After two weeks of high energy activity it was time to relax so we headed for Mancora, a beach resort on the North West Pacific coast of Peru and just short of the Ecuadorian border. It was another 20 hour bus ride and we arrived in Mancora at about 11:00 am to be met by hordes of hawkers selling food, accommodation, tours and taxis …… We battled through the crowds, escaping into the bus office where the receptionist ordered us a "taxi"…. A euphemism for ...

Lima, Peru's frenetic capital which according to Lonely Planet is overcrowded, polluted and dangerous ….Beach muggings, bus terminal attacks and smash and grab attacks at traffic lights are all mentioned to warn the unwary tourist. The three of us arrived in town warily looking around us and grasping our valuables tightly - In the event it transpired to be no more dangerous than the average South American city. Adam had done the research and on the first nig...

Goodbye altitude and hello to the heat and humidity of the Amazon Rainforest. A short, half hour flight to Puerto Maldanado on the border of Peru and Boliva where the 3 of us were met by our guide and driven to the river port to board our boat for the 3 hour journey up river to our first lodge - Refugio Amazonas. En-route we saw spectacled Cayman, herons and Capybara. We arrived late afternoon and were shown to our room with one side completely open overlooki...

We arrived in Cusco (by yet another bus), the ancient Inca capital of Peru in the late afternoon of the 6th June. The City centres on the main Plaza de Armas and seemed to have perpetual parades - When we arrived the feast of Corpus Christi was being celebrated, thousands of people thronged the Plaza and huge religious statues were being carried aloft by teams of hefty men. Adam arrived on the early morning of our second full day. He had flown from Heathrow via...

Yet another early morning bus journey heading for Copacabana, not the Brazilian beach in Rio or the club immortalised by Barry Manilow …… No, this is a small town on the shores of Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable lake in the world and spans the borders of Bolivia and Peru. We spent the night in Copacabana, where we stayed in the penthouse of a four storey greenhouse - Great view but hellishly hot. Next day we crossed to Isla Del Sol, landing on...