Umm where to start Having left Puno, we ventured out onto Lake Titicaca to the floating reed islands of the Uros indians. Fascinating stuff, but we left with the view that it has now become more of a tourist performance than a real way of life. That said, the way these people live (or lived) is indeed fascinating. A couple of shots to show the atmosphere of the place - including Chris getting dressed in local garb and hamming it up. There are 35 of these islands - with several families on each, so there must be some substance to it. [View Full Entry]

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Not a great deal to report today - but the last for 3 days as we head off to Sun Island on the lake. Not even sure we have electricity there so will not be taking the laptop. Bus trip today from Cusco to Puno on the lakeshore. Followed a heavy night at a local restaurant in Cusco where we were entertained by a small band and dancers. Each was fantastic, but with free pisco sours and too much beer and wine to follow, we were a little tired on the bus today. That said, the bus trip was still enjoyable [View Full Entry]

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Ian here after 2 days and nights in Cusco. Wonderful surprise since the city is steeped in history, and at the same time it is a delightful and safe city where we have been happy to walk around late in the night. Built around a number of town squares in a valley at 3600 metres, it houses around 400,000 people. While modern in the centre of the city, the suburbs seem quite old, run down, and relatively poor. A lot of the streets are built with hard rock ''çobblestones', and many are narrow apparently dating back to Inca times in some [View Full Entry]

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Checking in from Cusco, having moved from the Sacred Valley through MachuPicchu (MP) over the past two days. One highlight was the train journey from Ollantaytambo to MP. Through the deepest of valleys, we passed rocky ranges , snow packed peaks, Inca ruins and finally rainforest before arriving at Aguas Callientes Village - at the foot of MP. Lovely 5 star hotel there with great food to boot. Finally a zigzag bus trip up the mountain to the citadel at MP. First sight and entry was an eerie feeling - one of expectation on what we were about to see and [View Full Entry]

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The trip to Puerto Maldonado and ultimately Reserva Amazonica was again smooth. Contours Travel are really coming through on admin. Nice cabin in the jungle, and excursions started with a jungle walk. I crashed and Pete and Chris went on a dusk river cruise and Chris filled her ambition to see a family of capybaras in the wild. Also spotted some caimans. The following day saw a trek thru the jungle and a canoe on Lake Sandoval trying to spot wildlife. Day was completed with a visit to a local family but we believe that it was more showbiz than reality. [View Full Entry]

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Hi. Lima tour today. Interesting ...... Sprawling city of 7 plus mill people, in a city that seems to have grown in an ad-hoc fashion. Humid cold and overcast all day, it is apparently like this all winter. Blue sky starts appearing nowish. Last measurable rain they had was in 1983. Although effectively in desert (oceanside), the place is nice and green, fed with water from the Andes (although most apparently flows east to flood the Amazon basin). Visited an ancient adobe pyramid (being restored) in the middle of the city oday - along with the city square, the cathedral including [View Full Entry]

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Hi all - Ian here. Fine flight over - LAN passed with flying colours. First surrise was the sight of the southern Andes as we hit the continent well south of Santiago, and had the good fortune to be on the right side of the plane. Magnificent, Rugged peaks and plenty of snow. Santiago seems to be a great place, and we had our first afternoon off, but Ted, our leader suggested we keep going, so we had a great walk around the city and topped it off with a chairlift ride to the highest close peak for a great vista [View Full Entry]

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Second day in Santiago. Formal tour based around the centre of the city with all of the govt buildings - and the presidential palace. A lot of activity in the centre square - including an attack on one of our fellow travellers as a guy wrenched a gold chain from around his neck! Nice place this. Mind you we had been warned not to wear jewellry. Most impressive of the old buildings was the 1749 Catholic Catherdral. A bit tired on the outside, the interior was magnificent. We had lunch at the local fish market, but in reality it was just [View Full Entry]

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Well, Just set up the account. Just thought I would see how this thing works. [View Full Entry]

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