PERU & BOLIVIA Day 23 - Lima

Lima - so much nicer than La Paz, and lots going on on a Sunday! A lazy morning (in which breakfast was 1.5 hours later than promised) involved a stroll down to Park Central and the surrounding area. We had hoped to visit the art museum but it was 30s rather than the 1s quoted in our guidebook - and our interest in art (as engineers) doesn't quite stretch that far....

Instead we headed to the free Museo de Banco, only to find it was closed on Sundays! Casting away our collection of useless guidebooks, we stumbled upon some fascinating free art galleries and baroque buildings. We also ventured into the culinary museum, a trip that would have been highly useful at the start of our trip as it would have saved us some menu translation / deciphering issues.

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 22 - Puerto Maldonado to Lima

A very leisurely morning was had, during which we ate a delicious buffet breakfast (omelette or eggs benedict anyone?) and later about, in my case, finishing my book. We were then escorted to the boat, saying a reluctant goodbye to the Hacienda Concepcion lodge. Waiting for us in the boat was our guide, Fray, who was due his six days off in thirty, and was using them to go to Cusco.

The boat took us back to the port in Puerto Maldonado, where we were bussed over to a butterfly farm near the airport. Here we found a number of beautiful butterflies. We have seen hundreds of butterflies during our time both in and out of the jungle, but it was nice to see so many different species in one place. When we had had our fill of butterflies, we went across the road to the airport and checked in.

Slightly annoyingly, our flight had been changed, which meant rather than going direct to Lima, we now stopped in Cusco. This all went smoothly however - it being a domestic flight we could remain ok the plane for the duration, and we arrived on time in Lima at about two o'clock. We have already been to Lima airport twice before, but this was the first time in the daylight. We ordered an official "Green" taxi for 55 soles, and set off towards Lima Central.

The traffic in Lima is terrible, and it took us an hour to travel 30km! We were very hungry when we arrived, so we found a nice little restaurant and orderes "Ceviche pescado" (raw fish) as well as something we couldn't translate, called "tacu tacu". We so chose this as it didn't appear to come with rice, but ironically tacu tacu turned out to be a sort of fried rice dish with beef. It was tasty though, and we rounded off out meal with two cheap, stodgy and welcomingly sweet pastries from a local bakery.

Although early, we then went back to the hotel and did some reading, before falling asleep. Personally I'm sure I'm still tired from a combination of trekking and getting up for the clay lick - doesn't bode well for my "staying awake on the plane" tactic!

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 21 - Puerto Maldonado (The Amazon)

Today's wake up call came at 04:00 - we were off to see the clay lick! We got ready and boarded the boat at 04:30, soon speeding up the brown but flat river. It took about an hour to reach our destination, where a lot of squawking birds were also waiting, poised in the trees on the bank.

A few minutes later the birds started swooping down onto the clay banks, licking them once they landed in order to get at the minerals. This is quite a (noisy) spectacle to see - and through binoculars we could identify a number of mccaw, parrot and paraket species. After having our fill of this fascinating sight, we were served breakfast on the boat, before heading back to the lodge - about an hours journey out, and a little less back as we were with the current.

When we returned we had an hour's break, before our next excursion. This was a little more local, being on the lodge's own lagoon. We picked up a cushion each (sit bones say thanks after yesterday's Lake Sandoval excursion) and clambered into a canoe. The lagoon was surprisingly large, in a winding sort of fashion, and we paddled through watching the water and banks carefully. The first things we spotted were a large group of terrapin, hovering mainly just below the murky surface. Also lurking below the surface was a well disguised white caimen, which promptly came to the surface when we came close to observe.

Once we got back to our start point, we were given fishing rods and bait, and started fishing. This proved frustrating for me, as the fish around me seemed very good at nibbling the bait off my line, without getting hooked! Peter had more luck, catching a very small dog fish, and between our group we also caught two species of piranha - which the our guide, Fray, picked up in order to show us their teeth.

After fishing, we went in for lunch (trout, no piranha in sight - apparently the small ones are very boney) and then prepared for our final excursion, which was to be a proper jungle hike. Equipped with a machete and many gumboots (wellies to you and I!) the group set off into the jungle. Rather than following wide, surfaced trails, we were now tracking through following narrow and loosely trodden paths. Progress was fairly slow and headroom limited, but eithin our first mile we had seen some monkeys and a very large and bright green caterpillar.

Another mile and a half on we came to our destination - what is known as a mammal clay like. This was a muddy lowland, with numerous mammal tracks, including wild pigs and monkeys. Given the high proportion of mammals evidently regularly visiting the area (that we were adding to), it was also popular with mosquitoes! Whilst swatting a particularly persistent one (I have seven bites on own shoulder to show for it) I spotted something move slowly in the mud - it was a huge tortoise!

For the return journey, we followed the same route, eyes peeled for things moving in the twilit jungle. Another very bright caterpillar made itself known, as well as a camouflaged, green blunt-headed snake, right  at the end of the trail. Here we said goodbye to our guide, before heading on for a much needed shower and dinner.

