8th - 9th October 2008: This morning we head down to the Lake on bike taxis and catch our boat to the island of Taquile. We meet our guide Carlos and he gives us a quick lesson in Aymara, the local dialect. The scenery is stunning and once we get to Taquile we walk to the top for an even better view. On the way we stop for lunch with a local family, we hear about the hats the men wear which distinguish them as single or married, and the traditions surrounding ...

6th - 7th October 2008: Today we leave Cusco for Puno, a day ealier than planned because there is going to be a public transport strike tomorrow which affects our travel plans. Have a last wander round the streets of Cusco, Naledi and I decide to treat ourselves to something to remind us of the amazing time we had on the Inca Trail, so she gets a ring and I get a necklace, both with the southern cross symbol on them. Arrive into Puno late and collapse. This mo...

2nd - 5th October 2008 - THE INCA TRAIL!!! This morning we get picked up by our guide for the Inca Trail, Efrahin (Efra). We head off for the start point at km 82, have a family photograph and get our passports stamped before we start our first day of walking, which will be approximately 11km long. Luckily Efra is a great guide and reminds us to take it easy while being happy to let us set our own pace. We pass our first Inca ruins at Llactapata and luckily our t...

1st October 2008: We leave Cusco ihis morning and head to Ollantaytambo, a small town from where we will be starting the Inca Trail. We´re all vey excited given that this trek is one of the highlights of our trip - none of us can quite believe that tomorrow we will be walking the Inca Trail!! We take a quick walk around town, from where we can see some nearby Inca ruins. We walk to the market and decide it would be wise to buy some ponchos in case of rain on...

30th September 2008: We arrive in the pretty city of Cusco early in the morning and all head off for a huge fry-up, which is very welcome indeed! We visit a nearby factory selling products made from alpaca wool, and after feeling how soft it is my good intentions of not buying anything go out of the window and I end up with a pashmina and some christmas presents! We also find the factory cat has recently had kittens so we manage to find them and cuddle them......