Chickens, floating islands & yumi fish

Hello & Hola

Mum is now with me & Age on this crazy adventure. We greated her, dazed and a little confused after being awake nervous and on the move for aound 22hrs! at Lima Airport on 22nd Feb.
So lovely to see her meandering out of the gates dressed in her walking gear, including cute bright pink kagool jacket - we wont miss her in a crowd!
Quickly drop the bags off, exchange, well, actually recieve much apreciated gifts of Terrys Chocolate Orange & gossip & fashion mags! and new knickers, thank goodness for M&S! happy happy happy. Then off for a much deserved glass of red and some ceviche yum yum yum, this makes for a content Cat, Age and Mum.
We had a lovely, very long day out sight seeing around Lima, saw a really beautiful cathedral, lots of ceramic cows!?? in the main sq, Damien Hurst eat your heart out! and tasted our very 1st Pisco sour in Grand Bolivar Hotel, sounds swankier than it actually was but the drink was bloody tasty and certaintly put a spring in our step - pictures to follow once back with my laptop.
The evening ended with a very late but super duper dinner at La Rosa Nautica, a beautiful restaurant built on its very own pier right out into the Pacific. The waves lapped at the stilts, birds bobbed on the deep green sea, avoiding the crashing waves that broke just before shore, and Age, myself and Mama D sipped delicious Argentinian Malbec and savoured fresh sea bass and tuna steak breathing in the fresh sea air. The perfect day to start our 2 week adventure.
It was time for Team Donovan to depart Lima and Age to make our way crss cuntry to Lake Titicaca. Oh My Goodness, what a bloody long long journey, 23hrs by bus in fact!!!!! The over night from Lima to Arequipa was fine, 17hrs but fine! the seats recline into semi beds, you get 2 meals (of aerolane standard, but still...) and watch a couple of movies (in Spanish!) and then finished off the last hour of the journey watching a greasy long haired latino (no offence intended, just stating the facts here!) prancing around a stage warbling his head off with a load of misguided ladies throwing them selves at him! bizare, but passed the time.
The next 6hr bus journey was very bumpy indeed, no air con!, no loo! and the old lady opposite only had a bloomin live duck in a bag and large chicks down hr cardi, well this made me and mum absolutey laugh our heads off, especially when one of the chicks was trying to escape, Alien Stylie out of the back of the ladies cardi, it was ike she was possesed, so freakin bizare, abslutley hilarious but at the same time, quite sickening.

We eventually arrived in Puno at, which is the town by the lake, found a hotel, did a bit of bargaining with the price (Age you would be proud of me) we got the room including a bathrom for 6.50 pounds er night, crawled into bed, completly knakered, didnt wake up in time to go out for dinner (shock horror) and then went back to sleep untill morning.
We had ne full day in Puno and headed straight for Uros, the floating island on Lake Titicaca. We climbed aboard a small chugging motor boat filled with ladies in traditional dress, these big deep pink skirts with many layers underneath, hair in plaits right down their backs, and pretty blouses, carrying crates of fresh ripe mangoes and other produce of course which cant be grown on the tiny islands. Peruvian tourists, sweet little children and old old grandmothers with the most incredibly characterful faces, full of lines,expression & stories. It took 30min, taking in the sights of endless water reeds and tiny fishermens boats to reach Uros. Its incredible, its a floating island, well actually lots and lots of floating islands all grouped together. Tey float n reeds all matted together, and which are replenished fom the top. These reeds are the life source for these communities, they make wonderful fantastical boats & toys & houses from them and they live out here in the middle of this lake, kind of excisting in this beautiful calm time warp. They relay on tourists to buy their crafts and to visit to experience their ways of life and we are really really thrilled that we could venture into it for just a few hours, and it wasnt tacky or over run, it was just tranquill and serene. And of course, we had a little trip in one of the reed boats, steered by a very strong woman called Rosa, (again there are beautiful pictures of Rosa and the island to follow) to another small island, feasted on fresh Trout caught in the lake and got a little sun burnt, ho humm.

Adios amigos, more tales to follow, I will mail one last time before the 4 day trek da da daaaaaaa xxxxx