Today's new fauna:
- Chestnut fronted mccaw
- Orange cheeked parrot
- Blue headed parrot
- White eyed paraket
- Dusty headed paraket
- Terrapin
- Silver bellied piranha
- Golden bellied piranha
- Dog fish
- Owl
- Tortoise
- Lots of caterpillars
- Common squirrel monkey
- Dusky titi monkey
- Whip snake
- Blunt headed snake

Today's new flora:
- Brazil nut tree
- Pineapple plant
- Bamboo

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 20 - Puerto Maldonado (The Amazon)

Final guest post from Peter:

Another early start this morning (we have had a lot of these the last 2 weeks), this time for a trip to Lago Sandavol, an oxbow lake just off of the Madre de Dios river. I suspected this was probably one of our best chance to see wildlife of our time in the jungle, but this was only based on the fact that the lake is mentioned in each of our guide books. The excursion started well, a brown agouti, a rodent capable of breaking Brazil nuts with its teeth was spotted on the 5 minute walk to the dock.

Following a 5/10 minute boat ride downstream we arrived at the start of the trail to Lago Sandavol. During the 45 minute hike to the Lago we stopped to look at a cotton tree, which apparently in the right season has many pink flowers that can be seen via aeroplane, a series of ground based termite nests (these are unusual in this region as most termite nests here are based in the trees with tiny mud (or more likely poo) tunnels running up the sides of trees to reach them), and some Guayaquil squirrels (Red Amazonian Squirrels). The walk took us through the Tambopata national park buffer zone and into the national park proper where the lake is located.

Arriving at the edge of a creek we were greated by 10 or so canoes, we hopped into one of the canoes and our guide took us down the narrow creek, eyes scanning every bit of river bank alongside the narrow channel, trying to catch a glimpse of Annocondas, which apparently like this kind of area of the lake. No luck on this occasion however.

After 15 minutes silently paddling down the narrow channel it opened out into a huge Lago. We stayed close to the bank still scanning the banks and now the Lago as well for birds, giant otters, black caiman, etc. The first thing we spotted was a group of Hoatzin sitting in the trees, low on the bank. Fri, our guide explained that these are more commonly called the stinky bird, due to the way they make use of fermentation and bacteria in their gut.

We then heard that the resident and very rare family of giant otters had been spotted in the middle of the lake, so we headed over to see about 8 of them playing and swimming along. We were careful to keep our distance (70m is recommended) so as not to cause them stress. Subsequently we headed back to the shore where we spotted various different types of birds included numerous herons (I think one was a Rusfescent tiger heron), a pair of red capped cardinals, and in the water a couple of snake birds, so called because when they are in the water all you can see is its long neck and streamlined head which look and moves very much like a snake would.

We also saw a group of monkeys along the lake side. The majority were Capuchin monkeys, with a couple of common squirrel monkeys tagging along (including a mother and a baby). We watched these for a bit, in fact they were causing a bit of trouble for the stinky birds nesting nearby as we suspect the Capuchin monkeys were trying to steal the eggs.

Returning to the lodge for lunch we again spotted the red howler monkeys in the trees outside the lodge. This time I was quick enough to get the camera and get some pictures. Good good.

Following lunch we headed 25 minutes downriver by boat to do a canopy walk. This is a series of 6 rope bridges in the tree tops some 100 feet above the ground. Unfortunately for us it had rained about an hour before the visit, so our chances of seeing any of the birds were wiped out to zero. Still the rope bridges provided entertainment, particularly for Tasha who enjoyed striding across them, and also enjoyed watching my nervous face (I didn't enjoy go ape in the UK, and this was a lot lot higher, even if the bridges were more substantial (but still very wobbled!)

The final activity of the day was a night time walk around the grounds of the lodge, flashlights to hand. I was expecting to see various insects, but we actually say a lot lot more. The first sighting was a pair of porcupines hanging about in the tree, unfortunately there are no good pictures of these as one was amongst  the leaves and the other was pointing its backside directly as us most of the time, which doesn't make for the best picture! We also found various insects as expected, a stick insect, a weaver spider, a crab spider, and a huge tarantula (a chicken tarantula I think). This would easily be bigger them my spread hand with its spread legs, huge! Also spotted were a blunt headed snake resting on a large leaf and a night monkey (possibly also called an owl monkey) very near to the lodge. I was amazed to see so much so close to where we were staying (all within 5 minutes walk of the main lodge building), and it makes you realise how much more you must just walk straight past because they are so week camouflaged unless they move.

Fingers crossed for some more luck tomorrow!

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 19 - Cusco to Puerto Maldonado

Guest post from Peter - originally spelling included for authenticity:

The day started with a beautifully sunny breakfast on a rooftop terrace overlooking central Cusco. The fine weather a lovely surprise given the heavy rain the night before.

After breakfast we promptly headed to the airport and our flight to Puerto Maldonado. Arriving in Puerto Maldonado we were picked up by Jonathan from the jungle lodge we were to be staying in and headed through Puerto Maldonado to the port. The town itself looked glorious in the baking heat. Somehow a load of sunshine, bright coloured houses, and vivid green tropical trees and bushes can make any kind of architecture look splendid,  even if it is just cubes of reinforced concrete!

At the port we were provided ice cold water,  an early clue that this would be by far the most luxurious part of our trip. We boarded our boat and headed down the Madre de Dios River to our lodge, Hacienda Conception,  a former research station on the edge of the Tambopata national park. We were greater with a cold towel and a light fruity refreshment, definitely a far cry from the hostels and tents we are used to!

After a lunch we sat down to admire the jungle the other side of the mosquito netted 'windows' and spotted some of the staff looking in a tree.  Venturing outside without bug spray we found about 3 red howler monkeys hanging out in the trees. After watching them go about their business it was back inside to apply the suncream and bug spray for the afternoons activity, a short 40 minute orientation walk around the grounds of the lodge to see what we could find.  This walk mostly involved learning about the different types of tree,  the tall iron tree,  the rubber tree,  the walking tree (which walks half a metre a year to find better soil)  and the strangling fig tree, which starts as a vine climbing one tree,  but grows fast and quickly takes over the host tree kills it,  steeling its spot in the canopy.

