20th May 2005 Today I left for Cuzco, the home of Machu Pichu!!! Ben decided he wanted to hop over to Bolivia for a few days so we decided to meet up in Cuzco next week. I took the 'Pony Express'bus to Cuzco which took nearly 9 hours!!! More like 'Donkey Express'! It should have been a 5-6 hour bus ride but the driver kept stoping at every town on the way and we we got stopped twice by the Police at several villages who insisted they search the bus!!...

19th May 2005 Today we took a small ride to the town of Sillustani. Sillustani is surrounded by hills and a huge lake, not to disimilar to Scotland! It was once dominated by the Colla and Lupaca tribes and they buried their nobility in funerary towers known as 'Chullpas' on the hill tops. These round towers are reminiscent of Inca stone work. The highest one reaches 12m and there used to bury the whole family in the them. At the top were met by so...

18th May 2005 Another early start, this time we headed for the great Lake Titicaca. We took a days boat tour around the unique Islas Flotantea, of the Uros people. These are floating reed islands and are just amazingly built and last about 8yrs before they have to make a new one to live on. Each Island houses a family with several huts (& a TV). We were allowed to hop onto one of the Islands and met the Uros people, who have now basically set it up...

17th May 2005 Today we caught the bus the Puno, which is inland and set on the edge of Lake Titicaca. The highest town we stay in at 3830m. The bus ride took just over 6 hours and the more in land you go the more the scenery remainds me of the highlands of Scotland, even the Peruvians called this area the Highlands! Although the town itself is not as nice as Arequipa! More back to how we've known it, run down and lots of dogs on the streets, and bloo...

16th May 2005 5.30am we had to get up!!! 5.30am, I ask you!!! But it was well worth it! We travelled into the Colca Canyon, on the way the Cruz del Condor, we stopped and viewed the amazing Inca Terracing, the best I've seen yet and some of the tombs which were set half way up the cliff faces. Arriving at the Cruz del Condor at around 9am, set in the heart of the Canyon, where you can look over the edge and suffer big time vertigo! We sat and wa...