Weekend in Lake Titicaca with Julia!

On one of our stops on the way to Puno (aka the Lake Titicaca town). No, I have not photoshopped Julia in.

At another stop we got to hang out with vicunas, a cousin of the llama and alpaca. They are endangered so they are protected by the government.

Our awesome hostel!

Eating ceviche made from trout caught in Lake Titicaca. Normally I don't eat fish, but when in Rome...

We found this awesome little cafe that had amazing hot chocolate, board games, and oldies on the radio. Naturally, we stayed for a couple of hours and played Scrabble.

On the lake!

One of the two floating islands we visited. The islands are made out of reeds and there are about 60 of them. Five to six families live on each island.

The dwellings on the island. Notice the solar panel, this is their only source of electricity.

Inside the dwelling.

Julia made a friend on our "mercedes benz" reed boat. The boat took us from one island to another.

One of the women from the islands rowing us across.

Trying to smile and not blink despite the blinding sun.

On another floating island.

The second floating island we visited.

Playing around with my camera.

A lone boat tethered to the island of Taquile. Taquile was the last stop on our tour and it was a two hour boat ride from mainland Puno.

Again, I have not photoshopped Julia in. It's just that beautiful on Taquile.

We found the black sheep of the family!

Paradise.

I kind of fell in love with this tree.

Some fresh trout from Lake Titicaca. This was absolutely delicious, and I don't even like fish.

This one is probably also getting placed in my room next year. The mountains in the distance are Bolivia.

This one too.

Okay maybe I photoshopped her into this picture...kidding kidding.

We made some friends!

Hello readers,

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I decided to go to Lake Titicaca after all. It was probably against sage medical advice because I'm sick as a dog right now, but it was completely worth it! The lake was absolutely gorgeous, and the floating islands are probably some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. The view from the island of Taquile was so beautiful that Julia and I were considering staying and volunteering as medical professionals. By now you know Julia, my travel companion extraordinaire. She's featured in most of the pictures because as it always turns out, I took pictures of her and she took pictures of me. We had an amazing weekend, and now she's off to Arequipa and Lima with some of her friends from her medical program. For now, I'm looking forward to my last week at the clinic and in Cusco. I'm going to miss the clinic and the nuns a lot!

Saludos,
Annelys