Back at the lodge we had more time to chill and listen to the sounds of the jungle before our twighlight excursion via motorised canoe on the river at 6pm.

Sitting in complete darkness,  except for our  guide with a spotlight scanning the river we watched the darkness hopefully. We were waiting for the retinas of nocturnal animals to reflect back the light. The guide spotted a couple of red points and we moved closer to discover a white caimen resting on the bank. A couple of photos later we moved on, discovering 2 more white caimen (one on the bank one in the water)  and 2 families of capibara,  the largest rodent in the world munching on grass.

Back at the lodge dinner was served and  included a mango tart made from mangos from the grounds (there must be 1000 of mangos within a 10m radius of the lodge) and then bedtime ready for tomorrow's early start to Lago (lake) Sandavol.

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 18 - Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu to Cusco (Salkantay Trek Day 5)

Machu Picchu day! The big one! The one we had been waiting for!

03:15. Our earliest alarm yet... We were down in the lobby with the other four in our party by 04:00. Duffels stored, we set off down the dark road through Aguas Calientes towards the base of Machu Picchu. We weren't alone either - the queue for the bus had already started to form and there were a number of other headtorch-equipped groups walking down. When we arrived at the closed bridge, there were perhaps fifteen people queuing ahead of us. Within fifteen minutes there were at least a hundred behind.

At 05:00, the bridge opened, and our tickets and passports were checked as we entered it. Across the bridge we were greater with a sign showing the switchbacks of the trail up the mountain, and we started climbing the stairs, still in darkness. Light came very quickly, and we persevered up the steps, marking our progress by "ft climbed". We passed a number of people on the way, not stopping, just keeping a rhythm - with a long string of people behind. Half an hour later, we reached the top and created a third queue through the gates. I was pleased to see I was (just) the first girl up, and even more pleased that we had beaten the buses.

Most rewarding, was entering through the barriers when they opened at 06:00, and being the very first ones to reach the viewpoint of Machu Picchu. The city was bigger and more impressive than I had ever imagined. A huge feat of engineering, it sits on the saddle between two mountains, full of terraces and Inca constructions.

We found our guide, Diego, at 06:30, and had a short tour, learning about the Inca culture, civilisation and building techniques. A lot of their lifestyle seemed to be based around the sun, and they used it to measure time and keep dates. Diego said a final goodbye (after 5 days) at 08:00, at which point we set off towards the Inca Bridge. This was fairly difficult as we had ended up low down and the one way system around the city encourages you to the exit rather than back up. However we managed to find a route and set off accordingly.

We weren't really sure what we would find, but after a fifteen minute walk along a refreshingly cool path (there is little shade to be found in the city itself) we found a "temporary" bridge over a precarious part of the cliff. Presumably this could be removed if the city were to be under attack - very clever!

Getting back from the bridge, it was nearly time for us to enter "Waynapicchu". Because of the nature of this climb, tickets are limited to 400 a day, and in two groups, of which we were in the second (10:00). We joined the queue (along with a rather over friendly llama), and once our passports were checked, embarked on the route. This went down a little to start, but once it went up, it really went up! Steep rocky sections between the regular stairs required ropes to hold onto, and the stairs adjacent to the terraces near the top were so steep and tiny I had to use my hands as well as my feet to climb them! Once at the top (8900 ft) the views of Machu Picchu were unparalleled, and we stayed a while to enjoy them (and top up the suncream).

The descent was also very tricky, with a tiny cave tunnel section and some large steep steps. In the same area was Huayapicchu, a much smaller climb, which we also did and found to be pleasantly quiet at the top. We checked out of the area at midday, and made our way to the exit to stock up on water.

Re-entering for the last time, our destination was the Sun Gate. This is where those who have done the Inca trail enter Machu Picchu. Unlike all the other climbs, this was slightly more gradual. A very warm version of myself reached the gate at 13:30, abd I realised it was actually higher than the mountain, at 9000 ft. From here we had yet another perspective view on the city, which now looked very far away!

We followed the route back down, carrying on all the way to the base of the mountain this time. The bridges looked very different in the light! We continued strolling back to Aguas Calientes, looking forward to some good food and drinks. Breakfasting at 04:30 had skewed our day, so dinner at 15:30 did not feel odd and we found somewhere for a nice pizza and 4 for 1 on cocktails (we each had a pisco sour and a mojito). After "dinner" we headed back to the hotel, collected our duffels and boarded the train to Ollantaytambo.

The train was very comfortable, more like a plane in terms of service (free juice and corn). It was a shame it was not light as I would have liked to see the surroundings, but an hour and a half later we were in the bustling Ollantaytambo, being picked up by our bus, which took us right back to our hostel in Cusco, arriving at 22:00. A long but enjoyable day!

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 17 - Lucmabamba to Llacatapata to Aguas Calientes (Salkantay Trek Day 4)

In readiness for getting up for Machu Piccu, today's coca tea call was at 4:30. Thanks to the numerous cockerals calling however, we were awake and ready. We packed up our tent for the last time, had a delicious breakfast of fried egg and plantain, and set off on the morning hike.

