After a brief day stop in Arequipa for some present shopping we were off again to the Colca Canyon. I would love to show you loads of pictures and tell you how amazing it was, but sadly I only saw it on the way in on the bus. I spent 2 days in bed with parasites.....yuk, 4 injections and antibiotics later I was fit as a fiddle almost overnight, but had to stick to a strict diet of rice, chicken and bread for 4 days to make sure...it wasn't much fun for me (or sh...

A group outing in the morning to the Necrapolis de Chauchilla, a cemetery in the middle of the dusty landscapes, was pretty random really.... The bodies weren't originally buried here, but dug up by grave robbers for the material and artefacts that would have been buried with them. Due to the climate here, constantly hot and dry the bodies have been very well preserved and even now they are just displayed outside with a wicker canopy for protection. This area get...

A split location day, the morning was spent in the Ballestas Islands (well on a boat cruising around them) and the afternoon in Huacachina surrounded by massive sand dunes. Loads of wildlife to be seen on the Ballestas Islands.... Waddling humboldt penguins, lazing sealions, peruvian boobies, peruvian gulls and really ugly turkey hawks. I don't think I have ever seen so many birds in one place!! Literally perched on every spare bit of rock, flying, dive bombing,...

So we arrive in Lima in time for our group meeting to meet our tour leader and our group for the next 21 days! Renzo - our tour leader from Arequipa and will be in charge of booking hotels, buses, boats, trains, local tour guides and making sure we have fun! Our Group: 16 in total * 4 Canadians on break from Uni - Amanda, Gavin, Steven and Chantelle * Mum and Son from London - Mel and Roy (the son works on the Disney cruise ship in the carribbean, potential c...

A brief stop here for a border crossing on our mammoth journey from La Paz to Quito by bus. It was random, some walking through a market following dodgy local people that were supposed to be helpful, avoiding having to pay fake policeman charges or showing our passports for fear they would be stolen, some random car rides, one involving our coca leaves being taken away from us (as apparently they are illegal in Ecuador) and some taxi journeys later, we had the re...