The Inca trail to Machu Picchu I wake up shivering from the cold. I can hear the rain has gotten heavier but the tent seems to be holding out. My back hurts from sleeping on the rock hard ground. I'm too cold to pull my wrist out of the sleeping bag to check the time, but this is about the tenth time my body has woken me up tonight so I reckon it's going to start getting light soon. And then we'll spend all day on our feet carrying a heavy load across 14km of m...

Cusco - Your next holiday destination We spent 4 days in Cusco acclimatising before our big trek, to avoid altitude sickness. What an awesome place to kill the time. I think everyone should visit this part of the world. Reasons to make Cusco your next holiday destination: - The original stone work in the historical town centre, built 600 years ago by the Incas is not only still standing, the buildings are functional too. The famous '12 angled stone' is just one...

The Cuy, The Witch and some war robes. Trujillo, on the face of it, is a hellhole. Dusty - in diving terms the 'vis' is not what it should be. The area seems permanently shrouded in a mixture of coastal mist and the brown dust of this desert area. Noisy - car horns seem to be the worst offenders. I have never been to a place where people use their car horns more frequently than the clutch. Taxis constantly hoot, whether to obtain business, or a celebration th...

Hi folks. Time for a bit of housekeeping. Please sign the petition to save the important fire station behind our house in Hackney. There are plans to close it which would result in the closure of another important public service and someone putting a monstrous hotel or something else there. Thanks. Please follow this link: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-kingsland-fire-station/

Here is THE NEWS from Huaraz, Peru Tour of ancient city of Chavin conducted almost entirely in Spanish. No meaningful facts obtained by non-native Spanish speakers. Classifieds: Aspiring rapist hailing from Nebraska requires trekking buddy for world famous 4 day hike. Corners distressed blonde gringa in Huaraz supermarket tinned foodstuffs aisle. "C'mon I got my own tent and everything". Group of mixed nationals on organised trek fails to gel resulting in 3 em...