Photo's of Peru

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/777330960

Day 1 - Lima

After a bit of a slow start we decided to take a walk round the area of Miraflores which is where we were staying. We started by walking up to the Huaca Pucllana ruins where we joined an English tour. The ruins were only half uncovered so they still had a lot of work to do as everything left was covered by sand.This was the start start of the Inca/Lima Ruins!!

After getting some lunch at a place recommended to us (was a great salad) we walked to the centre of Miraflores and Kennedy Park where we booked up a tour for the next day.We went round a few shops and other parts of Miraflores but then got some food from the supermarket and headed back.It was really good to find loads of fresh fruit and veg in the supermarkets, nearly the complete opposite to Argentina.

On the way back we stopped in to ask for some flight prices.We'd been told that cotton farmers were on strike and had road blocks in place, so no buses had gone south for a few days.There was no definitive end in sight, so our plan to do a loop starting in Huacachina and working round to Cusco may need to be reversed.

Day 2 - Lima

Up earlier today and after a quick update on the bus situation, we made the decision to book the flight.So we went back to the flight centres and booked a flight for the next day to Cusco.It doesn't matter which way round we do the trip but going this way would mean we fly straight to altitude, whereas our original plan would have given us a gradual build up.

After the tickets were booked we went down to Kennedy park where we boarded the bus for the trip. Whilst we waited for the bus to leave we were people watching and it became very apparent how many police and security there was. This was definitely tourist-ville.We also saw about 6 ginger cats in the park, which made us think of our ginger puss back in Sweden… miss him.

After another couple of people had boarded, we left Miraflores for Pachacamac. On our way we passed through several areas of Lima, some nicer than others. The guide also pointed out the only female prison in Peru and it was located in the middle of a busy street. When we came out of the city we stopped and visited Lima's only wetland area but we only saw a couple of birds.

After about 40 minutes we arrived at Pachacamac and the guide talked us through the ruins and what they had been used for.The view from the top of the pyramid was really nice and you could see why they picked this spot for their sun temple.

Before we left, we stopped at the small museum where they had the leftover findings from the ruins. Most of the items can be found in Germany as the archaeologist took the items with him when he went back.

When we were stood outside ready to leave we witnessed some really bad behaviour from a man that was visiting with his family. He was basically walking into an area that he was not allowed to and one of the workers came up and told him he could not walk there. Instead of admitting his fault, the man went off at this poor man and said that he should not talk to him in this way and that he should show him more respect.He was basically saying, I am better than you so therefore you should not talk to me. It was awful, but shows how big the gap between poor and rich are in Peru.

Our tour took us back to Miraflores where we walked down to the big mall to find some Peruvian food. Unfortunately, we did not find anything but fast food or international food so we left. We walked back into the centre and found this Veggie restaurant where we had some really nice soup.

After this we went back to the hostel to pack and get ready for cusco.

Day 3 - Cusco

After a short flight we arrived in Cusco and got to our hostel without much difficulty. The hostel had been called a little gem on the web but when we arrived to our room we were welcomed by the smell of wet dog. Everywhere else they had wooden floors but in our room they had a horrible carpet. Anyway, apart from this it was clean and tidy so it would be ok for a couple of days.

We got ready and walked into town. The town itself is very pretty with squares and old colonial buildings. But there are tourists everywhere and even more people trying to sell things to the tourists.

As we had decided to do a trek whilst we were in Cusco, we visited a couple of travel agencies to find out some more details. The first one we went into offered the trek we wanted but the guy selling us the tour didn't seem very knowledgeable so we weren't sold. The next one we went into was Lama Path and the guy in there explained the tour to us in detail and answered all our questions without hesitating. We walked out feeling positive that we had probably found the right one.

We decided to go out for lunch and discuss our options. Our lunch consisted of a Peruvian curry and a yummy fruit juice. Marie was starting to feel the altitude kicking in so we went back to the hostel to rest.

After calling one final travel agency we decided to book with Lama Path so in the evening we were making up a list of what we needed to get for the trek.

