From the remote islands of Galapagos on the equator where temperatures were a toasty 30 C, we flew all the way down south to the Argentinian town of El Calafate located in the Patagonia area, not too far (relatively speaking) from the point where Antartica starts. No, we're not testing the limits of our body's ability to withstand extreme swings in temperatures although it did take some adjusting (and plenty of layers) to get acclimatised to the sub-zero...

15 September 1835. 26-year old Charles Darwin, the son of a wealthy doctor who had dropped out of medical school because he could not stand the sight of blood (much to his father's annoyance), arrived in the Galapagos Islands on board the HMS Beagle. Being a geologist (someone who studies the solids and liquids that make up the Earth) at that time, his primary objective was to observe the interesting volcanic craters that make up the Islands. During the 5 ...

Of the five countries visited (or rather, still visiting) on our trip, we spent the most time in Peru - a total of 28 days or about a third of our travel time. Other than Puno (the city in Laka Titicaca bordering Bolivia) and Cusco, we also visited three other Peruvian cities:Arequipa and the Colca CanyonSituated 450 km south of Cusco, it is the second largest city in Peru (after Lima). While it is a fairly interesting city in its own right (a lot of its buildi...

The end of the Inca Trail marked the midpoint of our South America adventure / honeymoon. We've been living out of our haversacks for 5 weeks, never staying in a particular place for more than 3 nights at a time. So when we moved into our host family's home in Cusco following the Inca Trail, we were more than glad to be "living" there for the next two weeks. If you've been constantly on the move like we have been for over a month, you will understa...

Let me start with this: If you are able-bodied, in relatively good shape (able to walk up a flight of steps without panting) and plan to visit Machu Picchu, DO NOT take the train!OK, let me elaborate - it's not that the train is dodgy. On the contrary, the train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes (the last stop before Machu Picchu) provides one of the most scenic train journeys in the world. Coupled with impeccable service on-board (if you opt for the premium se...