We didn't know what to expect from Arequipa but we were pleasantly surprised! When we first pulled into the city on a night coach it looked huge! With over 1 million people it was going to be big but when we arrived in the centre it was like a small beautiful Spanish city. With old buildings built of big white rock and mostly colonial features on every street it was really nice to chill and mooch about town. First day we went on a free walking tour, always the...

First stop in Peru was across lake Titicaca in the town of Puno. Only a very short stop there of one day to visit the floating islands. The Peruvian side of the lake is smaller and also much shallower than in Bolivia, sometimes just 10m deep. Interesting make up of a few hundred families that literally live on floating islands made up of compressed mud, hay and other materials! More of a tourist destination now but the communities do still live and work on the i...

5 day trip into the Amazon Rainforest and we had everything in store for us from piranha fishing and alligator spotting to camping in the high jungle. Each day we spent with the lead guide Villi and his assistant Gustavo, both of which turned out to be absolute legends by the end of the trip! First 2 nights at our own personal lodge built within a clearing on the Yarapa and Cumaceba creek and second 2 camping further into the 'high jungle'. Day 1: The trip st...

So we headed North of Lima to Iquitos, a city that's built up inside the jungle and only accessible by plane and boat! Main plan of the stay was a bit of sightseeing round the city with an Amazon trip sandwiched in between! Although the city has over half a million people living in it, it has a nice feel to it, small streets with low rising buildings and locals always pottering around outside on the street of their properties with family and friends. Also very ...

So, first week in South America and the next leg of the trip! 24 hours later and we arrived in Lima, Peru. Didn't know what to expect from Lima or South America and only herd a few things. Strangest feeling in the city was that downtown, the coastal district and the main tourist areas were exactly like a Spanish city would be. Obviously expecting Spanish influence from the colonial era but unbelievable how much of the culture remains! Hit all the main sites, da...