So I made a list, checked it twice and thought about all the things I'd left behind.A couple of beers courtesy of the carron family to settle the nerves and then off to bed for a quick siesta before the adventure began on a cold wednesday morning. One last fry at Belfast airport and I was off. I placed my absolute trust in the baggage handlers to take my 15.6kg bag of everything all the way to Lima without any further involvement from me - thankfully they did me proud! 30 short hours later and I was in sleepy Peru. The weather (and my first shower) was cold and wet but the people were warm and friendly.

I quickly learnt the value of looking left and right (and repeating as necessary) before crossing the busy roads. There's no debating the fact that the roads in the capital are a big bag of crazy with; a constant chorus of horns sounding, bus conductors literally hanging out the back of their vehicles shouting above the din of the busy city and cars continually weaving across each others' paths, but the organised chaos seemed to work - we didn't witness any accidents and there didn't seem to be any real agro in the way the locals drove, always yielding in just the nick of time to avoid a crash and working together to make sure everyone got to where they wanted to be in one piece.

The coastline was a short walk from our hostel; large cliffs overlooked the stoney beaches filled with surfers below, I saw para gliders, a mini replica of Christ the Redeemer donated by Brazil and a neat looking black and white lighthouse. My rather unsuccessful attempts to hold a conversation in Spanish were all the encouragement I needed to vow to try a little harder to get to grips with this most appealing of languages. It was a welcome sight to see the 2 now surely bi-lingual Peters arrive at the hostel on my second night.

So next to Huacachina for sand surfing and cold beer. I'm not sure it'll compete with that time at Whiterocks with Ace and Swayze but here's hoping. Todo bien! Let the good times roll....