Puno and Lake Titicaca by Baz We arrived in Puno on the shore of Lake Titicaca on Monday and were delighted with our accommodation. A well run and comfortable hostel which was recommended by our bible - The South American Explorer. After getting a feel for the town we took a walk along the harbor and found a ship called the Yavari. The boat was commissioned by the Peruvian government as a gunship in 1861 and was made in England and shipped to Arica before bein...

Salkantay Trek and Machu Picchu, by Baz We had always been keen to do a trek on our way to the lost city of Maccu Picchu and, as the Inka Trail was booked up, there were 2 options: The Lares Trek took 4 days and 3 nights and was of moderate intensity, the Salkantay Trek took 5 days and 4 nights and we were told it too was not a massive challange. We went for the Salkantay option but found that it was alot tougher than originally billed. We set off from Cusco o...

Cusco, by Baz Seonaid and I are half way through our Spanish lessons and the novelty is starting to wear off. Its very intensive learning for 1 week, but we are both picking up quite a bit. We´ll stick with it.More interesting are the protests and demonstrations that are going on throughout Peru at the minute. There have been demonstrations all week and today there is a strike by one of the main Unions in Peru - the CGTP, over rising prices of food and other ne...

Cusco, by Seonaid We have arrived in Cusco, and to my surprise I`m suffering more from altitude sickness than Baz. It`s like running up a flight of stairs and not being able to get a breath into your lungs afterwards, something I`m not used to, so it`s a very weird experience. We are staying with a family in Cusco and they are just lovely. Marga can speak a little english and the son Rodrico speaks perfect english, but the granny Amada hasn`t a word of English ...

Lima - The Market Nazi, by Baz After the museum we wnet to the open air market in Miraflores. There were lots of stalls in the park where local people were selling lots of craft items. There was a very stern looking security guy patroling the area - his weapon of choice; the whistle. As he strolled around the market like a cockral keeping the hens in check, he would blow his whistle with great force at anything he deemed inappropriate. This included anyone touch...