Potosi was definitely the biggest culture shock of our trip. After a more than comfortable night in the Koala Den (plus fruit and eggs for breakfast, yum!) we took a tour out to the working mineral mines underneath the Cerro rico mountain. First stop was the miner´s market where we got to buy gifts for the miner´s..Like every good tourist we settled on a bunch of dynamite with extra detonators and a bag of coca leaves. Jack was veering towards the 80% proof potable alcohol but our guide (a miner himself) said that this was not good as most of the [View Full Entry]

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It´s easy to see why Sucre is so often related to it´s french translation..it is the sweetest little town. All set out around organised plazas with lots of lovely benches and statues etc etc. Unfortunately we spent most of our first day here getting bugged by shoe-shine boys - the fact you are wearing flip flops is no put-off to them whatsoever - and Jack befriended some young ladies ( 5 yr old bolivian beggars) who desired his jewelry...Obviously his charm is just too iresistible! We headed over to the market for our favourite one quid almuerzo luncheon, actually pretty tasty [View Full Entry]

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So after an eventful bus ride..including another experience where Jack and I forget to get any money out and were then informed that we had to pay to get out of our coach and cross a river (cue more begging from our fellow travellers)..we arrived relatively unscathed in La Paz. Much to Jack´s dismay...shopping central. On the bus we teamed up with an irish/aussie couple called mike and yvette and hunted down a decent (incredibly cheap) hostel with them. The hostels recommended by the lonely planet are so expensive when it comes to the city, so far it has been best [View Full Entry]

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I am about two weeks behind on this blog now so should really start speeding things up, as I write this Jack and I are waiting to cross the border from Bolivia into Argentina but I´ll try and backtrack to our crossing from Peru into Bolivia...our time in this country has been so busy and gone soo fast! The night bus from Cuzco to Puno wasn´t too bad, although the driver decided to lock us into the downstairs section (i think it was his solution to our loose door). This was fine until about 1am when i needed a wee and [View Full Entry]

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So with Jack´s arrival in S.A and only a month to get to Buenos Aires we had to start moving pretty quickly, which unfortunately for Jack meant flying from Lima to Cusco..his fourth plane in 2 days..pretty heavy for someone who doesn´t like flying! The flight was amazing though, quite low the whole way so we could see the tops of the andes. We flew with TACA who turned out to be a pretty efficient airline, bags all ready on our arrival and welcomed into the airport by a peruvian band..nice. We made our first faux pas by deciding to get [View Full Entry]

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I have decided there are two things sure of capital cities all over the world..firstly that they are big and secondly that they are busy. Lima is no exception to this rule, except big doesnt quite cover it..it´s huge! To get from Barranco, the beach neighbourhood of the city, to centro historico, takes over 4 hours by bus - and that´s on a good run! I am glad I had three whole days to explore as the city is basically made up of three neighbourhoods. On my first night I stayed in Barranco, considered the most bohemian and artistic neighbourhood. It [View Full Entry]

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The best thing Huanchaco has going for it is its proximity to two of the most impressive archeological sites south America has to offer (and yep that is including Machu Picchu!). The city of Chan Chan and the Huaca De La Luna y Del Sol are all set within the Peruvian region of La Libertad and all pre-date the inca empire by a far whack. First I visited Chan Chan which is a pre-inca city built entirely of adobe (mud bricks). It dates from around 850 AD and like Machu Picchu is a world heritage site..but without the whopping great price [View Full Entry]

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Mancora must be the best place to start a journey through Peru. Beautiful white sands and clear waters, only one road which is lined with tasty typical cuisine. Yummy fresh fruit and veg everywhere, cheap but tasteful markets and lovely helpful locals. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach called ´Las Ola¨s´very appropriately spanish for the waves..which came right up to the front of the bar area. It was like paradise, i actually almost cried a bit with relief after the stressful border crossing. My two days in Mancora were spent doing as much relaxing as I possibly could. [View Full Entry]

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So after Banos we took the bus down to Cuenca...officially the worst bus ride yet. The farmers are still striking over plans to privatise water so buses are avoiding certain parts of the country. This means that getting enywhere involves long complex routes scaling mountainsides. This would have been fine if the ecuadorians were skilled road builders. Unfortunately they are not. Even more unfortunately I managed to get a seat not only over a wheel for ultimate bump-sensitivity - but also opposite the toilet which appeared to use its own cess pit to flush..mmm. 12 hours later i stumbled from th [View Full Entry]

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After a stinky, long and sweaty bus journey we made it to Banos in South Ecuador, a town built at the foot of two volcanoes (active ones too!) but the pretty thermal town was just what was needed after roughing it in the amazon. Saturday was possibly one of the best days of my trip yet, white water rafting down rio Pastaza! At first I was a bit dubious, having heard all of the scare stories from fellow travellers about capsizing boats and inadequate life-savers, also it didnt help that our coach only gave us a quick run through of what [View Full Entry]

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