So at 5.30am on Wednesday 9th November we were picked up by our bus to head off to the challange of the famous Inca Trail. Our worst fears were realised when we found out we were in a group containing New Zealand´s fittest family (an ex-national netball player - the mum, a triathlon athlete - the son, an equally fit dad and 2 sporty physiotherapists - daughter and husband)! Located in the Andes mountains, this is a 42km path made by the Inca empire in the 15th-...

So here we are in Cusco, high up in the Peruvian mountains. Known as the ´Navel of the world´ is it the historic capital of the facinating Inca Empire who founded the city in 1100AD. It is located within breathtaking scenery, a true mountain city with narrow steep cobbled streets, buildings clinging to the mountain sides, lovely preserved ruins, lots of llamas and local people wandering around in local dress, and stunning architecture. We think this place is o...

As Michael Palin says in his travel documentry Full Circle: ´Soroche. That's what I'm suffering from. It's a Spanish word, and has a glamorous ring to it that the English counterpart, 'altitude sickness', sadly lacks. All of us are, in varying degrees, 'soroched', and we shall spend two days here adjusting our systems for a further week of high-altitude travel that lies ahead´ We can confirm Michael Palins observations! We took off from Lima airport at 11...

After a 3 hour flight from Panama we arrived in our first South America destination: Lima, the captial of Peru. A city of 9 million and sat on the lowlands between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes mountains to the east, it is a city of contrasts. A beautiful historic centre (a world heritage site) comprising lots of very nice and sculptural palaces and churches that sit between standard office blocks and slightly run down facades. Crazy traffic (horn...