SUNRISE

Carina and I decided that we should take advantage of staying next to such a beautiful lake and get up to catch the sunrise. As the alarm rang at 5am it was still pitch black and all I could see were the stars sparkling through the window. So back to we went until 6.30 when I woke up to Carina snapping away out our window. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Since we were meeting at 8 for breakfast there wasn't any point in going back to sleep so after taking lots of pics I snuggled back into the comfort of my electrically heated bed and listened to some music.

Breakfast was fantastic. We were served cereal followed by papaya and banana followed by bread, bacon, eggs and tomatoes and finally some cafe con leche. It was so relaxing sitting, enjoying breakfast for an hour, looking over the lake with incredible views. Although Rodrigo insisted that we meet at 8 for breakfast instead of 8.30, him and Helena still hadn't appeared by 8.45 and just as we were about to go and check on them our tour guide let us know that the hotel had rang their room and they had still been sleeping...whoops. I think we were a little too chilled during breakfast!

We set off in the boat around half9 to commence the journey to Isla de la luna and Isla del Sol. It took just over an hour to get there but it passed so quickly as the views were incredible and we were even allowed out the back of the boat which was really exciting, although terrifying at the same time as I felt very close to falling overboard on numerous occasions.

First stop: Isla de la luna. When we arrived it literally felt like paradise, so so pretty. I don't think it looked much different to the Carribean, minus the sand. We made our way up the hundreds of steps to the ancient convent Inca ruins, the whole way trying to take pictures of the pretty yellow butterflies. After our tour guide finished talking about the history of the convent we were approached by Cholitas selling tourist tat. I managed to buy my Bolivian bracelet here to add to my collection. We then made our way back to the boat and moved onwards to the next Island.

Isla del Sol was just as beautiful as the first island. On arriving we would greeted by the cutest dog ever and I had a great time taking pictures of it. On the way to the restaurant we caught a glimpse of the fountain of youth, which on the way back we unfortunately forgot to stop at. Lunch was great. We were served quinoa soup and trout, fresh from the lake with vegetables. To top it all off we got to sit outside and it was such a lovely day. I could have easily stayed here for a few more days but after lunch we had to make our way back to the boat and head back to the hotel.

The boat trip back was good fun. We got to experience an Aymaran ritual which used flowers and water from the fountain of youth to bless us. Helena ended up a lot wetter than the rest of us and we think it was the tour guide punishing her for sleeping in haha. Afterwards we were given a postcard, souvenir, certificate and glass of singani. But the highlight of the journey back definitely has to be Rodrigo and Helena driving the boat and Rodrigo acting captain giving us a 'welcome on board' speech.

When we got back to the hotel we had a hour or so to spare and what better way to pass the time than lying out on the grass in the sun dozing off listening to some Jack Johnson. We even had time to visit the playpark and have a go on the swings and Carina and I made the cutest little friend there. We took in our last views of the lake and got on the bus to head back to La Paz. The bus journey passed so quickly since we all pretty much slept the whole way.

It's always nice arriving back to our 17th floor home and views of Illimani. We ended the trip with a massive pizza delivery from Sergio's and I went to a theatre performance of Matame, por favor.