Friday 24th August We get on the bus to Cuzco which takes around 6 hours. The scenery in the Andes is stunning. It's arid and dry here and the houses remind me of Africa. The buildings are unfinished so they can avoid paying tax on the property. Our hotel in Cuzco is just of the Plaza de Armas with the most gorgeous courtyard in the centre and mezanine floors that look down over it. The city is a pretty place and also pretty touristy. But it has a warm feel to ...

Wednesday 22nd August We get tuk-tuks down to the shore of Lake Titicaca and they start having races with each other down the cobbled streets. We´re going to do a homestay with the people on Amantani Island so buy some cooking staples as a thank-you, and some books and pencils for the children. It´s a 3 hour ride to Taquille Island which we visit first. It's population is around 2,500. We make our way slowly up to the top of the island to avoid getti...

Tuesday 21st August In the morning Nicole and her Mum, Angela arrive. They are from Orange County. Genevive is from Seattle. Then finally Michael appears. He´s originally from New Zealand and it turns out he was neighbours with the Atchisons while growing up in Auckland. What a small world! He´s currently living in London working for Elle MacPherson as one of her aides. Nice! So that´s all 9 of us. A great number. We fly from Lima to Cuzco and st...

Sunday 19th August It was an early start at 3.45am to get my flight from Santiago to Lima, Peru! I met two older Australian men who were on a spiritual around the world tour which included Machu Picchu and Stonehenge. They delighted in telling me they were going to take a flight around the South of England looking for crop circles. They had chosen to stay in Santiago last night and had got bad vibes from the place so were glad to leave. Interesting. Lima has ar...

Saturday 18th August I fly into Santiago and am shattered after 16 hours flying with a stop over in Auckland. We crossed the date line so I left Sydney at 11am on 18th August and arrived at 1pm on 18th August. It's all just a bit too much for my body clock to take in. Fortunately I don't have to fly again until 6.30am tomorrow morning. I'm glad I booked a hotel at the airport so I don't have to bother getting a cab into the city centre. What it means is that I ...