Puno, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa and Colca Canyon… the one where we marched right down to the bottom of the hill and then marched right back again.

We've done a lot of travelling this week as it was our last week in Peru, and it definitely felt good to be out of Cuzco. We started by taking 'one of the great rail journeys in the world' - from Cuzco to Puno on the Andean Explorer. The rail network in Peru was taken over by Orient Express a few years ago, and they have shut down a lot of the lines to focus on running tourist trains from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, and then to Lake Titicaca in Puno. It's the full art deco Orient Express experience, and it felt a lot like an Agatha Christie murder mystery for the first couple of hours. The train goes across the Andes, with a few short stops enroute. There are only a few carriages - one for passengers who sit in an armchair, at a clothed table being served food throughout the day; one bar carriage, and then an observation carriage at the rear of the train which is open at the back. It's a long journey though at 9 hours, so Orient Express have decided to create some organised fun for everyone throughout the day. First was an Andean fashion show (or embarrassed female employee walking through the bar carriage wearing a range of different scarfs - which were then for sale), then a welcome cocktail, with Andean live music accompaniment. The band changed half way through the day, so in the afternoon we had a different live band to accompany our cocktail making class where we learnt how to make a Pisco sour - which was then for sale (happy hour two-drinks-for-one-price).

But all in all it was a very luxurious way to travel to Puno. Unfortunately Puno is not a very luxurious city to be in, and our first impressions weren't helped by the fact it was dark, cold and tipping down with rain. On the shores of Lake Titicaca, Puno is apparently the highest habitable city in the world at 3830 metres above sea level. After two days there I would say habitable is subjective.Lake Titicaca itself is stunning, but I had (perhaps unrealistic) visions of a lake side city like Geneva, or Chicago. More like Ellesmere Port but with less industry.

Luckily some travellers we met in Cuzco had warned us that there wasn't that much to do there, so we had only planned a short stop so we could go out to the floating Islands on Lake Titicaca. (Interesting side note on Lake Titicaca - Titi means Puma in Quechan, so when you say the name of the lake in an English accent, you are actually referring to it as Lake Puma-poo. A better pronunciation is 'Cahw-cahw'). The inhabitants of the Uros Islands have lived on the lake for centuries - they originally moved out onto the lake for a more peaceful existence than the Inca's provided on the mainland. But since the 1970's the main income for the Islands has come from tourism, following a documentary by National Geographic. National Geographic have had quite an impact on parts of Peru, as they are also behind a lot of the discovery of Macchupicchu. We heard afterwards that some 'inhabitants' only come to the Islands in the day to put on a show for the tourists then go back to their houses in Puno, but (maybe naively) I don't think we had that experience, although it is a bit 'Disney does floating islands' in parts. There are 65 different islands, each of which houses a different family unit, and we were taken to Isle Tawantinsuyo, where 21 members of one extended family live. In some ways it's quite old fashioned, with each Island having a 'leader' who decides when they are going to go fishing / build a new building / how to spend the tourist dollar (for example, on a new plastic 'welcome' sign for tourists…). But there was also solar power on the islands, and a small (and ancient) TV in the families' houses. We were taking form that Island to the commercial centre by reef boat - initially two of the men rowed us across, but then a third appeared in a power boat that pushed us the final distance.

Our bus to Arequipa wasn't until 3pm the next day, and we really struggled to find anything to do before we had to leave, although we did get a little ride in a motor-car taxi (a bit like a tuk tuk) which was a definite highlight for me.

We went to Arequipa with the intention of using it as a base to visit Colca Canyon and were really surprised by what a lovely city it was. Also, at a much lower altitude (2350m - you get a bit obsessive about heights after a while) it was sunny. Many of the buildings are made from the local 'sallar'- an off white volcanic stone - so it is known as the white city. It's Peru's second largest city, and has a large university, and definitely has the feel of a young person town so we were very happy to be here after Puno. We had a day in the City before we booked our trek so Jon made me go to a museum about an Inca princess ('Juanita') that had been found frozen, in mummy form, at the top of one of the local mountains. They believe she was a human sacrifice to the Gods in the mountains by the Incas. Because she was frozen much of the skin and clothes is fully intact which was fairly gross - it didn't seem to freak me out to much though as she didn't appear in my anti-malarial fuelled dreams that night, which is becoming interesting nightly entertainment for me. Even on anti malerials Jon doesn't dream, thus proving my theory that he has no soul.

To get to Colca for a three day trek, you have to be collected from your hostel at 3am. Having done the trip, the reasons for that are still unclear to me, but we dutifully waited at 3am for the bus to turn up 45 mins late. The trek is essentially one day down into the Canyon, one day along the bottom, and then on day 3, a long climb out of the canyon. Having done the Inca trek we thought we would be fine. Hahahahah. Fools.

The trek down was - in retrospect - probably more relentless than the trip back up. It took about 4 hours to get to a village at the bottom where we were staying in 'bungalows' for the evening, where I met my nemeses (can you have more than one nemesis??) - two black and white free range chickens that spent most of the afternoon stalking me, then guarding my towel on the washing line so I couldn't have a shower. Luckily that was our only encounter with the feathered foe for the trip, and it didn't end well for them (see below). The second day we walked across the bottom of the canyon to Sangalle- more commonly known by its tourist name of Oasis. There used to be a village there but everyone died of the plague and was buried there, but they have turned the plague pit into a jolly nice set of bungalows with swimming pools catering for a range of budgets (for example, we had a swimming pool, but no electricity or windows. And no diet coke.) An afternoon lazing around the pool and sitting in the hammock left us very refreshed for our 5am pre breakfast trek back up the canyon.

