I'm actually writing this instalment in Leicester, having had insurmountable problems with technology in the airport at Sao Paulo (and a very odd man in an internet cafe in Lima!). I've just uploaded 3 albums of photos, but as usual I'm really frustrated - offexploring has now deleted the option of rotating pictures. There are a couple that I've left on anyway because I like them so much, so please lie on your side to look at them!

I left Chiclayo on Thursday 30 July, the day after my last blog, on a bus south to Trujillo, another step closer to Lima and the flight home. It was another 3 hour journey across the desert and past huge fields of sugar cane, wiht a very violent film playing throughout. We arrived in bright late afternoon sunshine. Trujillo is known as the city of eternal springtime, because of its warm, sunny climate, but I didn't see the sun again until the Sunday afternoon! It's a city with an old centre of well-cared-for Colonial buildings, painted in warm yellows and ochre, strong blues, soft greens, terracotta, purple and wine-red, with grand doorways and cool interior patios. My hostal, just 2 blocks from the main square,was one such building,which also had a lovely outside terrace on the first floor where I liked sitting with a book.

On the first night, I checked out a Chinese restaurant ( a chifa, which means eat rice) that was recommended in my guide book. I was a bit disconcerted to be told by an elderly Chinese man with no teeth that, no, I couldn't look at the menu, untill I realised he was trying to tell me in Spanish that they weren't yet open. (There is a big Chinese community in Peru, and their food has had some influence on Peruvian cuisine - a standard dish in all Peruvian restaurants is lomo saltado, or stir-fried beef.) I went somewhere else and had one of the best meals of my stay - prawns in a paprika sauce with steamed potatoes - in a very old-fashioned restaurant hat reminded me of the Lyons tearooms in London in the 50s and 60s!

The next day I went on a group tour of some archaeological sites. I was a bit dubious about it, but the guide was brilliant; she had been taking people to these sites for 20 years, loved every minute of it, and was extremely knowledgeable. In the morning we visited Huaca de la Luna, an adobe pyramid built between 100 and 800 AD by the Moche people, with well-preserved painted murals. The Moche lost faith in their mountain gods and their rulers when sacrifices did not solve the El Nino flooding, and their descendants moved closer to the coast, where they worshipped different gods. We visited two of these Chimu sites in the afternoon - Huarco Arco Iris (the rainbow temple) and the cty of Chan Chan. We went to one of the eleven palaces here, where the walls were covered in a fishing net design (the Chimu were fishermen as well as farmers), with pelican emblems. From there we went to the fishing village of Huanchaco, famous for the tortora reed "caballito del mar" boats, which are still used to take nets a short distance out to sea. I watched some of these go out, and took a lot of photographs of a seabird with a bald blue face, that flew in and sat at the top of some steps. I haven't been able to identify it, so if anyone knows what it bis, I'd be very grateful!

I spent the Saturday exploring more of Trujillo itself. First, the Museum of Modern Art. I got in free as there was nobody at the reception desk, but it was disappointing - mostly works by the owner, who lives in a palacial house next door. But the garden was beautiful, lush and green and heavily watered, with orange trees in flower. Then the botanic gardens, with an odd mixture of plants in rows like an allotment and little formal beds. I was amused by a plant in the nightshade family known as Teta de Vaca (cow's udder) with yellow, udder-like fruits and spiny leaves, and by a collection of large tortoises. I enjoyed the small Toy Museum, which has some lovely old tin toys mixed up with Moche ceramic whistles, and had herb tea and cake afterwards in the attached cafe full of portrait photographs, which reminded me of Amsterdam cafes.

By then I had done just about everything there is to do in Trujillo, and I had a lot of time to kill on Sunday before getting the night bus to Lima. After a very lazy morning I caught a minibus out to Huanchaco (a uniformed security man whistled the bus for me, then held up the traffic and escorted me across the road to get on it!). I had a walk on the beach, then went to a veggie cafe overlooking the sea for lunch, which came in huge portions. Two American girls I'd met on the tour happened to be staying there, and we sat together - it was good to have some company.

