We met at 7.45am and were already to leave by the appointed time so we could walk to the boat dock and be in good time to acquire the prime left side positions on the boat taking us to the Ballestas islands - but Bobby was running late ( IPad and phone obsessed) consequently we left and arrived late and were the last on the boat and in all different places. We were on the right but it didn't matter as it was often easier to stand up to take photos. First stop wa...

Today we headed out of the constant gloom of Lima - caused by the cold Humbolt current which creates cloudy foggy conditions 9 months of year - but with it, it is does bring the plankton which supports a thriving fishing industry and hundreds of seabirds and for many years the guano ( poop ) they produced was a key export as is an excellent fertiliser but it was usurped by widely produced and cheaper chemical fertilisers. The current also brings the Humbolt pe...

We emerged from our 14 hours of sleep just after 6am - washed, showered and went down to the restaurant for a much needed breakfast - great papaya and yogurt along with rolls for me and puffed wheat for John. We went back to the room and read until we had to go back downstairs for the 1000 am briefing, where we met our eclectic mix of fellow travellers - couples from Dublin, Stavanger, Derbyshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, three retired ladies from Somerset and Bo...

We left a lovely warm Cambridge mid morning on my birthday (7/8/14) and headed to Heathrow where we boarded the 5pm, American Airlines, flight to New York and started our journey to Peru. Our transit through New York was effortless - save for a dearth of immigration officers when we arrived in the almost empty immigration hall. The one on the visitors section was packing up and leaving, the lady who points people to the free desks was looking particularly flummox...

We have just completed six days in Austria - John's choice as he wanted to visit the place he last went to 50 years ago. Needless to say it was a little more developed but equally as lovely. We spent our week cycling via the lake (today's photo) at Zell em See to Kaprun - we did this trip twice, once with a small group and once on our own. On the first trip we did the last part from the lake to Kaprun on our own while the guide returned with the Scottish couple ...