wet reeds and talked for a bit...I guess 4 families live per islands, and the islands last about 30 years...they just keep building them.

.HIJA!.

I did a .PEACE....and I guess he´s number one...

these are just from the boat floating by the rest of the floating settlements...one of them had a school on the island...and at night, to protect it, they would float it out a few hundred feet...hilarious.

this little girl was on the boat with us. she lives on the island Tequile with her family.

Here is Tequile Island, I got to spend the afternoon here and navigate around before goin home on the boat...here are some pictures!

the.views.were.breathtaking.

Hija loved the navigating part...she looks like shes photoshopped into this picture haha I love it!

I love this shot of this little girl looking over her village from her house...

everything was stone paths, made by hand in the side of a mountain...

Mi Hija and me!

the most peacefull place I have been yet...not a single noise...and there were about 4 tourists ont he island that day...

Hija and I encountered these sheep...and she freaked out! it was hilarious...we had a battle for the path...epic!

everything was stone, hand made.

lunch..and.a.view.

thes kids loved Hija, I have been really communicating a lot more with the local people in peru...when they see I have such a tiny pupy they go NUTS....they forget about selling me things or treating me like a tourist, and just want to hold my puppy, I get treated differently, and I love it!

Hija was BEAT on the ride home tho, this was taken on the boat...she fell dead asleep by my lap, and I had to snap a photo. it was an excellent day, but we were both tired by the end of it!

the next morning we got on a bus to cross into the Blivian Border...story and pictures to follow! sorry this took so long, Im busy, and happy, and excited to be here. im so blessed! and its almost Christmas. I could be on a place or a bus or who knows where this Christmas...but I hope you all have an awesome one!

xoxo

Rach