After a 7 hour bus ride from Cusco we arrived into Puno, a tiny town seemingly with the main attraction of Lake Titicaca – the highest navigable lake in the world full of tiny floating reed islands. Of course the chance to sleep on one of these islands was top of our list and after a little research we booked a night on Uros Khantati for an authentic homestay experience after reading great reviews and cuts out the third party travel agent.
A tiny motor boat picked us as we waited by the side of the still lake ready for our adventure. Along with a lovely German couple, Fabien and Carolin, we whizzed down the reed waterways in about 20minutes until we arrived at the island we were calling home for one night. The island that I should rename as paradise.
After the busyness of Cusco this sunny and weirdly tropical place full of tiny adorable huts, hammocks and even a pet flamingo was such an unexpected treat I felt like I was in a dream. Just the sound of the water lapping the reeds and exotic birds chatting to each other was the only noise. Bliss.
We spent the afternoon catching fish, chopping down reeds (as they need to add an extra layer a few times a month) and relaxing on a handmade boat (made of plastic bottles and yep you’ve guessed it – reeds!). Then just after lunch we heard that the bus drivers in Puno were planning on going on a 2 day strike so things changed. As we didn’t have concrete plans we weren’t affected but the German couple needed to get to their Machu Picchu trip meaning they had to rush back to the mainland to make it before the strike started. So then we were alone.
Just us on this tiny island with only four members of the family that live here. Lucky or what?
The only problem was as fantastic as this place was in the warm sun as soon as it set it got cold. Real cold. For warmth we tried on traditional Peruvian clothes and huddled inside drinking tea before an early night which was made more bearable by a hot water bottle being added to the bed by the kind family.
The sun woke us up the next morning and after a quick breakfast we were soon back on the water making our way back to the town. It was such a fab experience to sleep on a floating island, especially as VIP’s, but all good things come to an end and the lure of a hot shower also has its bonuses!