Day 4 - Cusco

After breakfast we walked into town and paid our deposit for the trek. We then boarded the tourist tram for a city tour. It was nice being taken everywhere but the tour guide didn't really explain very well about the different places we visited. Anyway, it was good to give us an overview.

After the tour we set off to find some of the things on our list. We walked down to a market we had seen on the tour and managed to pick up quite a few bits. We stopped for some cake and tea before heading back to the hostel.

Day 5 - Cusco

We still had a couple of things on the list we needed to get so we set off to do that first thing in the morning.When we had managed to get all the things from the list we headed back to talk to the parents. At 6.30 we had a briefing at the Lama Path office and we got to meet our group. There was 15 of us in total with the youngest being 20 and the oldest 40 something. Our guide Eddie, explained the trek in detail and how long it was going to take from point to point. The meeting time was 4.30 the next morning so after the meeting we went back to the hostel to get packed.

Day 6 - Salkantay Trek Cusco (Day 1 of 5)

After a very bad sleep, we got up and met the rest of the group at 4.30. We had to drive 2.5 hours to the trek starting point so we tried to get some sleep on the way but as the bus was going up and down and round one corner after another, it wasn't as good as hoped.

We arrived in the town of Mollepata which would be the starting point of our trek and was actually lower in altitude than Cusco at 2900m.We had some breakfast in the local restaurant, which had the added bonus of eggs and not just bread before being given our walking sticks and the hike begins.It all started at about 8am and just to get us going, with a nice big incline up the road.After some time and having been shown how one type of cactus can get a parasite growing on it that can then be squashed and used as a dye, we headed off the road onto a walking track.

For the next few hours, we continued up and along this path.We were following these lush green mountains and the views were magnificent.At times, the group was so spread out that we were on our own, it was so peaceful and quiet and with the magnificent scenery, it was better than we had ever expected.We stopped in a place named Cruz Pata for lunch.We were greeted with juice after the morning hike (gladly received as we'd run out of water !!!) and we got our first experience of porters horsemen and cook.In total there were 4 porters, there to put up tents, help the chef, wash up and do pretty much anything else and then there were 4 horsemen and 4 horse, who took our duffel bags of clothes, the tents, the gas bottle!!And pretty much everything else.We had picked the company because they had a good reputation of how they treated porters etc and it was good to see that everyone was happy when we arrived.We sat for lunch and were given a feast.A simple lunch consisted of a starter (like avocado), then soup, then fish with rice, potatoes, veggies etc.It was normally 4 dishes and left you pretty stuffed.Marie was given a veggie dish and if this is how we were to be fed for the entire trip, we'd be more likely to return back fatter!!!

After lunch and a little siesta, we started the hike again (around 2pm).We continued along the track for some 3h30 until we reached the finishing point of Soraypampa.As we'd been walking, the scenery was forever changing.We were always surrounded by mountains but as we neared Soraypampa we started to see the snowy and glacial mountain of Salkantay.We really were in awe as we continued to walk.The only downside was that some other tour groups had joined us (they started further along the track, not at Mollepata like us), so the walking all alone was gone but it was still all good.We arrived in Soraypampa (knackered!!) as in total, we'd walked 16.5kms and taken around 8h30 to do it.We'd also gone from an altitude of 2900m to 3850m.We were given our tent, which had already been assembled, our sleeping bag and a thick blanket.

At 6pm, it was happy hour.Normally this would mean beers but not on treks at altitude.Happy hour was teacoffeechocolate with biscuits and popcorn.Not bad at all and it was a good way to get to know everyone better and reflect on the day.

At 7pm, since it had been so long since happy hour!!!We sat down for dinner.Dinner again was a feast.We got soup, followed by another 4 dishes of meat, vegetables etc, dessert and then more tea.By this time it was 8pm, the darkness had set in and we were sent to bed.8pm!!!We managed to get a few shots of the mountain as the moon rose and gave very impressive light on the mountains before retiring to the tent.Martin fell asleep like a baby llama (as the guide had told us we would) but Marie couldn't sleep because of a headache. We had a very on and off sleep and we continually woke during the night as the temperature dropped.We ended up sleeping in long johns, a t shirt and a hat.Martin found that the tent was about his height in length and that the sleeping bag was made for shorter people, so had great fun trying to stretch out and stay warm.

