Puno was our first experience of Peru, having crossed the border from Bolivia, at Lake Titicaca. The border crossing was pretty straightforward, but Puno was quite hectic. We found a hostel with a car park at the back, on the iOverlander app, and opted to camp there. The entrance was a tight squeeze for Pedro, so once we were in, we weren't going anywhere. The lady let us use the toilet and wifi of the hostel and we could use their shower if we paid extra. They also had two lovely dogs that insisted on laying next to our van whenever we were there. The ground of the car park was covered in hay so it was like Pedro was a baby Jesus in a manger.

Em had been unwell, with various ailments, for the last few weeks, so we were still trying to take it easy, but we optimistically booked a trip to Uros Islands via the hostel for the next day.  

We took a little boat from Puno to the Uros Islands, which lie a few hundred metres from the mainland. The Uros are an indigenous people of Bolivia, who still live on a network of 120 floating islands on Lake Titicaca. They were created as a defense against attacks from the Incas, and are one of the world's most innovative feats of human engineering! The floating islands are created by harvesting the roots of the reeds from the lake, drying them out, and using them as 4 corners of an island, connected by swathes of reeds placed on top, and anchored to the lake bed. The Uros used to simply unanchor themselves and float away if they were under threat. Standing on the islands is a little strange, as you are constantly bobbing around on the surface and small waves from boats rock the islands. The islands need constant maintenance, which is accelerated by all the tourists trampling them every day. Our mere presence for a few hours would cost them time and money in the upkeep of their floating homes. 

When we arrived, we were greeted in the traditional Aymara language, and welcomed by a family who were hosting tourists onto their small island. We were shown inside their huts and offered traditional clothes to try on. They were also selling handmade crafts, which is their main income source as they don't receive that much of the tour money. Then we boarded a boat made of reeds, painted in bright colours, that they called the 'Ferrari' for a tour of the other islands, including where the children went to school. We hopped off on another island where we could buy drinks and snacks before departing back to Puno. 

We loved Arequipa! It is a relatively small, clean, modern city with lots of restaurants, cafes and bars. We stayed in a hostel which had two baby alpacas by the pool! They were friendly, and indulged our petting, until Em got too close to one and it spat grass in her face. 

We had a very relaxing few days wandering the streets, visiting monasteries, and being nice and warm for the first time in a while! Em was also rejoicing as she was back to full health, finally off antibiotics, and able to enjoy coffee, wine and food again. 

We got a bus from Arequipa to a very small town in the mountains, called Chivay, where we stayed for one night in an average hostel. We had not prepared to be cold again, but Chivay, Cabanaconde, and the canyon were very cold, especially at night! 

From Chivay, we caught a collectivo (shared mini van) very early in the morning, to Cabanaconde, stopping at a viewpoint to see the Condors. After a while there, we started to doubt whether another collectivo would ever pass and if we would be stranded at the viewpoint forever. Em was trying to help an elderly Peruvian woman who had lost her tour group, and seemingly was stranded at the viewpoint forever. Luckily, a mini van turned up, and we jumped on. Hopefully the lady found her group eventually! Once we arrived in Cabanaconde and bought a rubbish sandwich from a shop, we were ready to set off  down the canyon. The only problem was, by this point, it was nearly the hottest part of the day. Within an hour of descending into the canyon, it got very hot. It was also torture on our knees. There was no rest from just going down. It was only a 6km hike, but in that short distance, we were to descend over 1,000m. The green oasis in the bottom that we were aiming for never seemed to get any closer. By about 3pm, we had finally reached Oasis Sangalle, and our hostel. We stayed at Paraiso Las Palmeras Lodge in a private room. The pool looked very inviting, but because the canyon was so deep with steep sides, the sun had already disappeared for the day and the temperature had dropped. Luckily, we had booked two nights so had the whole next day to rest our knees and enjoy the pool all to ourselves. Everyone else seems to do a three day hike with no time to enjoy the oasis, so there was no one else there! 

We had been dreading the hike back up, but on the third day, we got up at 4am, had a quick breakfast and set off up the hill, trying to beat the sun to the top. We managed it in 2.5 hours! Result. It was tough but not as painful on your joints as the way down. We were very pleased with ourselves at the top, found a coffee from a shop, and boarded a collectivo back to Chivay. Then we got the bus back to Arequipa for a well deserved shower and a big sleep!