Back in Trujillo in the evening, I spent an hour on the Plaza de Armas where a local brass band was playing big band and swing music. There were a lot of children in the crowd, and one little boy was fascinated with the bass drum; he would walk right up to it, first one side, then the other, then look up at the cymbals - this went on all evening, but he was very shy when he was offered the drumstick!

The bus set off for Lima at 11 o'clock, and I hadn't slept much by the time it arrived at 7.30 a.m. After initial misgivings, I found the hostal I had booked was very pleasant. It was all dark wood, with an interior tiled patio, wich my room overlooked. The room was double height, with steps up to two more beds - it would have been fun for children. Because there were no windows onto the street, the hostal was very quiet, although it was in the centre of the city. The first task was to confirm my flight home, and I was much more relaxed once I'd done this - I get quite panicky about things like that. Then I was free to wander around and have lunch in a restaurant recommended in both my books. It's run by nuns, and situated in an old convent. A nun in "plain clothes" beckoned me in and gave me a big welcome and a menu full of french dishes; the place is famous for its rabbit with olives. I had another of the most memorable meals of the trip - a perfect trout cooked in butter, with steamed potatoes, served by smiley, friendly people.

Lima is daunting; it's a huge city with horrendous traffic. It doesn't have a metro, which would make it easier to find one's way around. But in the afternoon, I felt more confident with the street map and was able to explore and find my way back across town without resorting to a taxi.

I had the first good night's sleep in a week, and planned to make the most of my last day in Peru. I set off by taxi, in the rush hour, for the affluent seaside suburb of Miraflores, with cars swereving from one lane to another and everyone hooting. A bus came withing centimetres of hitting the taxi as it pulled across into our lane; the the driver answered a call on his mobile and drove along while he talked. After this he tapped on the steering wheel with both hands in time to the music on the radio; I got out a gibbering wreck! I walked past expensive-looking houses and people carriers to the cliffs, where people were jogging and walking pedigree dogs. The sea and cliffs were shrouded in mist, but surfers were out.

On the cliffs there is a small park called "El Parque del Amor", where wedding parties have photographs taken. There is a huge sculpture, "The Kiss" (much more down to earth, and therefore earthier, than Rodin's) at the centre, and a serpentine mosaic wall around the outside, with birds, flowers and romantic quotations.

From here I took a taxi to the next suburb, Barranco. Taxis don't have meters, and the fares are agreed before a passenger gets in the cab, often by haggling. This taxi driver was elderly and very friendly, with deep laughter lines on his face. He reduced his fare with a laugh and said "Thank you very much", proudly showing off his English. In Barranco I lost the illustrated guide book that I especially wnated to bring home: I put it down while I was photographing a kingbird sitting on the head of a bust (one of the photos that I can't rotate, so doubly annoying!), and it disappeared. The other highlight in Barranco was an arts/crafts shop called Dedalo, which had room after room of beautiful things (I had to leave my day pack in a locker at the entrance). I bought a tiny, inexpensive gift, which was beautifully gift-wrapped with a paper carnation, and enjoyed the incredibly posh loo with a creamic washbasin!

Then a taxi back to Miraflores, to go to the South American Explorers clubhouse to swop a book and donate some items that were too heavy to bring home, but the taxi driver didn't know where he was going and had to stop and ask pedestrians twice! After lunch in the garden cafe of a rather nice wholefood shop I took another taxi to a famous park with 1500 olive trees, El Bosque de los Olicares, but again the driver didn't know where he was going, and after going round in circles for some time, I got out at some traffic lights and left him to it. I got there eventually, and it was lovely - a long, narrow park, well-used by all kinds of people. It was originally planted in the 16th century. Few of the original trees survived, but there are still trees that are several hundred years old. There's a very dramatic fountain, and lots of birds, especially cuculis (West Peruvian doves), very much like our collared doves, but with a pretty blue eye stripe and red legs. I liked all the information boards that enabled me to identify a lot of birds I'd seen in Lima and in Trujillo.