The best thing is to look at the pictures, as we took so many, and it will pretty much show you our route along and how lovely the scenery was and how it changed.

Day 7 - Salkantay Trek Cusco (Day 2 of 5)

We were woken up by the guide at 5:30am and we were both was cursing the 5cm mattress - where was the bed chair we used to have for tent sleeping when younger!!!The porters brought us some tea outside our tent which was lovely since it was still freezing.

After a quick wash with wet wipes!!We headed for breakfast, which again was good and consisted of porridge (for Marie), fruit, breadcake and lots of tea.Around 6:30am we started our trek (yes, 6:30am!).We knew today was going to be the killer day.A total of 18kms but it included the walk to the top of the Salkantay Pass, which was at an altitude of 4650m.

So we started walking and it was straight uphill.Today we had a horseman walk with us with 2 horses that some people quickly named the "horse of shame". The horses also carried oxygen incase someone got in trouble.The breathing was getting heavier and every step was getting slower.Marie was really struggling so one of the guides gave her something to smell to help with the symptoms of altitude.After she'd stiffed it 5 times, he told her what it was - animal urine and plants.Nice!Martin decided to blow his nose and got a nose bleed.Magic.By this point we'd only probably gone up to about 4200m.As we started to trek again, we saw the climb to the top.The word switchback was then learnt (the word we never want to hear again!) as the climb was up the path in lots of Z shapes.We did this part separately.We needed to do it at our own pace and it wasn't going to work doing it together.It was incredibly painful, slow and nothing like we'd experienced before.The air is so thin and the path was so steep.It took some 4 hours from the start point to get to the top and the Salkantay Pass.By the time we reached the top, it felt like we'd done a whole days work already and we knew we had more to come.We stoppedat the top for some time and got some amazing pictures, our breath back and ate our snack (yep, we even got a snack each day on top of all the food).It was a massive relief to be at the top and the scenery was absolutely amazing (again, see the pictures).

We knew that it was downhill from here to Machu Picchu, so we decided to trek together again but downhill was hard, actually probably harder than going up because it didn't work the heart so hard but the legs took a beating.The path was also covered in rocks and plenty of small ones that would roll as you stepped on them.As we trekked along, we were probably in the middle of the group.We'd found out one guy was training for a double marathon run and one had been in the rowing team for GB (before injury made him pull out), so we weren't keeping up with them!!We were doing fine though and it was easier to breathe the further down you went.We arrived at the lunch spot a little after the scheduled time but there were around 56 people quite some way behind us.As we waited, we got more hungry (all of us) and so the guide got us to start eating.As we did, the others drifted in.The guide told us that as a group, we were running too late to make it to the original campsite today so they'd changed it and we would be stopping in a farmer's garden.Oh well.

After lunch we started to trek again and it was pretty much all downhill towards the amazon basin.The weather was getting warmer, which was great and we started to talk to a couple named Megan and Henry (the guy who had been in the GB rowing team).They were a NZ and Scottish couple who had lived in London and actually been working on the Olympics but gave it up to travel and end up in Sydney, where they would be starting a new life.They were really nice and it passed away the time as we trekked along.We stopped at a waterfall and we were all pretty tiredthough we had around half an hour more to go, so as we started again, we were so pleased when we saw the red of our tents (literally around the corner) and the end for today was there.

After another happy hour (not sure it was as happy today) and another feast, we were sent to bed at 8pm.We'd walked around 16kms today, from 3850m to 4650m and then back down to around 3400m.We'd been walking for around 9h30.A very hard day and we definitely slept like a baby llama.