The trip back up takes you 1200 metres up to 3300 metres high, and the trail itself is 4.2km long - so I make that traveling up a metre for every 3 or 4 metres you walk. And this is one trip that it is worth getting up early for - trying to climb out of a canyon with the desert sun beating on your back is not on my to-do list for the trip. A few people (not from our group) had decided to wimp out at this point and take a mule to the top, but we preferred to rely on our own two (somewhat unfit) legs rather than a random mules' four.

The record by a tour guide for climbing up is 35 mins, and the record for a tourist one hour and 5 mins. There was no danger of anyone in the group beating that, but the enthusiastic Dutchman in our group did have to wait about an hour at the top for the rest of us to make it up, all finishing in the not-too-shameful tourist average of 3 hours before heading for breakfast, and then HOT SPRINGS (this is a theme in Peru - walk for days, get to relax in a communal outside bath). It was a long trip back to Arequipa, but broken up by spotting a wild vicuña in the National Park, and some more classic Peruvian driving and attempting to overtake on speed bumps.

Finally, on our last day in Arequipa we took a lunchtime class with 'Peruvian Cooking Experience'. Jon had a mild bout of food poisoning (caused by the tourist all-you-can-eat-compulsory-trip-buffet the day before) but was feeling better enough to prepare - and eat - a chicken, potato and avocado starter, and Lomo Saltado - my favourite Peruvian dish of beef with chips! Our chef / teacher, Carlos, was fabulous, and used to be a guide in the Colca Canyon until a tourist fell over on the downhill on top of him and broke his knee (he had to be carried out by mule). He spoke really good English, but some of his phrases were probably developed on, and more suited to, the Canyon - "Come on, you can do it dudes", and "Excellent job!" His maths also left something to be desired when making Pisco Sours, although he did warn us that they might be stronger than the ones we would buy in the street. To make a perfect Pisco sour, we needed to add 125ml per person, which he calculated to be 475ml for three of us. After leaving with a list of his favourite party hostels in South America I had to go and lie down while Jon went to a museum. Yes, my inability to handle my drink in the afternoon provided a fine excuse to not be in another museum.

So after 3 weeks, and souvenir Inca Cola t-shirt in the backpack, we are now leaving Peru. It's been an excellent start to the trip and introduction to South America and we are both sad to be leaving as there are so many more places we want to visit and things we want to see.But it's time to head to Ecuador for much needed Spanish School, seeing family and celebrating Christmas.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!

This week we...

STAYED

·At Hotel Intiqua in Puno. It was a 3* hotel which meant we had a TV. I watched a lot of E! (mostly various shows involving one Kardashian or another). Bliss.

·At Arequipay Backpackers in Arequipa. Pretty good, functional hostel in a central location, but A LOT of wood panelling.

·In a couple of different bungalows in Colca Canyon. For bungalow read building with four walls, a plastic lined straw ceiling and a hole where the window would be to give mosquitos easy access. But they were surprisingly nice, and Jon didn't have the same issues as in the tents.

ATE

·Alpaca. It was the only meat they gave us on the trek. It was like beef. I didn't have seconds.

·More guinea pig (cuy) - well nearly. Jon and another English guy were feeling brave having climbed out of the canyon so asked for it at the tourist buffet place we had lunch in Chivay. They were not expecting deep fried guinea pig heads (no bodies, with little teeth still sticking out). Both chickened out of eating it.

·A lot of crepes at Creppisimo in Arequipa for breakfasts. Also went back there for a pint of organic English cider one evening. It cost £5 but made me happy.

·Awesome (but oddly square) pizza in Arequipa at Los Loños. Ended up ordering three times more than we needed because we didn't understand the dimensions, which also made it quite an expensive pizza.

LEARNT

·There really isn't very much to do in Puno.

·When there is a mule coming at you on a small path up a canyon, you stand mountainside. And by the end of the 3 hour uphill yomp, you won't care if you stand in their waste even though for the first hour you tried really hard to avoid it all.

·It is compulsory in Peru to have two carbs with every meal. Someone tried telling us that Peruvian potatoes - there are now over 5000 varieties grown in Peru, and it increases on every organised trip you take - had protein in them but it's not true. This is just an anti-Atkins nation

·Peru is a nation that loves to photocopy. Instead of newspaper shops or Londis, there is a photocopy shop on every corner, sometimes two or three on a block. They even open late for those unexpected photocopying emergencies.

·Now we are at Shelia's and have full access to a TV with Fox Sports on, it has taken me an extra week to write a blog…

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH OUR FEATHERED FOE

·As noted above, our accommodation on day one of Colca had two chickens that spent most of the afternoon and early evening tormenting me. I was quite happy when I saw the owner pick them up and take them to bed before we had our dinner. Turns out they weren't going to bed, but were actually going to be dinner for the next group coming though. Hehehehe!