Just enjoying a few free days back in Cusco after returning from M Picchu. The ruins really are as spectacular and magical as people say. Despite it being the rainy season here and hours of torrential rain ahead of our visit to the site, when we arrived at the ruins at about 7.30 in the morning, the clouds cleared and the sun came out and we were able to see MP in all its glory. The visit included a very informative guided tour plus lots of free time o just walk ...

Evening all back home. Just spent the morning in an unseasonably sunny Cuzco doing some horse riding around the inca ruins in the countryside outside of the city. Evidence attached! As its low season I was the only one on the tour so had a private tour around the ruins of the Moon Temple and Saqsaywaman, another Inca site otherwise known as "sexy woman". Really nice way to see some of the countryside and the sites without being in a tour bus and mastered horse ...

Ahead of visiting Machu Picchu and as a starting point for those brave enough to do some trekking in the rainy season in Peru we took a trip out of Cuzco for a couple to days to see the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The landscape was stunning and on the way to the main ruins in Ollantaytambo we called into a little village called Pisac which has an Inca citadel high above the village with a plunging gorge on either side. I have attached a picture of a very cheerfu...

To start our tour of the Andes we had to take our first night bus. I was a little dubious about what this would be like but it was actually very comfortable. We were on the " posh bus" according to Manuel. This including almost fully reclining seats, food, drinks, blankets and films. The next morning we woke up in the city of Arequipa, Peru's second largest city which is surrounded by volcanoes and the magnificent Andean mountains. I spent the afternoon having a...

It's been a busy week since landing in Lima on the 26th so lots to update you with in little instalments. On my first night in Lima we decided to go out in the district of Miraflores. This is a very nice new area where most tourists end up and is rather European filled with nice shops and upmarket restaurants. On my arrival I went on a wander nod was very excited to stumble across the Peruvian version of House of Fraser. It had a Clarins, Clinique and even a War...