Back to internet so time for an update on whats been happening. Leaving Flores our 5 hour directo bus turned out to be anything but. After 5 hours we pulled into a larger than expected town but were pleased to finally be there. You can imagine our surprise when we suddenly realized we had sailed 1.5hrs past our turn off in order to drop half the collectivo (minibus) off. Just to add to our smiles and head shaking the driver dropped us in a car park outside a shopping mall while we waited for him to pop home for lunch his [View Full Entry]

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We left Mexico with a long slow drive to the border. Roads aren't too bad here but when they have speed bumps at every village that are only a couple of Kms apart, it is quite a long drive. Our trip seemed to incur multiple additional costs which left us a bit annoyed and our driver was particularly rude. To cross into Guatemala we had to take a boat ride in a long dug out canoe for 30mins up the Rio Usumacinta. Our bus driver in Guatemala couldn't have been more different than the one we had left in Mexico. He [View Full Entry]

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We learned a quick lesson today that in central America your hotel need not have a shower as at this time of year nature is quite capable of providing one for you. We got off our bus and realised it was definitely air conditioned, a heat wave hit us as we exited in the small town of Palenque. We have dropped down in altitude now from Mexico city and San Cristobal de las Casas and finally Leanne feels at home in the stinky hot humid heat. Palenque is a small town with not much happening but set on the outskirts is [View Full Entry]

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We have had many a traffic story but we would like to note our ride to Lima Airport with a wannabe rally driver, was possibly the worst and even Leanne yelling at him didn´t seem to slow him down. It was exciting to arrive in Mexico to start our new adventure. the is something about an international plane journey and a new location that rejuvenates that "going on holiday" feeling. Too many times do we turn up somewhere and start the accommodation hunt but arriving in Mexico City at night we had already prebooked a hostel that had offered to pick [View Full Entry]

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We arrived on our overnight bus at about midday. We had decided to travel in Semi Cama to save a bit of money and the stiff neck in the morning explained why it was a little cheaper but still we were fed a great meal and even given two movies in English to watch so cant complain. We chose the top front two seats again as you get great panoramic views from here and we were traveling all morning in the light. The flip side is you get to scrutinise the drivers ability far to much. This guy was a little [View Full Entry]

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Our tour guide was due to pick us up at midnight so we set our alarm for 10 minutes to. As 10 mins past rolled around we were starting to worry whether the instructions were clear. Leanne went to the reception to find the lovely hostal man asleep infront of the television and with a startled awakening he assured us that in Peruvian time everything was fine and not to worry "12, 12.30, all the same". Sure enough our guide arrived and our 6 hour bus journey to the canyon was "freezing" as we passed over altitudes of 4800m. Colca Canyon [View Full Entry]

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Finally a trouble free comfortable bus and we arrived in Arequipa on time at 6.30am. With the tight schedule that we had given ourselves you can be forgiven to think we were on a 2 week holiday. So with 3 days and 2 nights we had to squash in a 2 days tour of Colca Canyon before we were due to catch another overnight bus to Lima. First stop was to visit a number of tour agencies to find out prices and schedules. Traditionally this is a 3 day tour as the canyon is a 6 hr bus trip from Arequipa, [View Full Entry]

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There was a bang on the door at 4am from our guide although we were already awake and eager to go. We had a quick breakfast as caffeine was required for the climb ahead. With a glow of head torches we set off on the 1.5hour steep climb to the entrance of Machu Picchu. Not even the cool 4am air kept us from drowning in sweat as we climbed solidly almost without rest. Our guides determination to push on showed his experience and timing as we arrived at the etrance steps 15 mins before opening and before the first load of [View Full Entry]

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When Santa Theresa was washed away 9 years ago they obviously whacked together this new city in a hurry and like that it has obviously stayed. Our room was right on the main square. Our door almost opened onto the street with half an inch gap of light around the door. We looked straight up at a corrugated iron roof and the wiring was at such a standard that when the light switch heated up Matt quickly turned it off and the hot plastic warped so you could not turn it on again. Add to this the local laborers being picked [View Full Entry]

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The alarm went off at 5.30 for a pre sunrise start. Toady was to be a solid days walking from Santa Maria to Santa Theresa. The journey would take us along part of the historical Inca Trail and then follow the river up to the hot springs near where we would be staying. We left Santa Maria and dropped down to the river where we wondered past the derelict and deserted buildings. These were the remnants of the original Santa Maria which was destroyed along with several other villages about 9 years ago when a flash flood was created by a [View Full Entry]

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