Monday 7th June 04 Today we woke at 7.00am, to catch the bus over the border to Puno in Peru. Only 30 minutes into the journey the bus ceased to work, so we sat on the hard shoulder of a Bolivian highway for around 40 minutes waiting for a new bus to arrive - Good Start!!! From here we were met with various road blocks from raged farmers who had dumped truck loads of rocks in the middle of the road. To take the biscuit we had to attempt bribing the elders who had organised the road block with food and money to move the boulders so that we could pass. However, after much bargaining it was decided that we could move one massive bolder to allow the bus through on the agreement that it was returned to where they must have spent hours shifting it to!!!! It was so big and heavy!!!!! We finally arrived in Puno 3 hours late, and managed to check into a 3* hotel for $20 US a night, after the receptionist wanting $35!!!! We are getting good at paying what we want!!! We went out for dinner and spent the evening in the warmth of our room watching cable TV, how sad! Puno is really cold, the annual average temperature sits at 8 degrees!!! The hats and gloves were dug out from the depths of our bags again!!! Tuesday 8th June 04 Today we booked ourselves onto a 2 day tour of the Reed Islands on Lake Titicaca, the worlds highest navigatable lake. We then visited the statute of the very first Inca which sits on the top of a hill overlooking Puno and Lake Titicaca. The view was amazing although we both nearly had a heart attack reaching it. The altitude is having a real impact on everything we do, even sleep, our heart rates never seem to slow!!!! The remainder of the day was spent getting set to leave for the trip and walking through the cobbled streets of Puno, bargain hunting!!! Wednesday 9th June 04 Today we were collected from our hotel at 8.00am to be taken to the port for the beginnings of the trip. After a short trip on the boat we reached the Reed Islands. These Islands are made solely of Reeds, which have been layered together to form the basis of the Island. It was quite strange walking on the reeds which gave at least 2 inches when you walked on them. We saw many traditional families on the islands, who live sleep and live Reeds, it was very surreal!!! From here we headed to the Amantani Island which is where we were kind of sold to the local families who took us in for the night. It was almost like being back at school on the playground where you were lined up and selected!!! We were put in a family who had endless amounts of children, all very cute, and interested in our cameras etc!!!! After some quite horrendous food, which was cooked using Cow Dung, and in appalling conditions, we hiked to the top of a mountain on the Island to watch the sunset over the village and Lake Titicaca. On Route Dan found time to stop and have a little kick around with the local children, which admittedly didn't last too long, mainly because of the altitude, not his poor fitness levels - Obviously!! In the evening after another course of the same food as which lunch consisted of, we all met up in the local village hall dressed in our families traditional clothing, only pictures can do this statement justice!!! We had a really good night and eventually returned to the accommodation for the night which was funnier rather than shocking, once again pictures will explain!! Thursday 10th June 04 Today we were awoken by our host family at 6.30am and were served a huge bowl of deep fried pancake balls, which at this time in the morning were not very appetising! We then were taken down to the boat to meet the rest of our group and boarded the boat for an hours ride to Taquille Island. After a short walk up the steep hill, we were given a brief historical outline of the island and time to admire the spectacular views of Lake Titicaca. We then walked to the main square in the middle of the island where we stopped for lunch in one of the local restaurants. We then walked down the other side of the island to our boat for our 3 hour trip back to the mainland. In the evening we met up with friends we had made on the trip - Jesse and Liz (Australian couple), Lucy and Luke (English couple) and Kate and Anna (2 English girls). The evening was spent having a feast of pizza, which was much needed after the food we ate on the island and drinking cocktails until the early hours! Friday 11th June Today we awoke slightly worse for wear and met up with Jesse and Liz who were getting the same bus as us to the town of Arequipa in Southern Peru. We arrived at 5pm after our 6 hour journey, and checked into a hostel before heading out for dinner and a look around the city. Arequipa is a beautiful city, surrounded by volcanoes and snow capped peaks! The buildings in the city are made of sillar (a volcanic rock) which glisten in the sunshine! We then had a fairly early night as feeling exhausted from the night before!! Saturday 12th June 04 Today we checked into a hotel, which was the same price as the hostel but much nicer in quality!! We then wandered around Arequipa and all booked ourselves on to a white water rafting trip for Monday - can't wait! The rest of the day was spent looking around the various handicraft markets and shops. The weather is much warmer in Arequipa than anywhere we have experienced in South America - it was time for the shorts and flip flops to be dug out from the bottom of our backpacks!! In the evening, we bought some drinks and sat on the roof terrace at the hotel to watch the sun set over the mountains - it was beautiful! We then went out for dinner in the evening and prepared ourselves for the England vs France Euro 2004 tomorrow! Sunday 13th June 04 Today we awoke early and after having breakfast we set off to an Irish bar we had previously found to be showing the football game. So we grabbed ourselves a prime viewing spot with Jesse and Liz and waited for the game to begin! Unfortunately the bar ran out of beer 20 minutes into the game and after waiting 2 hours for lunch which never turned up we decided to leave at half time. We grabbed some beers and headed back to our hotel to watch the second disastrous half of the game!!!! We then headed out for dinner in the evening, wallowing in our defeat then after a few more drinks called it a night! Monday 14th June 04 We awoke this morning, slightly hungover from last nights antics and were picked up for our white water rafting trip at 9.30am. It was 2 hours of fun, fun, fun as we rafted through grades 3 & 4 rapids down the Chile River with beautiful views of the Misti volcano in the background!! It was hard work trying not to hit the rocks, as we were told the raft would flip if we did!!! And there were some scary moments - especially on the grade 