Machu PicchuAfter the Lares trek, we travelled to Aguas Calientes on the 'Andean Explorer', very much a tourist train, with a piped cd playing really awful pan-pipe cover versions of 'Guantanamera', the theme tune from 'Titanic' and 'El condor Pasa' over and over again until everyone was groaning! On the other hand, the scenery was stunning, and the train had a glass roof so we could see the snowy peaks above us and the rivers and valleys below. They also came ro...

Cusco and the Lares TrekCusco, the ancient Inca capital, is a beautiful city. It has Colonial style buildings built on Inca stone foundations, narrow cobbled streets, an impressive cathedral, and colourful markets. Unfortunately, as the gateway to the Inca Trail, it is also VERY touristy. It has hundreds of outdoor clothing shops, and people thrusting leaflets at you from all directions trying to get you to go into their designer shops, restaurants or nightclubs....

We are now in the Amazon jungle in northern Peru as I write this, so lots of catching up to do. First, Lake Tititcaca and the home stay, which was on 22nd May! We were to be picked up in the morning to be driven to the port, but were quite surprised when we emerged from the hotel, to find a fleet of bicycle rickshaws waiting for us! Luckily for the poor guys peddling, most of the journey was downhill. When we got to the port, there was a little market where we w...

Another early start, as we left La Paz at 7am. Breakfast was supposed to start at 6am, but when we got there, there was only one very sleepy Bolivian guy setting out the buffet, one item at a time, so there was cereal, but no spoons, or milk. Then there were coffee cups, but no coffee. ..... Oh well, never mind, the view from the dining room, on the top floor, had a wonderful view of the city rooftops, El Alto, and the snow capped peak of Ilimani, Bolivia's highe...

Well, La Paz took us a bit by surprise! We started off on our long drive-day at 7am, driving up into the mountains again, round quite a lot of hairpin bends, where you could see the road ahead snaking round the mountainside at different levels, a bit like a giant helter- skelter, then after a couple of hours we continued through the flat and dusty landscape of the Altiplano, with snow capped mountain peaks visible on the horizon. As the hours went on, we began to...