RUINED IN THE RUINS* Oh good, back at altitude again. After a few days of being able to breathe normally at sea level in Lima, the shuffling old couple were back again as we landed in Cusco, the impressive old Inca city surrounded by the Andes. Luckily we had a few days to acclimatise and explore the nearby Inca ruins, including one called Sexy Woman (actually Sacsayhuaman, but that is how it's pronounced, to everyone's amusement) which Duncan insisted on visiti...

PISSED ON PISCO SOURS….ME ENCANTA After having had some great insider tips on arrival in both Caracas and Bogota, we thought we were going to have to figure out Lima for ourselves. But as soon as we arrived at the Loki hostel in Miraflores (a Lima suburb), the girl behind the bar insisted that our first stop should be a local restaurant for ceviche, a Peruvian speciality. Ceviche is raw fish and seafood cooked only in lemon juice and served with red onion...

BREATHLESS IN BOGOTA After the heat and sun of Cartagena, the cold and rain of Bogota was a bit of a shock to the system. This wasn't what we signed up to! Other than a few days looking at glaciers in the south of Chile, we were expecting eight months of long hot summer weather on our trip, not wintery drizzle more like London (cue smirks and cheers from previously jealous friends and family back home!). Apart from the cold, the other thing that hit us on arrival...

KICKING BACK IN CARTAGENA After the challenges of Venezuela, we got back on track and headed West again, to Colombia. We were delighted to reach Cartagena, a beautiful colonial city on the Caribbean coast. Although we've only been on the road for two and a half weeks, this is definitely our favourite place in South America so far. Great weather, tasty and cheap food, friendly people and a welcoming hostel, and best of all, a really lively and picturesque - and sa...

GOING CARACAS IN VENEZUELA Well after the pleasant familiarity of the US, heading straight to Venezuela was definitely jumping in at the deep end. A fantastic country, but God it has its problems. Not least the fact that everyone you meet tells you how bad/expensive/dangerous/run into the ground by Hugo Chavez the country is and how they really want to go and live in Europe. They were right that it is very expensive, and Chavez hasn't exactly done a great job wi...