I'm in Costa Rica!!!!! Yesterday I left Huaraz as the town descended into yet another marching band centered parade, on another fabulous Oltursa bus sat next to a Peruvian Spanish teacher who lived in New Zealand. Thanks to the gridlock in Lima I got into my hostel late, and was then out again early this morning. Everything went smoothly this time...until getting on the plane. I thought I'd lost my iPod, and the Panamanian yuppy next to me decided to get the h...

Happy Birthday to me! Of all the things to do on your 20th birthday, trek to a beautiful lake at 4600m in the Peruvian Andes is one of the best. I woke up around 4:30am to call Dad and Annabel and receive birthday wishes, before unwrapping the birthday present I've 'lugged' all this way around South America… a pack of brunch bars. Which are actually super useful! We headed off into the dark on a packed coach, back up the main highway that runs through the ...

Brief entry about yesterday's trip to Laguna Paron... Spent several hours losing feeling in my arse as I was bumped around on mountain roads on a crowded minibus, in the scorching sun! Met an Austrian, Canadian, French and Filipino who I went for Pizza with after, great Pizza! Laguna Paron was spectacular though, windy and hot (too many layers!) but still amazing, like Paramount pictures to be quite honest! One of the most spectacular places I've ever been. A...

Today 45 hours of bus rides across Peru finally hit me and I spent most of the day trying to decipher a tour guide's fast Spanish whilst barely keeping my eyelids apart. Still, the scenery and incredible ruins did at least help with that. To help re-acclimitize to Huaraz's 3600m altitude, I decided to take it easy and do a tour of Chavin de Huantar. This is one of the most significant archeological sites in Peru, the Chavin being one of the country's main pre-In...

45 Hours. In 3 days. So basically 27 out of the last 72 hours NOT on a bus.... Time to stretch my legs and regain feeling in my arse. After grabbing a delicious ceviche (Peruvian, raw seafood dish) in a streetfood market down the road from the bus station, I set off on a Palomino bus from Cusco to Lima. A 22 hour journey. The section from Cusco to Abancay, the last town we passed before dark, was spectacular. Possibly among the greatest roads in the world that o...