So with our newly acquired set of wheels and ready to take on the ol US and A, we had about a week to finally see some of LA, having spent the first 2 weeks looking for the car. Of course we drove up to the Hollywood sign for the classic photos, as well as cruise along the scenic Mulholland drive. We drove around Beverly Hills admiring the massive houses and up scale shops where the inhabitants undoubtedly get their attire. One day we hit the coastal suburbs, c...

After an unbelievable 2 months in South America, it was straight to Los Angeles from Lima, with no stop in Mexico as originally planned because of the swine flu. I had high expectations of LA, home of the stars, land of the rich and famous and the entertainment mecca of the word. So I was expecting bright lights, fancy billboards and pearly white smiles to greet me at LAX airport. What I found was a dark run down dump with flickering lights seemingly pleading t...

As some of you may have noticed, I have actually now returned from the trip, giving an indication of how far I fell behind with this. However I am determined to finish it so that I can get things down before I forget them. Besides, Ben's blog only lasted for 2 weeks way back in Thailand at the start of the trip before he gave up so I think I've done well. Anyway so after the exerts of the Inca Trail and appropriate celebrations in Cusco, we flew to Lima for our f...

Cusco is naturally a very lively city packed with tourists, but to be honest it's not typically overcrowded like most of the South American major cities we've been to. It has seemingly survived the Spanish architectural overhaul of the country during the colonial era and maintains a lot of indigenous historical and cultural charm. A host of buildings sport traditional Incan designs, such as the solid and incredibly intricate megalith walls of granite blocks that ...

Like I said I got out of hospital the day before the start of our G.A.P tour which was lucky. We had booked onto a 15 day tour going from La Paz to Lima involving Lake Titicaca and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, as well as various other bits and bobs. Somehow we managed to fluke having G.A.P's best voted tour guide, Manuel, who was an absolute legend and a more than competent tour leader. He knew everything about every aspect of the trip and was incredibly organ...