well well well, we made it over the border, after all the tales of the hellish adventure we would encounter, it really could not have been easier. Our train from Bolivia to the Brazilian border was fine, no wonder you have to book in advance though, there are only 50 seats in the 2 carriages provided. Also they store all your bags under the train which is a bit disconcerting, but there you go. 12 hours flew by at about 10mph, but they did have Hollywood films on the go so you cant complain, and a weird chicken and rice dinner. We were met off the train by Ronny Anaconda - a genuine fella, who even paid for our taxi to the border point. After 6 months of crossing borders you dont worry anymore, but it ... read more

Well it was time to say goodbye to Peru and hello to Bolivia, just the issue of getting across the border 1st. We had been warned that it was really hard to get a bus direct from Cusco, into Bolivia without having to change in Puno along the way. We choose a company called Litoral as they are one of ther better ones and the girl assured us it would go direct to Copacabana in Bolivia, so who were we to disbelieve her............well obviously it didn´t go direct at all. We only had 6 passengers for a start, then they headed to Puno, near the border, here we arrived at 5am, and they turned the bus off, locked the doors and made us sit there until 7am when the bus station opened. It was so cold ... read more

Those of you who know my fitness levels will understand that we arrived in Cusco somewhat nervous due to the fact that we had booked a 4 day trek through the sacred valley to end at sunrise over Macchu Picchu..we spent 4 days acclimatising to the altitude as during the trek we would climb 3 mountain passes to 4800 metres above sea level. Luckily Cusco is a diverting town so there was lots to take my mind of the task ahead. The lares trail, or weavers way, is a stunning walk though communities that pratice traditional weaving and farming techniques, passing and camping by lakes along the way. Our group of 10 consisted of 8 British people, one lady from Hong Kong and one lady from Canada. With us travelled our guides Victor and Americo an ... read more

The Colca canyon is the 2nd largest in the world and only a few hours from Arequipa, it is famous for being home to Condors. We booked to go on a 2 day tour with Colonial Tours, mainly as they did not pick you up at 3am as most of the others seemed to do............It was a cracking trip, the long and lonely road took you through desert type landscapes, with huge drops off the side of the road to a town called Chivay, an old traditional Peruvian town (now firmly meated out for tourists though). On the way we passed over 4900m above sea level, this is not a pleasant experience, we have been quite high for the last few weeks, but this was something new, not sure how people live at that altitude, but ... read more

San Pedro de atacama is an oasis in the middle of the crazy landscape that is the Atacama desert. We didnt know what to expect as we werent planning on visiting the region at all until a friendly traveller suggested we skipped Salta and headed to Peru via the top of Chile instead. It is the highest and driest desert in the world. The town itself is firmly on the tourist trail but manages to be completely charming at the same time. Mostly adobe buildings with courtyards line the dusty cobbled streets around a central plaza with an adobe chapel. We booked into a friendly hostel and booked onto a tour of one of the main sights for the following day, and prepared ourselves for a 4 am start with a meal by one of the ... read more