A lazy morning until 7am this morning. Not something I expect to
write but that's the type of trip this was. This morning at
breakfast the younger son was there alongside his older
sister and we were pleased to see the typical dynamic playing out -
she stole his stuff, he cried to get the parents involved. For
breakfast we had some very nice pancakes and afterwards headed
outside for a series of photos with the family, a routine they
seemed quite used to. Not surprising given how many home stays they
have probably hosted. Our mama walked us down to the harbour to
meet up with the other groups and waved us on our way.
The boat trip back was livened up by the offer of a quick dip in
the water. Since it was so sunny and warm there were a few takers
and predictably Russel and Carl were soon advocating that the only
way to enter the water was hanging jumped from the top deck. Russel
went first and told us the water wasn't so bad. Frankly, he lied.
4000M is no place to keep a heated lake and this one wasn't even
trying. Having quickly had our fill of bracing water it was time to
negotiate the tricky task of getting back on the boat without a
ladder. Not something we had noticed prior to jumping in but we
were offered a length of rope and a tyre hanging over the side -
not so easy! We stopped off at a reed island near Puno on the way
home for lunch in a reed hut. The water this close in was very
polluted and those who ordered fish were gently mocked for the how
much of that they were about to eat but I'm not convinced the
chicken would be much better. In the end the food was all good and
we were soon back on the mainland.
Eleanor and I took a stroll around town but felt sluggish due to
the heat, although sadly as noted above the water this close
to Puno was very polluted so no chance for a dip to refresh
ourselves. Russell and Carl went looking for someone to fix
Russell's watch which had broken during the football match the day
before. Having been directed to a jewellers that was miles away
Russell tried a different tactic. Carl was surprise to see him hand
over his genuine, very expensive, watch to one of the watch touts
selling fakes on the side of the road knowing that at this altitude
they probably wouldn't catch him if he set off at a quick jog. In
the end he fixed the watch and Russell was pleased it not only cost
much less than in the UK but also freed up some valuable drinking
time.
For our evening meal we followed our guide into town who then
failed to find her favorite restaurant so we fell back to what we
thought looked best. After ordering it turned out that only a few
of us had the fixed price sheet in our menu and the others had
ordered more expensive options, although it was clear that
you got what you paid for. After food we split up, some people
heading home and some coming to the local karaoke bar. Now I'm not
that keen on singing as anyone who ever heard me butcher 'little
donkey' as a small child will testify but this joint, with it's
vomit stained toilets and smokey atmosphere, did little to endear
itself to me. Jill confessed to being a member of a karaoke bar in
Bristol and assured us that our current location was conforming to
the norm as far as she was concerned. When we arrived some locals
were putting on a musically poor show but we soon upstaged
them and went one worse. Our low light was probably mama mia
which in fact could be heard by those back at the hotel. I
apologise unreservedly.
Day twentyone - South America |
28Apr 2011