Hello from the Incan World. I´ve been in Peru now for almost a month, mainly in the Incan capital city of Cusco trying to learn Spanish, but also checking out Arequipa, trekking the Colca Canyon, exploring the jungle and of course venturing to the newest wonder of the World…Machu Picchu.

I have taken hundreds of photos in the last few weeks, but have been pretty lazy and only just uploaded them so apologies for the masses!!! I´ve given Macchu Picchu its own album and blog as it was that GOOD!!! SO if you can´t be assed to read this one then just read that....its a lot shorter too.

AREQUIPA & COLCA CANYON - 15 May to 19 May
It took a day to travel from Arica in Chile to Arequipa in Peru by a combination of collectivos and buses. Enroute I was (un)lucky enough to be sat next to a Peruvian guy called Basilio who insisted on talking to me the entire way. Half way to Arequipa we were stopped at a security checkpoint, at which point I learned he was smuggling electronics...he had two DVD players stuffed down his shirt!!! After refusing to hide two remote controls in my shorts for him we cleared security and made it to Arequipa at which point I helped him unload his luggage - it turns out it was more than a couple of DVD players! Two 28inch widescreen TVs, and 2 HI-Fis! What a chancer!! He then invited me to stay at his house with his his family...I´m not sure his wife was too happy when he turned up with a hungry Gringo and asked her to rustle something up!!

Arequipa was a cool city despite my limited time there, the most interesting part being the Santa Catalina Convent in which 400 nuns lived in at its peak - a whole operating town inside the city completely secluded from everything and flanked by 3 snow-capped mountains at 6000metres.

A 2.30am start saw me on a trip to the Colca Canyon about 3hrs drive away from Arequipa. We stopped at an aptly named place called Cruz del Condor along with busloads of other tourists to see Condors riding the air currents in the Canyon - these birds, a type of vulture are huge...with wingspans up to 3metres! We then walked for 6hrs deep down into the canyon, stopping at a couple of old Incan villages enroute and seeing a working 500yr old irrigation system flowing from the top of the mountains. The early morning walk out of the Canyon wasn´t quite so easy going - straight up and at 5am!! Ouch!! Still at the top we were rewarded with a picture with a llama and a hawk, and an hour in a hot spring amongst towering mountains and under bright blue skies.

CUSCO - 19 May to 14 June
Cusco was the capital of the Incan Empire when they ruled large parts of South America including Ecuador, Peru, northern Chile, northern Argentina and Bolivia from 1438 to 1533. Consequently the city is full of Incan architecture and surrounded by ruins culminating in the mindblowing Machu Picchu. Whilst studying Spanish for the last month I´ve managed to squeeze some of it in...

Too much time in Cusco...
After a week of partying I opted to live with a family in an effort to improve my Spanish...I´m not sure if this has worked or not as I still can´t understand anything any of them say!! The oldest guy Jhimy asked me to play football with his amigos - I accepted before thinking about how many cervezas I have drunk over the last 10months, what little exercise I have done and the fact that Cusco resides 3300metres above sea level! After 10mins I was in pieces!!

I even managed to get involved in some volunteering here - "Not like me?" I hear you say...well throwing yourself in at the deep end is what its all about and this was certainly a baptism. After turning up at the school setup for kids who would otherwise be on the streets, I sat down next to 2 6yr old kids named Jose Luis and Elsa. After 5mins I knew what I had let myself in for...Jose Luis is a bit of a tearaway and is constantly drawing on people, kicking people or trying to throw his dinner on you!! After suggesting we go play footy in the street within 15mins I had 4 wannabe Spiderkids cliimbing up my back, or jumping off the walls and expecting me to catch them! They even MADE me carry them, one on each shoulder to the park to play!! Try climbing the steep steps of Cusco with two kids refusing to walk on your shoulders...!!!! Lunges in the gym just doesn´t cut it!!

In other news I checked out a few museums, the best being Qoricancha - originally built by the Incans but partly destroyed by the Spanish when they invaded in the 16th Century - Incan walls still remain and the quality of their craftmanship is evident. They build walls ready to withstand earthquakes all without any cement. The pieces fit together like a jigsaw. Unbelievable. See some pics.

Luckily for me I am here in June which is the party month for Cusco, due to the fact that 80% is Catholic. Every church has a parade and they carry large figures around the town with music and dancing. The streets are packed and they eat traditional food, Cuy (or Guinea Pig!!). Obviously I had to try it - its a little chewy!

Sacred Valley
The Sacred Valley contained more ruins from Incan times. The Incans were unbelievably advanced and had methods to test growing produce at different climates. This mainly involved hundreds of stacked terraces and is a large part of any Incan ruin including Machu Picchu. It means that you have mountain sides covered with Incan built walls and surrounded by small villages for living. Two of these were Ollantaytambo and Pisaq - two huge Incan sites about 50km away from Cusco. Standing on one of the terraces you realise how big they are, about 6-7ft high and extending down the mountain as far as the eye can see.

Read on about the jungle and Machu Pichhu in another blog if you have time or are bored!!

I´m off to Argentina tomorrow heading for Buenos Aires and what i´m told is some of the best steak and nightlife on the planet.

Adios amigos...

Will