Arrived in Cusco after the most comfortable bus ride we have yet experienced in South America. Reclinable leather seats, and an air hostess (for want of a better word) who handed out blankets, dinner and breakfast! I could get used to travelling like this! We got nabbed by a tout as we got of the bus and decided to be lazy and go with her for one night at least. Checked into a hostal and slept for the better part of the morning. Ventured out in the afternoon to have a look around though got very distracted by the markets that seem to be on every corner here! I bought the Boleto Touristico (though the horrible woman wouldn't accept my student card and charged me double for the adult one) and found another hostal for ... read more

Spent yesterday in Ica visiting a couple of churches and a rather interesting museum full of dead people, trepanned skulls and (rather disturbingly) a preserved sawn-off hand in a jar. Not quite sure why any of them were in there but interesting none the less. Caught a taxi to nearby Huacachina (for a very reasonable amount - very glad we're out of Lima now) and checked into 'The House of Sand'. We walked around the oasis and up onto one of the dunes which took all of half an hour (Huacachina truly is tiny!) Got absolutely exhausted just going up the one dune so who knows how we're going to fare tomorrow whilst carrying sandboards! Made an early start to the day intending to have finished by ten but unfortunately didn't count on the locals not ... read more

Visited Huacas del Sol and la Luna this morning. Two Pre-Incan temples built by the Moche civilisation over six centuries to AD600. Managed to use our student cards for reduced tickets (unlike the horrible lady in Chiclayo who wouldn't accept them despite having 'International Student Card' written on them!) and get an English-speaking guide. Only the Temple of the Moon was open but the actual complex was huge. The temple is actually five temples, one built on top of the other. The first was buried and then the next built on top. In true Peruvian style and with a rather warped idea of preservation we were allowed to walk all over the buildings. The front facade was still being excavated but most of the inside walls were covered in friezes still with original colours. Absolutley ... read more

Headed to the pre-Incan site of Sipan this morning in a rather intersting mini-van which seems to be the main form of public transport here. The site is still being excavated but the workers seem to have no problem stopping to talk to the tourists. Only Spanish speaking guides so we just went round reading the boards although the person who wrote them had an interesting grasp of English to say the least. It was actually easier to translate the Spanish than to try and decipher the English! The grave sites had been left with replicas of the bodies and treasures that had been found so you get some idea of how it looked. The finds are in the Sipan museum in Lambayeque. No idea why they're not in a museum in Sipan or even ... read more

After having to say goodbye to our family, all our friends as well as the kids at Adinea and the orphanage in Cuenca we were both officially emotional wrecks so took a couple of days in Vilcabamba to relax. Had a hellish start today with a 4.30am wake up call in order to catch the first bus of the morning from Vilcabamba to Loja. Unfortunatley this didn't turn up until 5.50am which meant we drove into Loja just as our 7am bus to Piura, Peru drove out. You would think buses would go regularly but no. Missing this one meant a six hour wait in Loja bus terminal in order to get the 1pm bus. Believe me, bus terminals are not nicest places to wait and we got a lot of weird looks for sitting ... read more