The climb began through Lucmabamba, soon leaving the settlement and winding its way across and up the side of the mountain. We were greeted by a flock of green parrots, squawking away as they flew over us. The path had vegetation on each side, with the occasional glimpse of the increasingly beautiful view. We ourselves were getting warmer and warmer, very thankful that the sun was illuminating the other side if the mountain! The rest of our group had decided to rest this morning, so we were able to take a more normal pace for us. This meant an hour and forty-two minutes later (I know this exactly as it was a record by six minutes for our guide!) we were at the summit, which was a surprising clearing of mossy trees and hanging climbing plants.

There was no view at this particular point, so we descended a little to a stone structure which was an Inca checkpoint. From here we could look out into the distance for our first view of Machu Piccu itself! This was amazing, the mountains looming through the sparse clouds. We enjoyed this view for a while, recovering from the climb, a total ascent of 2500ft.

We had to descend even more than this - 2750ft in fact. However, although this was steep, the narrow, winding path was enjoyable. We could hear the river and some very vocal but not biting insects, as we clambered down through alternate patches of sun and shade. At the bottom was a very long and  questionable suspension bridge, which we crossed one at a time, before getting into a taxi (I wasn't expecting this) to the entrance to the Machu Piccu National Park. Here we wrote down our names and passport numbers - quite common for this information to be asked for here - and got back into the taxi until we got to Hidroelectrica, which is at the start of the railway.

A few minutes walk along the railway and we were at our lunch stop (at 09:00!) and waited for the others to arrive. The day went fairly downhill from here, as we waited two hours for the others to arrive, and for a the small amount of food for lunch (we had said goodbye to our own chefs at breakfast). We then waited another half hour before setting off on the last trek of the tour.

This involved walking from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes via the train line that connected them. Thankfully, there weren't many trains - we saw three in the three hours it took - but it was quite uncomfortable walking on the rocks around the sleepers. The track goes around Machu Picchu, so we were able look up (a long way!) towards what we would be exploring tomorrow. We could also look up at the incoming rain clouds, which came with some impressive thunder! Waterproofs on, we continued on for the second half of the walk, finally reaching Aguas Calientes.

The town itself must have an extremely transient population; this was evident by large number of hostels, restaurants and minimarkets - in a somehow much less quiant way than Cusco. Our guide showed us to our hotel (not much use as we wouldn't have our belongs for a few hours) and then nearby we found a lovely bakery where we treated ourselves to a carne empanado and some cakes for tomorrow. We also stocked up on some snacks, knowing how much climbing was to come and how hungry we got today.

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 16 - Chaullay to Collpapampa la Playa to Lucmabamba (Salkantay Trek Day 3)

Coca tea in the tent this time! When we opened the flap we could see the remnants of the sunrise behind the mountain, a lovely clear day. After breakfast our duffels left us, this time destined for a car, and we left, scarring along the side of the valley.

At the base of the valley was a glacial river, and the sides were very steep indeed, due to landslides and erosion. The track we followed was suitably for cars and therefore very easy going. This meant that along the way we could look at the waterfalls and native plants, which included types of fern and a lot of fuchsias.

After descending a long way, we crossed the river (via a rather dubious but pretty bridge) and climbed a little way up the opposite side to a snack stop. This really was the worst place to snack as there were two horrible dogs sniffing around, as well as a much cuter buy equally hungry donkey. A shame as there have been so many lovely points to stop!

Thankfully, the path that carried on from here was much more interesting. It narrowed into a single track, and although still on the side of the mountain, each side was full of fascinating flora and fauna. We were shown corn plants, "superglue", butterflies and avocados. At our next stop we also saw passion fruit growing, and got to taste some, which was delicious, and perfect for the warm, humid conditions. The bugs also liked the conditions, so we made sure to spray ourselves well.

After this, we carried on through the highland jungle, taking in everything around us. This included, at one wooden hut, some honey made with passion fruit, and some hydromiel - a mead-like drink made from the honey. Beyond this, the trail continued down the valley with the same luscious planting, right down to river level, where a bus was waiting to take us on.

First stop on the bus was to our lunch stop. This seemed very popular with many groups, as well as with the mosquitos. I was in my "not feeling like food" phase, but managed some of the tasty ceviche trout appetiser, as well as some guacamole and "nachos" (filo pastry - still good with dip though). After lunch we said goodbye to those on the four day trip (we were on the full five day excursion) and got back on the bus.

The bus took us on to Santa Teresa, where some hot springs were waiting for us. These were four pools of varying temperature - much larger than I expected! To the extent where I could swim widths across the coolest one, which was a fantastic way to relax the muscles after a long hike - in particular,  my quads, which were a little stiff from yesterday's six hour downhill...

A couple of hours later, and finally clean (yay) we caught our transport back to our campsite at Lucmabamba. We hadn't seen this yet, so we were introduced to our tents, and then it was happy hour. Today's filo pastries were filled with guacamole rather than cheese - a nice surprise for some (not me) and there was still plenty of popcorn. Dinner itself was more rice, meat and potato, with the addition of tofu for variety.

After dinner, we said our goodnights, and just as we were heading to our (warm) tents, it started to rain! Big, loud raindrops pounded onto the tin roof, adding to the jungle-like atmosphere as we left the dining area and went to bed.

