That's me looking down to at our boat (it's one of those small white dots on the center left of the photo). Two more hours in a boat and you arrive at Taquile Island. This island is a TALL dirt and rock island. I stupidly thought that I could do the climb with my damaged ankle and I did because after we got off the boat - it left us at the first dock and traveled around the island to the other side - so no turning back. Going up for my ankle was only a small problem when compared to the huffing and puffing (and I thought I had become adjusted to the altitude - HA). Thankfully, on the way up there were lots of kids handing us the leaves that you crush and sniff to help you breathe. Surprisingly, going down was harder on my ankle (and hip) with the 530 uneven, unpredictable stairs. To make the trip down safely I led only with my right foot which made it being really hard on my right hip. I was so slow at both going up and down we didn't have time to look at all the stuff the people were selling on the sides of the narrow path. The outside meal at the top of the hill was good- fish, bread, fries and beer. (Restaurant bathroom was also outside and just a pit)
As you can tell I mostly seem to remember the climbing part of this trip, but the island has a pretty neat history. You can spend the night here with locals in their small homes (definitely NO private baths here) and if you want to find a wife bring a big boom box. That is supposedly how the modern boys attract the girls. Not sure what you need to bring if you are looking for a guy. Also if your marriage didn't produce children in 5 years, you move on to someone else.