Day 8 - Salkantay Trek Cusco (Day 3 of 5)

Due to not getting to the originally finishing point, we were up a little earlier than planned at 5:30am and after baby wiping and breakfast we set out around 7am.Today was our shorter day and people were already thinking about the relaxing for a few hours.We were mainly going to walk along a bus route today (one bus a week or something!) so it wasn't as great as being on a path but the views were still amazing.We were going further down into the amazon basin, so everything was changing, from the scenery, the animal life (damn mosquitos were out) to the amount of oxygen.

After a few hours, we stopped for our snack at a waterfall area.Marie noticed a local women with a small stall (in the middle of nowhere really) and took pity, so decided we need a snickers bar.She came back with 2 and then decides she only wanted half, so the 70 year old horseman happily obliged with eating the other.At around 2pm, we made it to the town of Mirador, very hot and tired.We'd walked for around 7h today and gone around 14kms but also from an altitude of 3400m to 2400m.

We got to camp and were given another feast for lunch.After which, the guide explained that the horsemen were now returning back to the start town of Mollepata and would not be joining us for the last day.So it was tip time.The company suggest about £15 per horseman and it worked out to be 16 soles per person (just over £3).We put in more and were staggered to see people, who were in full time work, trying to put in the exact amount.These guys are pretty poor, they walk with us all the time and organise the horses to carry our bags etc, then walk back and people are worrying about getting change for £3. Just amazing.It's pretty hard not to say something.

Then it was free time.Well, as it was so hot, we decided to entice some of the group (who wanted to) to go for a swim in the river, so we got changed and ambled down to it.As we'd been trekking, we'd been following this river and at no point did it look swimmable but the guides told us that we could.When we got down to the river, we really weren't sure but then some kids emerged from the treesbushes and gestured for us to follow.What they led us to was a dammed area (must have been by the village) that created a shallow pool of water.As we'd initiated it, Martin decided just to get in and was the first to make the plunge.There was only one way in, off a rock and a quick kind of dive whilst remembering it was pretty shallow.Wow, the water was freezing.Martin swam for 10 seconds whilst gesturing the next person in and then found a rock and climbed out !!!!!Marie whimpered about a bit but then made the jump in.The reaction was great, though it was the same as everyone else.

Once everyone had made the plunge, we were all just waiting for the first person to admit it was freezing and was time to get out.Martin initiated that one (such a poof!!) but also decided that everyone should make a final plunge into the water of hypothermia before getting out, so head first in and then quickly out!!A few others did it and then Maries turn.She decides not to dive in and instead do the lady, quick drop down into the water.As she comes back up, her bikini bottoms dropped down a bit and she shows her bob the builder to all the boys!!!!

After the freezing river, we decided to warm up in the cold shower!Though it was cold, it was still nice to have one after 3 days and feel much cleaner (baby wipes only do part job).So now we should rest…Never.We joined the others (we didn't initiate this one) and had a beer, along with buying the guides and porters a couple of beers.

In the evening, it was happy hour and then dinner.After this, the guide explains that everyone had a choice to make for the following day.You could either stick to the original plan and go with one guide, up and onto an actual Inca trail and to see an Inca Ruin where hopefully you can see across to Machu Picchu or you can go with the porters in the minivan (which took our bags instead of the horses) part way towards our final point and then hike for up to 3 hours.This was done because some people had been really slow and 2 or 3 had even taken the horse of shame.The guide actually told 2 people they would have to go in the minivan but he also told everyone that it would be an early start and the walk would have to be at a higher tempo than it had currently been at, as we had a deadline to make at the Hydroelectric station (our finishing point) where our train departed at 3pm.Martin decided that he would go on the original trail but Marie was waiting to decide until the rest of the girls had made a decision as she didn't want to be the one left behind the marathon guy, Olympic man and Martin. In the end all the girls decided to take the minivan so we would be going our separate ways, but doing what we wanted.