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 15 - Soraypampa to Wayracpunku to Chaullay (Salkantay Trek Day 2)

This morning we were woken by a knock on the door at 05:00 and some coca tea. Great in principle but unfortunately I always wake to needing the loo so I didn't manage much. Half an hour later and we were at breakfast (which included fried plantain - yum!) and then soon after set off on our trek up the Salkantay Glacier. For us the ascent was fairly easy, but people were going frustratingly slowly and taking lots of breaks, so I found it very cold. It was a relief to reach a plateau ("pampa") were the sun finally peaked over the mountain and warmed us up. Here we "made photos" before continuing up a steeper ascent consisting of seven switchbacks, enjoying the sun and the sunny views both down the valley and up the glacier.

At the top of this was a much chillier pampa, where the wind whistled through but shelter could be found behind large rocks. From here we made another ascent, finally reaching the top of the Salkantay Pass (4630m), where we waited for our group and watched the clouds come in from the other side.

The start of the descent was therefore very much in the clouds, but it created a different and quiet atmosphere. We weaved through the rocks down the mountain until reaching the bottom of the cloudiness, here the scenery opened up into a green valley vista. Still a bit damp, we continued on for a couple hours until a welcome lunch spot, next to a glacial river.

The descent turned out to be very long indeed, as it took us another three hours to get to the campsite. On the way we were passed by many horses (carrying people's belongings) and eight very daring mountain bikers! The vegetation became taller and denser as we descended, with a number of interesting fuchsias and bamboo plants too.

Camp today was more traditional, and we were treated to a large tent which was covered by a reed and rebar structure (presumably for wind protection). This turned out to be fairly cosy, and a fairly good night's sleep was to be had by most, especially after a huge three course dinner which was preceded by delicious popcorn, cheese-filled pastries and apple sponge cake!

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 14 - Cusco to Mollepata to Challacancha Soraypampa (Salkantay Trek Day 1)

We were picked up this morning at 05:45 (the Peruvian version of 05:00 - 05:30!). With us we had our special duffels and a day bag - leaving our big "moletas" at the hostel. The rest of our group was already in the van (somehow we have always been the last pick up this holiday!) and consisted of two girls from Lille, Perinne and Sarah, American ladies Susan and Marie-Beth, American/Spanish couple Christy and Rodolfo, and British couple Wendy and Roger.

Two chilly hours later and we arrived in Mollaypata,  where we had a bite to eat before heading on for another 40 minutes to Sayllapata, where our trek began. Our duffels were loaded onto very wet looking horses, whilst we wrapped ourselves up in waterproofs. On the drive up the vegetation had gotten greener and greener, I guess because of the regular rain! We set off with our guides Diego and Eddison up the mountain. I found the group generally a bit slow, and they took many breaks on a short ascent. Hoping this was everyone just finding their hiking legs, we continued along the path, which itself was adjacent to a canal. As our path was apparently descending gradually into the head of the valley, we found it interesting that the canal was flowing in the opposite direction. The explanation for this was that there were short steep, downhill ramps to give the water rmomentum.

At the end of this descent, maybe an hour later, we reached our overnight "camp" at Soraypampa (3920m). Instead of the tents we were expecting to find, there were very cute-looking mini observatories! These were cosy pods for two people, with a very small door. The view from them included two glaciers, and once the clouds cleared was quite stunning. We ate lunch in a bigger pod, and then went to prepare our belongings for an afternoon hike up to Humantay Lake (4200m). As our group were a little slower, we followed some other groups up a steep climb for an hour, at the top of which an amazing, blue glacial lake was revealed. This was reflecting the glacier which fed it, and with the sun bouncing off it was certainly worth the climb!

When the sun was lost behind the mountain, we made our way down the slope (which was tough on the knees!), meeting our group on the way down. Once at our camp, I was looking forward to getting into a nice warm pod. Unfortunately, glass in a metal frame wasn't the best insulator and at was surprisingly chilly, but we took the cover off anyway in order to watch the rest of the sunset.

After this, we were served our pre dinner snacks ("Happy Hour") which consisted of hot chocolate and fresh salted popcorn - very welcome! Dinner was next, a traditional meal but tasty of quinoa soup follwed by meat, rice and potatoes. After this, we were so tired, with a final call of "sleep like babies, don't make babies" from the guides, we went to bed. From here we could see the almost-full moon, but unfortunately not many stars, as there was a thin cloud cover and rather thick condensation layer...

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 13 - Cusco

I had forgotten that it got light an hour earlier here, so our 5:45 get up was more pleasant than anticipated. An hour later we were waiting to be collected for our day trip, and half an hour later than that we finally left the city in our minivan. One thing I noticed on our journey (and this is really sad) is the first evidence of rebar safety capping! Ok, so there aren't any specific caps, but I saw a few improvisations with plastic bottles and buckets, which seemed to be working fairly well (the former better than the latter). On the subject of rebar, I've found two more uses for it - window decoration and a hat stand!

Our first stop was a village called Chinchero. Here there was evidence of ceremonial and functional inca structures, as well as a very ornate Catholic church. The village and church were situated as such in order to make use of a a clean water source. We had bought a combined ticket for the day (four sights, 70 soles) and although Chinchero wasn't top of our list to visit, did enjoy walking around it.

Next and very nearby (albeit our driver had to ask for directions and make a u-turrn -  worrying) was Moray. This sight shows evidence of ancient terraced farming practices. Although we had already seen a few of these, Moray was particularly impressive as the terraces were in concentric circles, and scaled to quite a height! The top levels are more suited to certain plants, and the bottom to others. Access is provided down the terraces by small stone steps protruding from the retaining walls, and the system is self-draining. At Moray there were three sets of circles for us to see, with a great glacial backdrop.