4 rapids when we all had to jump into the raft to avoid falling out as we went down a huge drop - but it was great fun!!!! In the evening we said our farewells to Jesse and Liz and boarded our bus for our 10 hour trip to Cusco. Tuesday 15th June 04 We arrived in Cusco at 6am this morning and booked into a nice hostel and got some much needed sleep! We then spent the afternoon, looking around the city and updating the website...... Wednesday 16th June 04 This morning was spent watching England beat Switzerland 3-0 in the Euro 2004 with a few beers in hand!! After the successful game we caught a taxi to the local Molino Market where everything for sale is 'hot' so to speak and we didn't get a great reception from the locals and to be honest there wasn't anything there we wanted to buy! In the evening we went our for a 4 course Mexican meal which was unbelievably cheap and took ourselves off to bed for a good night sleep in preparation for the Inca Trail tomorrow!! Friday 18th June 04 The Inca Trail begins! We awoke at 5.15am this morning and were transported by bus to Kilometre 82 - the beginning of the Inca Trail! After purchasing our bamboo walking sticks we began the hike which took us past spectacular scenery on relatively flat terrain - this was an easy start in preparation for what was ahead of us! We then stopped for lunch prepared for us by our porters who run ahead of us with all the tents and cooking equipment. New regulations state that the porters are to carry no more than 20 kilograms on their backs - but many looked like they were carrying double this! We then continued along the 9km walk of today, stopping to observe the old Inca town of Llactapata, in the valley below us. The walk continued to the first nights campsite, where we saw breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains! After a great dinner we all took ourselves off to bed to rest for the next days uphill hike! Saturday 19th June 04 We were awoken by the porters this morning at 5.30am with a nice hot bowl of water and a cup of Coca Tea (to help with the altitude). After breakfast we began our 12km hike up 45 degree hills. The first part was nothing compared to the afternoon section where we walked up huge steep steps in 30 degree heat. Everyone knew they were walking the Inca Trail today!!!! It was hard work and very exhausting but we were rewarded with amazing views when we reached the top of the mountain, named Dead Woman's Pass, at 4200 metres above sea level! The days walking was not over here however, as we had to make our way down hundreds of steps the other side mountain to the campsite in the valley below! We all questioned the size of the steps as we had been informed the Inca's were little people! We were then told that this part of the trail was restored 7 years ago due to the erosion of the rocks on the path. This was to prove to be a very cold night, so we all put on all the clothes we had in order to keep warm!! Sunday 20th June 04 Today began with an hours walk uphill to the ruins of Runkurakay, which is an old Inca Watchtower that looks over the valley. We then continued climbing uphill with a small rock in our left pockets until we reached the top where we placed our rocks on the existing piles, which is said to bring good luck. From here we began our descent into the valley via very steep and uneven rocks, as we watched the porters run past us with great balance and speed!! This led to the second archaeological site of Sayakmarka which is a well preserved Inca Town. It was fascinating to hear the history from our trail guide Oscar and imagine the Inca's living here all those many years ago!!! From this point onwards the trail is in it's original state (with smaller steps!!). We continued the hike, which became more gentle and needed after this mornings trek, passing great views of the snow-capped mountains and volcanoes in the distance. After stopping at the lookout over Machu Picchu's town - Aguas Calientes - and observing Machu Picchu Mountain we began the steep descent down through the rainforest and past the Inca terraces - used for agriculture - until we reached the final nights campsite at the bottom. We rewarded ourselves with a beer on reaching the campsite and celebrated that we had arrived 3rd and 4th out of our group of 15 - all the walking over the last 8 months has certainly paid off! This was an exhausting day but we made it in one piece and look forward to seeing the masterpiece of Machu Picchu tomorrow. Monday 21st June 04 Today was an early start at 4am in order to see Machu Picchu at sunrise. We walked for an hour and climbed on our hands and knees up very steep steps until we reached the Sun Gate - this is the original entrance of the city of Machu Picchu and from here we could see Machu Picchu in the distance and waited for the sun to appear over the mountains and light the city up! This was a spectacular sight! We then continued the walk until we reached Machu Picchu. After a short break to catch our breathes and admire the view and the llama's feeding in the grounds of the city, Oscar took us on a tour around Machu Picchu explaining all the history to us. Thirty percent of the ruins have been restored by archaeologists, as the city is crumbling and the weather is eroding the rocks used to build the city and is unfortunately situated along 2 fault lines! It was amazing to walk through the mausoleums and temples that the Inca's walked through hundreds of years ago!!! We felt lucky to be there and experience Machu Picchu before it is closed to the public due to erosion problems and felt that it was definitely worth the pain and exhaustion!!!! After spending lots of time taking photos and wandering around we caught the bus down the hill to the town of Aguas Calientes where we could relax and rest our weary bones before catching the 4 hour train back to Cusco. It was an amazing and unforgettable trip! Tuesday 22nd June 04 After a very good nights sleep we spent the day doing our laundry and feeling very clean after not showering for 4 days!!! After updating the website, we headed to the bus station to catch our 14 hour night bus to La Paz, Bolivia, only to be told that the nice bus had to be replaced with a clapped out old bus as the Bolivians will not let us through the road blocks on the other side of the border and we will be targeted as tourists. And so began the 14 hour journey...... Wednesday 23rd June 04 We were amazed to arrive in La Paz on-time, with no problems and no road blocks whatsoever! We checked into the hotel and spent the afternoon sorting out all our belongings (which seem to have doubled in size since we arrived in South America!!). We had a relaxing night watching TV and getting some much needed sleep after last nights journey!