Day 9 - Salkantay Trek Cusco (Day 4 of 5)

So at 5:30am, Martin was given a wakeup call, though Marie got it as well really.After a quick breakfast, we left at 6:30am on the dot (we'd been warned about this as well !!).The start of the trek was to follow the bus route downhill for some 200m or so before bearing off onto an Inca trail.The guide showed the group how the trails looked, with the walls and the paths in stone, though most was now covered in grass, before the uphill started.On the way up the guide showed us coffee beans and how the locals processed it.He said you can buy (though we never saw anywhere we could) about 1kg of coffee beans for 20 soles (about £5).In total, to get to the Inca ruin, it was about 800m up, at all times doing switchbacks but on a decent path.By the time we got to the top, it was hot and we were all hotter.The guide told us more about the Inca buildings and paths etc, which Martin took a video of, as instructed by Marie!!The ruin itself was actually a check point house, where messengers would run to and from (to make sure the message was always in the hands of a fresh runner).We sat by the ruin for about 1 hour as the view was magnificent and when the clouds moved away, we got a glimpse of Machu Picchu, even though it was quite some distance away.

After we'd all had our snack and got some water on board we started the descent.It was so much harder than going up.We went down about 1500m on a dirt track and it was really slippery.Finally we made it to the bottom and saw this "waterfall" which we later learnt was part of the hydroelectric power station. We met the others at the train station where we had lunch.

Whilst Martin was working his little socks off, I had much more of a relaxed day. We left an hour after the boys and after demolishing our cake (yes, for breakfast) we got ready to go on the minibus. My legs were aching, so it was not such a bad thing I had decided to have a more relaxed day. The minivan took us 45 minutes up this road and then dropped us off by a bridge. From there we walked along the river to the hydroelectric station. So instead of walking up the mountain we walked around it.

We got to the train station 2 hours before the boys arrived so we were sat chatting about everything from American health care to mobile phones. All along, our guide was looking at us in disbelief as we were talking about money that he would never have.

After another awesome lunch we boarded the train to Aguas Calientes where we were staying in a hostel for the night.We were all very keen for a hot shower so that was the first thing we did when we got there. Afterwards, we decided to take a stroll downtown and see what was going on. On our way there we realised how much of a tourist trap this place was. Every other place was a hotel, restaurant, massage place or souvenir shop.We met Megan and Henry at the main square and asked if they wanted to come for a drink. We walked up towards our hostel to find a bar an on our way we met some of the others.Together we found a bar and stopped for happy hour (which was actually pretty expensive) and Marie tried Pisco Sour. Yummy.

After the drink we went back to the hotel and met the guides before going for dinner. The dinner wasn't amazing as it was off a tourist menu but at least we had good company. After dinner our guides told us the itinerary for the next morning. We would have to get up at 4 and be ready for 4.30 to get on the first bus.

So at ten (well late), we headed off to bed.

Day 10 Machu Picchu (day 5 of 5)

So we got up and had breakfast before walking down to the bus station. When we arrived the queue was massive and there were around 200 people in front of us. Four people had decided to get up early and go and queue for the bus so they were right up at the front when we got there. Never mind.

We finally got on the bus around 6am which is when Machu Picchu opens.We had been told we might be able to get tickets to climb the small mountain in the background of the ruins, but when we arrived we could only get tickets for the 7am climb which would mean we would miss our official tour. So we decided not to climb and take the tour instead. It was a shame but not much we could do about it.

The tour lasted for a couple of hours and we stopped and took lots of photos. Although the views were the same, the low clouds and then the sunrise made the site look very different. It was magical.

After the tour we had some lunch with Megan and Henry before walking up to the sun gate. The views from there were amazing and it was made even better when everyone disappeared and it was just us there for about an hour.

It is hard to explain Machu Picchu in words. We have seen it on TV but it doesn't compare to the real thing. The surroundings just make it such a magical place.

After eight hours in Machu Picchu we made our way back into town to have some dinner before our train back to Cusco. We had said goodbye to our guides earlier in the day, as they were leaving on a different train and they weren't allowed to travel with the tourists. Pathetic, we thought. We arrived back in cusco just before midnight and we were so tired when we arrived back at the hostel.