Onwards from Moray, and really noticing the surprisingly hot weather now, we went to Salineras.  These are a set of salt terraces, each with a salt "pond", where the natural salt water was mixed by hand with clay, then left to evaporate to give salt crystals. On the way down we were able to taste the different types of salt, and learn about the processes. Once down, it really was an impressive valley of terraces, not something I've seen before.

Next stop was lunch - for most of the group consisting of a buffet. I was feeling quite ill at this point (a combination of hot weather and lunchtime in Peru it seems) so we ducked out of the buffet and for half the price got half a chicken, a large portion of fries and a great unlimited salad bar. Perfect if you were hungry (thankfully Peter was - we seemed to have swapped roles) and great value. I enjoyed the salad but did feel a little rushed  as we had just 15 minutes to get back to the bus. What we hadn't factored in was that these were 15 Peruvian minutes, and actually, the bus didn't leave for another 55 minutes after that! Frustrating (and worrying as we temporarily thought they may have vanished without us....).

Still heading away from Cusco, after half an hour or so we reached Ollantaytambo. This was what I was looking forward to least from the pictures (which seemed to be of four stone slabs and little else) but actually, these slabs were set on the top of an impressive set of terraces, which we climbed. It was very busy here as our slow lunch allowed the tourist trail to catch up with us, but we could appreciate the scale of the construction, and also observe the "face" carved into the rock face on the opposing valley. There were also small dents in the terrace faces, which echoed as I spoke into them. These were apparently used to communicate with other inca communities - very interesting.

Leaving Ollantaytambo (where we will return to in just under a week) we set off an the long journey to Pisac. Thankfully for me, the road became flatter and straighter and I finally started to feel less ill! At Pisac the bus climbed up the slope behind the town and stopped in a layby halfway up. From here we could see the terraces on the opposite side, as well as a number of caves. These caves were used as cemeteries for inca mummies. The terraces were used for the less gruesome purpose of farming - by whole communities - with the Inca philosophy of "share, work, love and knowledge" keeping everyone together. Unfortunately (and from our suspicion, due to the very long and odd lunch) we were too late to enter the sight itself, so we returned to Cusco, arriving for just before 19:00.


At 19:00 we arrived at the Salkantay Trekking office for our briefing for tomorrow's trek. Here they told us some key information about the route, and provided us with a duffle bag to pack for the horses. When we got back to our hostel, we packed these bags (guessing at the 7kg allowance as we do not have scales). I also spotted that the hostel had a book exchange which was great as I had just finished my book. I had also very strangely acquired a book in my luggage somewhere on the flight between La Paz and Cusco. I could see that someone had gone through my luggage but found it really bizarre that they had put something in! Anyway, the silver lining was that I had another book to exchange (I couldn't understand the language of the one I had obtained) and hence read.

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 12 - La Paz to Cusco

Time to leave La Paz! We are getting accustomed to this journey now - it being our third time at La Paz airport. Our taxi seemed to be booked very early (I think the hotel receptionist just needed a ride at that time) so we got to the airport in plenty of time. Strangely, the international departures area was much smaller and less well fit out than the domestic one, albeit with a massage parlour. We settled down to wait for our plane, spending our last twenty three Bolivianos on an "Empanado con queso" and a bottle of water I successfully haggled for as we didn't have enough money. It was a relief not to be subject to an airport tax (which can be $25pp), we weren't quite sure whether this was included in our ticket.

Our plane was large by recent standards, and turned out to be carrying on to Lima. Flying  We (and our baggage) successfully disembarked at Cusco however, being given free water on the way out! I had asked for "sin gas" and the bottle read as such,  yet when I opened the bottle at was definitely "con gas". Disappointing - but our depleting bottle collection got a much needed boost.

We couldn't find our booked taxi (possibly because our flight had taken off and landed twenty minutes early - so we picked one that looked fairly professional. He drove us into Cusco, kindly taking us a long way around to give us a guided tour of what is effectively the high street, before ousting us over a kilometre from our hostel because "the road was being dug up". Admittedly this particular road was being dug up, but the one our hostel was on wasn't, and there was a fairly simple three-sides-of-a-rectangle workaround. However, we found ourselves walking along the pavement beside said dug-up and very muddy road. I had noticed that the locals tend to carry everything (market stalls, food, toddlers) on their backs in big swathes of cloth, but until I came to drag my bag along the pavement didn't fully understand the reasoning behind this. The uneven surface and large holes soon made this impossible and my bag was converted to rucksack-mode for the reminder of the walk. Large staircase defeated, we found our hostel, which, thanks to the gain in height, had a great view over the city! We also had a room for six to ourselves which was nice - and it boasted carpet which I had forgotten existed.

A quick turnaround and we were back in Cusco, looking at things to do for the next day. After a disappointing lunch (not sure the people here like us....) settled on a full day tour of the Sacred Valley for tomorrow.  In the afternoon we visited Quoricancha - a religious collection of buildings which was an interesting mix of colonial and Inca architecture. The Inca sections demonstrated the accurate cutting and placing of stones to build. Also apparent was the strength of the earthquakes in 1650 and 1950, from the huge cracks in the stone.

The whole of Cusco is a fascinating mix of architecture, but everything marries well, tied together by large plazas and cobbled streets. In the evening we explored the city itself, having a much more successful meal (where we witnessed roasted guinea pigs being eaten - not something I fancied myself!) before returning to our hostel ready for an early start the next day.

