Salinas salt pans, just outside Maras were every bit as wonderful as the photo on the restaurant wall had suggested they may be. Travelling for 45 minutes brought us to a fantastic reveal, turning a dusty track corner to reveal the salt pans below us, covering half a hillside. Amazingly salty hot water enters at the top of the site and channels are opened or closed, diverting water into each salt rimmed pan to evaporate and leave a thick salt layer to be dug out...

Today has been a sedentary, food-based day. After an initial burst of enthusiasm encouraged by the first lie-in in living memory (nearly) we set off to have our laundry done after breakfast. A jovial Peruvian lady with a small shop cum motorbike spares outlet weighed our washing and promised it back at 16.30 dry but un-ironed. Sarah spotted a turbo-dry setting on the washer and mimed not to use this setting on woollens - priceless. The local landmark attraction...

Another bloody early start to check in at Arequipa airport to fly to Cusco. Due to the imminence of Peru Independence Day (tomorrow) and the infrequent nature of internal flights (not to mention expense) the flight leaves at 07.30. South American airport procedures are characterised as chaotic at best in the LP Peru bible we have been using and recommending arrival at the airport 2 hours before scheduled departure time. Our taxi is on time (hurrah) and the roads...

I'm not sure of the sequence of emotional charge the terms tour, trek, tramp, traipse and trudge run in, but he last few meters to breakfast were a trudge! I'm sure my legs will be damaged for days! After our well-earned breakfast the tour continued in earnest with Andean Condor spotting. We were lucky to arrive moments before 3 condors glided silently underneath use, hugging the cliff face to ride the thermals. A few passes and they were well over our heads an...

04.30 didn't feel nearly as cold as it did yesterday when we were collected from the hotel at the start of this odyssey. Torches on and man up for the ascent. Harley set a steady 3 hour pace up and out of the canyon, while Jude and Sarah had voted with their feet and called for mules to carry them out! Alfie, Harley and I were the first group out of the oasis camp but looking back down after 30 minutes climbing in the dark numerous little light points were movin...