Day 11 Back in Cusco

Marie had developed stomach cramps so woke up not feeling too great. After having spoken to the parents we walked into town to sort out a bus to Puno. We stopped in Jack's café for a burger before going to the pharmacy to get something for Marie's stomach pain.

Later in the day we went and got our washing and our bus ticket. The owner of the hostel asked us to come for a Pisco Sour so we went along. Not much else happened that day.

Day 12 Puno

We arrived in Puno after seven hours on the bus. We had been told that there wasn't much to see in Puno apart from Lake Titicaca so we planned to only stay a couple of days, do the main things and then go to Arequipa.

When we got to the hostel we asked them about the tours they offered and after going into town and asking them the same we decided to book with the hostel.Martin had caught a stomach bug so needed to be close to a toilet for the rest of the day to make sure he was ok for the tour in the morning.

Day 13 Puno

We got collected at 6.45 from the hostel and taken to the harbour. Our first stop on the tour was the floating islands on Lake Titicaca, which were now only 20 minutes away from the mainland.Due to their popularity with tourists, most of the islands (there are 60 plus in total) had been moved from their original location to the new, closer to Puno city.As we came into the floating islands, you realised that an island is quite small and they are attached and anchored to one another.On the edge of the islands were lots of villagers waving and singing to all the tourist boats.Not sure why or how but the boat stopped at one and we all got off.The floor was made of reeds and it has a bouncy feeling to it.We were gestured over to an area where we all took a seat on bench type things, of course, made from reeds.The guide explained lots to us about village life, how the islands are made up and what they eat etc.It's incredible that they use reeds for so many things.At one point the woman (who turned out to be the president of the island), started to peel a reed and eat the white part.The guide told us this was their brushing of the teeth as it contained a lot of calcium and she had really good, white teeth !!!After the explanation, we were allowed to wander the village for a while.A lady came over and asked us if we wanted to see her house, which we gratefully accepted.We were shown inside, where she had only a bed, a bench and a small table which had the stereotv on.They had lighting as well which she showed us was run off a small solar panel.We asked how many kids she had and was shocked when she said 5, meaning that 7 people lived in this little house (see the pictures).She was saying something about her 10 year old but we got lost and didn't fully understand if he still lived there or not.

After our little tour of the house we got to look at her stall with handicrafts.We saw a nice embroidery which could be framed, so after a little haggling for fun, we bought it.Then it was time to leave to another island.We had a choice to take our boat or a boat made of the reeds by the village for a small fee.Simple choice, so we hopped onto the reed boat.It took a while to get across as there were about 14 people on it and two people rowing.Marie wouldn't take up the challenge to go and row…..

We spent only a little time on the next island.It seemed to be the main island as there was a restaurant, shops and a post office.Then we were ushered back onto our boat for the 2 hour ride to the next island.Perfect time for a nap.

After 2 hours we arrived at the island of Taquile.We were dropped off on one side of the island and walked up to the main square where we had a look around.The local people were friendly and it was interesting to see their local dress, especially the way they wore a certain coloured hat to show their marital status.You caught yourself saying "he's single" or "he's married" as one went by!!

The views from the main square were lovely and you could even see the snowcapped mountains in Bolivia.We sat and enjoyed the views with some lovely satsumas.

The guide then told us it was time for lunch.We walked further across the island and ended up in a small restaurant called "Los Amigos".It didn't look much from the outside but we were taken round to a small courtyard that had lovely views across the island and bay.We sat and enjoyed lunch of soup, trout (Marie got a omelette type thing) and a pancake with tea.Bargain for £3.50.

With a full stomach, we walked down lots of steps and ended up at a dock on the other side of the island from where we started.We then got back on the boat and took the 2.5 hour boat ride back to Puno (nap time again!!!).

When we got back to the docks, we were taken by taxi to our hostel.There seemed to be lots going on but we never knew what was going to be the next morning.

Day 14 Puno

So we woke and everything seemed quiet.As the hostel and our room was on a main road, this seemed weird.Then we looked out and saw that there was no traffic.After a while, we saw a group of protestors walking along.

