Lizzy and Rick

Hollywood Monday 11th January After spending a wonderful Christmas and New Year in Arizona with Rick's family we were back on with our travels again. We were up at 5.30am to fly from Phoenix to LAX which was an easy 90 minute journey. Once we'd picked up our baggage we jumped on the Prime-Time Shuttle which for only $15 takes you directly to your hostel. We were staying at the Banana Bungalow which was located on Hollywood Blvd. For the price and location it was brilliant. Although you did have to remember to turn left towards the Chinese Theatre when you leave. If you turn right you are quickly surrounded by hookers and crack heads. We started our day by walking down Hollywood Blvd checking out the Walk of Fame. A few blocks down we were ... read more

Nazca Lines Sunday 13th December - Day 98 From Puerto Inka we travelled to Nazca however on the way Vanessa had organised for us to go to the Chauchilla cemetery. These are tombs by the huaqueros, which were found in the desert and predate the Incas. The tombs had been robbed of the gold but many bodies and artifacts were left behind. It was blisteringly hot with wave after wave of sandstorms peppering us, an arid desert with nothing around us but sand and skeletons. Our all-knowing guide Vanessa decided that this would be the perfect place for lunch. After a sand filled, difficult lunch we headed for our hotel, where we would be staying. GAP had arranged for us to camp in a field which, on arrival, had chickens and goats roaming around it. We ... read more

Cusco & the 4 day Inka Trail to Machu Picchu! Wednesday 2nd December - Day 87 Lizzy ended up being awake majority of the night being ill so wasn't feeling great in the morning. We all had to be up at 6.30am to travel to Cusco. On the way we stopped at the border between the province of Puno and Cusco where there were market stalls surrounded by snow peaked mountains. We arrived in Cusco at 3pm to check into our hotel. We were given this HUGE room which was right outside reception and it was both cold and noisy. As Lizzy still wasn't well she stayed in bed for 3 hours while Rick went out and explored Cusco. Cusco is the historic capital of the Inca Empire and was declared a World Heritage Site in ... read more

La Paz, Bolivia Wednesday 25th November - Day 80 We ended up arriving in La Paz 3 hours later than schedule, however that's nothing out of the ordinary for South American time keeping...we ended up getting in at about 7pm! The first views of La Paz are from high up in the mountains and you look down on the whole city in the valley below. The city is one of the highest cities in the world...standing at 3600m above sea level! We were both a little concerned about Bolivia, out of all the countried we had planned to visit, this was supposedly one of the most dangerous for tourists. We definitely had our guard on more than usual... The first things we noticed coming out of the bus station were the noise from the beeping horns ... read more

Santiago - Chile Sunday 15th November - Day 70 We left Mendoza and headed for the hills. On our way to the border we're continuously climbing winding roads until we are as high as the snow covered peaks. After 3 hours of this we then have to queue for over an hour to get through immigration at an altitude of over 4000 meters. After this, feeling extremely groggy, all the passengers of our bus are made to line up, like wanted criminals, to get through customs. Our bus driver appears and holds out a cup and strongly suggests that we have a whip-round for the poker-faced officials and the guys who have slung our bags off and on the bus. We wearily return to the bus and brace ourselves for some more meandering roads at high ... read more