Back in Lima again, I started to feel quite settled in there. It is a huge city with many distinctly different districts so I was only familiar with small parts of it but I was really comfortable there - I had a good deal on a hotel in Miraflores (a nice room with cable TV and helpful staff for less than the price of some hostels in that area), I could go to Starbucks by Parque Central for breakfast, the internet cafe on Tarata street to sort out my travel plans,...

Iquitos is a city in the jungle in the Northeast of Peru, on the banks of the Amazon River. It is the largest city in the world that is not accessible by road - it can only be reached by plane from Lima or by boat. The first thing I noticed when I landed was the shocking heat and humidity. The second thing was probably the lack of cars - they are few and far between, with motorbikes and 'motocarros' (the same as tuk-tuks in Thailand) by far the most common method...

I felt incredibly relaxed in the beautiful, tranquil, comfortable surroundings of the Muyuna Lodge in the Amazon Rainforest - I had not a care in the world as I dozed in my hammock on the balcony overhanging the water, watching fish splashing and listening to the birds chirping during the day and the frogs croaking at night. The lodge served great food and had the perfect balance between activities and free time to relax. Several times a day I would go for excur...

I previously had a day and a half in Lima when I passed through on the tour but I was sick and in bed most of that time and consequently I didn't get to see much of the city. I liked what I had seen so I was very keen to go back and explore some more. In these five days I was lucky enough to meet up with a few friends and go to some nice places while, in between times, I was organising a trip to the Amazon Rainforest in the north of Peru. I was sitting on the pl...

When I was in Rio and I decided to extend my trip I knew that I could hang out with Helena for a couple of weeks in Mexico but beyond that I had no idea what I was going to do or how long I was going to stay on the road. I considered going to Cuba but it was difficult to arrange that in a rush. What I wanted was to be based in one place that I liked for a little while so that I could think about what I was going to do and contact people back in London. When I tho...