At breakfast we spoke with the owner.He told us that the protest was about a mine and these were farmers and local people trying to stop it.He told us that all the roads had been blocked with boulders and no traffic would be going in or out of Puno.Great, as we'd booked to go on the bus that afternoon.He also told us that we shouldn't go out much.They had even put down the metal shutters in front of the doors to the hostel.

We debated about what to do but really there wasn't much we could do.We wanted out but that didn't look likely, so we thought we'd wait to see what happens the next day.We went out for a little while to get some food, but most shops were closed and had metal shutters in place.Finally we got some and spent the rest of the day in the hostel, watching the protestors go by.In the evening there was one that must have had 1000 or more people.

Day 15 Puno

We wake up to the same thing.We read the news about why this was happening and if any resolution had come about.Seemed not, and the government spokesman seemed to think it would continue till after the elections (held a week from now).

We went out for some food and were surprised to see a group of white people waiting outside this military building.Then a military truck turned up.We had a chat with a couple of them and it turned out that one of the group had started to talk with the general of the military and he had organised to get them out.As we wandered back to our hostel, the truck went passed, absolutely packed with people and even a soldier with a gun at the back.

We had reversed our original loop from Lima because of road blocks in the Ica to Arequipa region and now it would seem that we couldn't get out of Puno to Arequipa.We started talking to some others in the hostel and found 3 others that wanted out, so approached the manager about trying to get us out as a group.He came back and told us that someone would drive us out for 55 soles each (about 4 times the normal price) to the town of juliaca, an hour away.We agreed.

We then made the decision that we'd leave Peru.We had found flights, using points and a little cash with one world from Juliaca to Lima and then onto Quito.

In the evening we made our move.A couple of ladies came to get us and by this time 2 more people had joined our group.They told us that they'd gone to the islands during the day and when they were returning to the docks, the protestors started to throw stones at the boat.They also said they'd heard of Gringos being robbed in the streets and whipped around the legs.Great.We had to walk up to this office type place and were told to wait inside as it would be 10 minutes or so till the driver arrived and it was safer inside.

We were all loaded into the car and we started to drive.As we went, the driver was having to go round many large stones that were blocking the way.We then went off onto some dirt roads and wound back round and onto what seemed a main road.This would be better….Or not as it would seem.There were times when we went along quite happily and at a good speed.Then we'd slow right down and would be swerving round massive boulders.There were plenty of dirty looks being given to both the passengers of the car and the driver.No one should be leaving.

We continued for a while and then came up towards a toll booth, which had been overtaken by the protestors.At one point, there were loads of boulders in the road and a stopped van either side of them, with lots of people in them.We thought they were blocking the way but then with a little persuasion from the driver, one moved and we were through.

We finally saw the Juliaca sign and were all quite pleased to see it.We found a hotel that the Lonely Planet suggested and checked in.We got a beer.It was needed.

Day 16 Lima

We got up and thought about what we'd do for the entire day since our flight was at 8pm.Our flight to Quito was then at 6am, so we checked if there were any other flights and it turned out there was one.Luckily we had a LAN office just by us, so Martin was sent off to try and see if we could change.At first we were told it was $32.50 each and we weren't going to do it but then decided we would.When Martin went back to actually change it, they seemed to have an issue with it and in the end, they spoke to someone at the airport who agreed just to get us on the earlier plane.

So we packed up quickly and got a cab to the airport.We arrived in Lima around 2pm and went to our hostel.

We had a chilled day.In the late afternoon, we went for a walk in what turned out to be the not so great area that we were staying but then it was so close to the airport, it was perfect for us.The hostel owner son asked if we'd have a chat in the evening.Thinking it was to practice his English, we agreed.When we turned up he told us it was for his tourism class and would we mind being interviewed and recorded.We spent the next hour being interviewed about a new shopping mall, which we had visited and asked whether it was a god thing or not.It was quite nice to chat and afterwards we said our goodbyes and went off to pack up and get ready for Ecuador.

Photo's of Peru (again)

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/777330960