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 11 - La Paz

Guest post from Peter to mark halfway:

Today's plan was simply to explore La Paz,  and see what the city has to offer. From previous journeys through the city to and from the airport we had already worked out that it was a busy 24 city with roads filled with people and cars both very early in the morning and late at night.

We started our day wandering down to the Plaza San Francisco and visited the church that stands over the plaza with the same name. Much like the cathedral in Puno the dark grey stone was contrasted by the floor to ceiling gold at the front of the church.

We then wandered up through the streets to Murillo Square where the government buildings and palace are located. A further short walk away was Calle Jean - an old  narrow colonial street with acres of charm. Back down the hill we headed to the markets through what must have been the 'extruded shapes' district of La Paz,  as every shop was offering extruded engineering fittings for some purpose or another. We also passed through a district selling clothing for trades. This reminded me very much of my Dad's old shop,  Bishops Overalls, in the centre of Brighton. In the UK these kind of shops aren't centre of town high street affairs any more, so it was interesting to see a district of these shops here.

We quickly passed through  the indoor market, and found the witches market. We had heard that some strange stuff was sold here,  including dried Llama foetuses. Assuming this was a bit of a myth and that you'd only find things quiet this weird if you looked hard at the back of every shop we were surprised to turn the corner to find lots of tiny fluffy llamas hanging from the ceilings of every stall. It's probably worth pointing out that no baby llamas are intentially killed and sold,  so their existence is more sad than barbaric. The following streets had stall after stall of more regular offerings with people, stalls and traffic fighting for space. I'm not quiet sure the logic of the market though. Why spring onion stalls were interspersed with the bathroom and lighting stalls rather than the other fruit and veg establishments I'll never know!

Next we headed to some of the southern districts to catch the Austrian built cable car. This is not a tourist attraction, but actually a new public transport system in La Paz. There are currently 3 cable car lines in total with more planned. We caught round trips on the green and yellow lines to get a birds eye view of many of La Paz's districts,  most of which cover the sides of steep mountains.

Back in the old town after a late lunch we explored some of the touristy shops selling all kinds of knitware, and visited the Mueso de Coca which,  as the name suggests is dedicated to the controversial coca leaf. We learnt about its history, the origin of chewing coca leaves (which is common place here), and also a bit about its most famous product; cocaine (Coca-Cola probably comes a close second).

This just about concluded our time in La Paz and Bolivia. Tomorrow it's back to Peru!

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 10 - Uyuni to La Paz

After last night's hot spring pool experience I was keen to see what the view from the pool would be like at sunrise. It just so happened that I woke naturally at 05:30, so we wrapped up and wandered down to a stunning scene of steam, flamingoes and the first rays of sunlight. With my legs (and hands) in the warm and empty pool, I enjoyed a serene and beautiful moment.

Wondering back up the hill to the hotel was chilly, but it had definitely been worth the excursion. By now our roommates were awake so we packed, breakfasted and left the hotel, still heading south. The scenery this time was very desert themed - in particular we paused at the "Dali Desert", names as such as it inspired many of Salvador Dali's pieces.

Further on through the desert we got to Laguna Verde, which, due to the combination of sun and wind conditions, wasn't actually green. However, it was still a huge expanse of beautiful lagoon, with clusters of sleeping flamingos, and a quiet stillness. We took some photos here as it was officially the end of the tour for those continuing on to Chile (we were heading back to Uyuni).

Our jeep made a effective u-turn here, and we retraced our journey back to the hot spring hotel before turning north east towards Uyuni. This drive was to take a total of seven hours, but with plenty of lovely Bolivian scenery (and a few short naps) to keep us occupied.

Once back in Uyuni, we ate pizza from the "MinuteMan" (not the Spicy Llama pizza, but it was good) before boarding our 45 minute flight back to La Paz.

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 9 - Uyuni

An early morning for most (a lie in for me!) had us leaving the land of salt and heading South. I was feeling fairly refreshed after what was my best night's sleep yet, and enjoyed looking at the changing landscape on the way to our first stop. This was a small village, where we bought some essentials, used what was apparently the last bano for a while, and hiked up to a small monument. This gave us a good view of the town, which was fairly well looked after (there were roofs, render and not too much rogue rebar) as well as a pretty river and footbridge. The town was very quiet though, and on the way out we discovered that most of the locals were working (or appearing to work) on the road out of the town. For the privilege of passing through, we were charged one 2L bottle of water.

Further on along this road, the valley opened up to include a flat green river bed (more like a stream at this dry time of year) which was being grazed on by many llamas. We strolled amongst them, keeping far enough away not to scare them, yet close enough to capture them on camera. Also amongst them were a number of ibis and flamingos, which were fascinating too.

Next for us to look at was a plant that is native to these parts. Liking the altitude, it had a very fine moss appearance and colour. It's shape was bulbous, with spherical nodules, and it stood out against the ragged red rock. Inspecting the plant was a chilly process, and from here on our stops were to get progressively more exposed to the wind and colder.

Saying that, the lunch spot was sheltered, with a great view of a lagoon in the distance. Here we were instructed to use "llama banos" (hide behind piles of rock) before walking on up the hill whilst the guide packed away lunch - which had included plantain, yum! Although I do like a post-meal stroll, at 14,500 ft this just didn't have the same pleasure factor as normal, and by the time I got back into the jeep I was feeling fairly nausious.

Fortunately, there was more stunning scenery to distract me. Also, our guide, Alberto, has a collection of different memory sticks with music on, and the pink one seemed to be mostly to my taste (plenty of Black Eyed Peas and Sean Paul...), so this made the long journeys more enjoyable than otherwise....