I had a very nice massage before taking a taxi to the airport, with a funny driver who kept pointing out planes taking off and landing and practising his English. The plane was delayed and we didn't take off until 2.30 a.m., by which time I was feeling ill with tiredness, but I didn't sleep much. We arrived in Sao Paulo about 9 a.m. and I had planned to spend the day in the city, as the plane to London wsn't due to leave until 11.45 p.m. But I couldn't withdraw any money from the cash machines - some problem with my card that the bank can't explain - so I had to stay in the airport. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I sat outside a lot and finished the book I'd swopped in Lima. There wasn't much choice of food and I had chips for lunch and a jacket potato in the evening! The London plane left on time, and I had a friendly neighbour. Again I hardly slept, and I was wide awake at 5.30 when the sun came up. I spent a good half hour watching and photographing the sunrise. I don't think I was very popular - everyone else had their window shutters down - but I wasn't going to miss the sun rising over the Atlantic! We flew alongside the north coast of Portugal, then it was cloudy until we dropped down over London and could see all the tourist sights. We actually landed early, the baggage came through quickly and I was on a National Express coach in no time at all. The journey to leicester was a bit scary, though - a new driver lwas earning the ropes (under supervision, thank goodness) and he was all over the place - it was as bad as Lima! Gary was at the bus station to meet me with the dogs.

I've just been pottering around for the last few days and haven't even unpacked everything yet, though I have been trying to organise some part-time work. I was very upset to hear that Karyn had returned from her holiday to be told that she was fired and was not required to work her notice period (even more upset to hear that at least one customer had been told she had quit and refused to work her notice).

I've had a wonderful trip. I've especially loved having the time and freedom to watch wand photograph wildlife, sunsets, fiestas and everyday things like the band in Trujillo; the peace and relaxation in Zorritos; the friendliness and helpfulness of most of the people; Moche ceramics; the Manu jungle; writing the blog and receiving very positive feedback and friendly messages. Some things were difficult: I had too long in Cusco and struggled horribly with the altitude; at times, the food; city traffic; problems with the website itself and with computers when blogging, and worrying about Patrick (who is even more poorly than I expected).

I definitely want to travel more and I've already been asked where's next on the list; I think probably WWOOFing around Spain. I wouldn't go with a volunteering organisation next time, but would possibly find some voluntary work when I got to wherever I was going; I don't think the work I was supposed to be doing in Peru, had the altitude not been a problem, was particularly useful. I also had an interesting conversation with Tina, the jungle guide, who has lived in peru for 14 years. She had read an article in a radical magazine that questioned the value of many of the NGOs, and even suggested that those working with street children may inadvertently increase the numbers of children living rough, because parents perceived that their children would be cared for if they were thrown out of home. There have also been NGOs that have been given money in Europe to set up projects in Peru, which have instead used the money to set up rofitable enterprises. Having said all that, I came across some excellent educational and social projects. My Spanish teacher Hilda took me to the museum of art by Andean children in Cusco. An organisation called Ayllupaychay spent 8 years travelling round remote Andean communities, teaching children up to 15 through art - finger-painting, mixing colours, rubbing, butterfly prints, drawing roundeach other, making masks and hats, using playdough etc etc - all the artistic experiences that our children take for granted, but that are not available to these children, many of whom have never held a paintbrush or used a coloured pencil. Older children drew self-portraits, using a mirror. The group aimed to develop self-esteem and maintain Andean traditions. The children painted symbolic pictures and were easily able to draw or paint the complex designs of the textiles that surround them. The children were given most of their work to keep (some pieces were kept for the museum) and a supply of art materials. Visitors to the museum are shown a video of some of the projects, and all leave with beaming smiles, reflecting the joy in the children's faces. Ayllupaychay have restarted the programme and need funds; there is a website (www.aylluyupaychay.org) which includes bits of the video. I would love to think that some of you who have enjoyed my blog might want to make a donation!