Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long since we last wrote a blog entry for you! We have been having a very busy time with the GAP Adventure.

After leaving Lima we travelled to Nazcaand took a flight in a 6 seater Cessna over the Nazca Lines which was so cool! It was a bit scray being in such a small lane but is was so hot in the desert and the weather was beautiful. The Nazca Lines they think are pre-Incan drawings for the Gods in the sand. We took photos but I think we need to zoom and edit them first!

After the day in Nazca we travelled to Arequipa, a colonial city in the south of Peru and spent a day exploring the churches and musums here. The University of Arequipa has the mummy Juanita on display which was found in one of exinct volcano craters around the city. It is believed Juanita is a Incan Princess who was sacrificed to the Gods and she was around 8 years old. Seeing the mummy was weird, she is kept in a glass fridge in t he museum and it was very strange all these people looking at her.

From Arequipa we took a bus to the Colca Canyon for a few days, staying in a tny Inca twon called Corporaque. The hotel location was idyllic, set in the beautiful mountains and within Incan farm terraces. We took a hike up into the mountains and saw Incan tombs and was good training for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We took a hike to see the condors flying over the canyon too whic was really cool. It was so beautiful here.

We then travelled back to Arequipa and took an internal flight to Cuscowhih is anothe colonial Peruvian town. Cusco is so pretty I really love it here. We have explored all the musuems here, learned about the culture and it is from here we took a bus trip to the Sacred Valley through more iNcan ruins to the little Incavillage of Ollantaytambo.

In Ollantaytambo there was a hge festval going on with every already drunk at noon on chicha (maize beer) celbrating a patron saint, there wa much dancing and singing with beautiful hand made brightly coloured costumes. It was from here we took a bus to KM 82 to begin the famous Inca Trail....

What can I say the Inca trail was 45KM through mountain paths, breath taking scenery and friendly people. It wa four days of the hardest hiking I have ever done in my life. Day two was the hardest walking up to an altitude of 4200m and Day three we had to walk the ´knee killer´3000 steps all the way to the third campsite. My knee was indeed killed and luckily Matt in our tour group strapped it up for me - I think I twited it ion day two clmnbing the first pass and on Day three it was such agony I cried at the first Inca site (how embarassing). Anyway it was bandaged up and I carried on much better than before. On Day four we rose at 4am and walked the hour to the sun gate and wtached the sun rise over Machu Picchu which was spectacular. The trip was so hard but well worth it, the coca leaf tea helped with the altitude! The campstes were brill aand we had 21 porters carrying our groups stuff and all the camping gear. We had three square meals a day and the food was restaurant quality- chicken, trout, soups, pastas etc etc! Our toupr leader Efraieme and his assistant David were amazing tour guides and definitely made the trip. If we were going to fast on te steps Efra woulñd shout ´Hold your llamas!´at us. When we finally arrievd at Machu Picchu it was so worth the four days of hiking. We ar back in Cusco now updating the blog, and chiling out for the day and we are off the Lake Titicaca tomorrow and Bolivia on Tueday. Can´t belivee it is June already. Oh, I sent postcards from Guatemala but I have a feeling htey may still be in the post for you!! I hope veryone is well at home and Lots of love From Fion and Tom

xXx

ps my knee is fine now- I must´ve twisted it climbing up the steps.