We reached a big bowl-like area, within which was a whiteish lagoon, and a tornado! Avoiding the latter, we parked up and I got out to get a closer look at the lagoon, which was full of flamingos. I could watch flamingos for a long time - their flight and wingspan is beautiful, and their walking style is a lot more elegant than mine.

Back in the jeep and still feeling quite sick, I decided that the time had come to resort to the cocoa leaves. I grabbed a few from the bag and chewed them into the side of my mouth. To my surprise I instantly felt a little better! This enabled me to enjoy the "Rock tree" - which is pretty much as it sounds. Erosion due to wind (it doesn't rain here) had cause a rock to erode in the shape of a tree, which provided us with a good two minutes' entertainment. Better were the big rocks spread distinctly about the area, on which I could practice climbing.

The next stop was much much more entertaining. The "Red Lagoon" lived up to its name (apparently it doesn't always - a certain combination of sun and wind is required) and boasted three types of flamingo. We wandered around in the sandy slope admiring the view and taking photographs (and inadvertently filling me shoes and socks with sandy dust) before getting back into the jeep to drive along the lagoon "coast" to the National Park entrance. Here we each bought a ticket for 150 Bs, getting our passports stamped too.

Onwards from the entrance we came across a very lively and steamy thermal area. This included many pools of mud, bubbling and squirting away, as well as steaming springs. Unlike when I saw a similar area in New Zealand - here there were no barriers, and we were free to just walk and drive amongst the pools. Funnily enough, there have apparently been accidents in the past!

The sun was now starting to set, so we left the pools and soon arrived at our hotel. Here, we were roomed in groups of four, and compared to the salt hotel it was very basic. There was no electricity (apart from lighting between 19:00 and 21:30) and no water. There was however, a lovely hot spring pool a few hundred metres from the hotel, so after dinner I took myself down there for a dip. I was a bit dubious about getting undressed in freezing cold temperatures, but the water was amazing! The 40 degrees water was very relaxing, and I happily gazed at the stars and the moon until bedtime. 

PERU & BOLIVIA Day 8 - La Paz to Uyuni

Up at 4:30, taxi at 05:00. Not unfamiliar but not welcome after arriving in La Paz at 23:00 last night! We received a number of warnings about taxis - ours looked legitimate but at the same time dodgy, with no wing mirror or seat belts. However, it got us to the airport vaguely on time, and we checked into our flight without any issues. This was pretty good going, especially seeing as Amazonas had emailed me just 48 hours previous to let me know that the flight was now an hour and a half earlier. What if I hadn't managed to get online?

La Paz airport is very high up, and unfortunately I felt rather nausious on arrival and eating breakfast. I thwrefore spent most of the breathtaking 43 minute flight (they were very specific about this) trying to keep breakfast down. Thankfully the extremely fresh air at Uyuni helped, and by the time we had reclaimed baggage - ie picked our bags up off the floor - I felt much better.

Our earlier flight meant we now had a few hours to wait until the tour started, so we checked into our tour and then wondered into Uyuni in search of water. Although slated by the guidebooks as somewhere to spend "not more than an hour" and indeed the tributes to the railway were fairly ugly, we did find a charming and bustling little market to explore.

After a rather tedious wait we were packed into our jeep of six plus driver, and set off on a short drive to a train cemetery. With the desert-like backdrop, this was rather ominous, but I had fun climbing the rusting trains, and marvelling at the sheer number of rivets to be found. Thankfully we moved on fairly quickly, our next destination being Colchani, a town of maybe five hundred inhabitants, where salt is processed. Here, for 2 Bs, we witnessed a bag of salt being sealed, and an awful lot of trinkets being sold to tourists. I was most interested in a sign saying "Please pay here to see biggest llama" and will forever be wondering how big that llama was!

Finally, we moved onto the salt flats, and what an incredible phenomenon they are! Perhaps not quite as white as I imagined (although still definitely requiring sunglasses and suncream - my parting is still painful from Day 2!), but even more expansive. We drove for about twenty minutes before seeing a sign of life - in the form of lots of similar groups lunching at the non-functional Playa Blanca salt hotel. Apparently it was too expensive to bring water to run the hotel viably, but we were glad to sit and eat the food we had brought there.

Next, we drove to a fairly isolated spot on the flats for some photography opportunities (turns out lying on the hexagonal shaoed ridges is very painful and does funny things to your clothes) before heading over to Inca Huasi, otherwise known as Cacti Island. Rearing itself out of the flats, this was a truly spectacular and bizarre place. It's base originally coral in the Lake that dried to form the salt flats, the island was covered in large cacti. Standing proud in the afternoon sun, the cacti were intriguing to walk around (although not to close to) and the backdrop of salt flats and mountains was inspiring.

Indeed, once done on the island (30 Bs and two free bano trips - bargain) I once again admired the mountains from the spot that we stopped at for sunset. At this point it got very cold and breezy, so once the sun had set in an orange haze, we hopped into the jeeps and onto our hotel for the night, which just so happened to be made of, yes, salt. Salt bricks, tables and stools awaited us. Even the bedroom floors were salt crystals, which I found intriguing until someone rather accurately described then as being similar to a cat litter. After that I was less thrilled by the prospect of the floors.

Tea was served when we had settled in, followed by a dinner of vegetable soup, meat and chips. At least a spicy ketchup was provided for me to douse this fairly plain dinner in....