Nasca - Lima We were picked up by our guide Leo at 6.30 am. It was a bit foggy so we went to visit the Cantallo aquaducts, which are still in working order and essential to irrigate the surrounding fields. We also had time to see how the local miners are working before the sky cleared up and we went to the airport. We had a 35 minute flight over the Nasca lines in a small Cessna (3 seats + pilot). We heard that this flight could be a rough experience, but ou...

Ballestas Islands - Nasca We were served breakfast in the room in Paracas before heading to the harbour and meeting our group for the boat ride to Ballestas Islands. We were approximately 30 people on the boat, and our guide Leo made sure we got good seats. On the way out we saw a large group of dolphins, lots of large peruvian pelicans and other birds. We also got plenty of wind and salt water in our hair. Ballestas Islands have many arches and caves and the n...

Lima - Paracas Tuesday we arrived at Lima Airport 6.30 pm and were picked up by a driver from our hotel. We went for dinner in a very charming Italian restaurant/deli/cheese shop/bakery. We also bought some breakfast for the next mornnig here. When we got back to the hotel our guide had left us a message saying that we would leave at 8 am instead of 6 am. Great! We expected to be part of a bigger group, but were picked up by the guide and a driver and will be o...

Colca Canyon At 7.30 am we were picked up in the hotel and started our journey towards Colca Canyon in a private van. We had several stops on the way to see lamas, alpacas, vicuñas, viscachas, different birds and of course the spectacular landscape. At 1 pm we stopped at the highest point of the trip, approximately 4900 meters. We had a buffet lunch in Chivay and afterwards we went for a swim and a beer in the hot springs. We arrived in our hotel in Cabanaco...

Puno to Arequipa After a tight schedule we decided to take it slow for a couple of days. We walked around the island of the hotel to see the alpacas living there. At 3 pm we took the first class bus to Arequipa. It was a bit delayed, but with huge recliner seats that was no problem. The next day we started with breakfast at a terrace at the main plaza with a great view of the city's grand colonial buildings and the surrounding volcanoes. We walked around the ci...