In order to see Lake Titicaca from the Peruvian side, the best place to stop is Puno. From here you can visit a variety of islands, including a group called Islas Los Uros which are man-made floating islands that are constructed from reeds - in total there are 54 floating islands which are home to 1,500 people. My first impression of Puno was that it felt very much like being in South East Asia; there were tuktuks everywhere and the streets were dirty and filled market stalls selling everything from bananas to batteries.

It was in Puno that Tom and I parted company with the Great Dane after a very easy bus ride over the border. Then along with a load of Peruvian tourists, we took a boat out to the floating islands feeling pleased that we had taken ourselves there rather than going on an overpriced gringo tour which would take all day. Most of the islands looked pretty much the same and we had no desire to go hopping around them all. After a little engine trouble on the way over, our boat pulled up at Isla Wiñay Khantaniwa, home to 32 people from seven different families.

A woman claiming to be the president of her island sat us all down and gave us an explanation in Spanish about how the islands are built and maintained. Basically they buy big blocks of floating dirt and stack up a load of reeds from the lake to form the ground surface. Then they use the dried reeds to construct huts and seating etc; they use these reeds for everything, they even eat them as a snack but it is not that tasty. Then every 20 years or so they have to change the reeds on the floor to keep it from wearing down. Once we had learnt about how they make the islands and had a chance to peruse the obligatory little stalls of handicrafts that had miraculously appeared from nowhere,
it was time to take a trip on the boat - constructed of reeds of course - to another island for lunch. Surprise surprise trout was the only thing on the menu, with the only variation being on how you want it cooked; I opted for grilled and it was pretty nice.

Back on the mainland we visited the central market. Here they have a great selection of fruit and smoothies, although the tastiness of the fruit in Peru is not a patch on the amazing fruit of Brazil. There was also a really rancid meat market with blood and scraps everywhere, and skins hanging from every possible place. I decided to stick with buying a smoothie on this occasion as I was still satisfied from my trout lunch and didn't fancy dying. As there is not a whole lot to see in Puno it was a pretty short and sweet trip in my first Peruvian town.