November 10, 11 & 12 - The Amazon Tuesday November 10, 2009 - Day 1 Leaving Cusco for the last time, my weary legs from the 4 previous days manage to carry me to the local airport where we boarded a plane and transported to a small town by the name of Puerto Maldnado where we will then took a mini-bus to the riverboat - via the office of the tour company where the bulk of our luggage was stored so we all had to pack what we wanted into our much smaller packs (a much harder task for the girls [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sunday November 8, 2009 - Macchu Picchu I still can´t quite believe that the whole reason for me becoming interested in doing this trek and wanting to come to Peru has come and gone. I don´t think it will really sink in until I´m on the plane back home, flicking through the photos on my camera with the whole journey behind me... The last day of the journey to Macchu Picchu began early, very early. Following our last games of Uno and dinner, we retired early (I still hadn´t washed though the wet wipes I had were a suitable substitute!) so [View Full Entry]

---

---

November 5 - 7, 2009 - The Inca Trail Day 1 I´m sitting here in my tent watching 4 of the porters that had just scaled a mountain begin the process of sowing a new crop for a local farmer in a little village situated along the Inca Trail. Full of excitement, I woke up at 5:30am ready to begin the three-and-a-half days of hiking/walking that will lead to Macchu Picchu. After breakfast, Chris, Michael, Richard and I are bundled into another mini-bus with another guide from another tour company, Colibri (Spanish for "hummingbird"). Elias, will guide us along the ancient [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wednesday November 4, 2009 - Before the Trek After what was the best brekkie I´ve had - fruit with yoghurt and honey-smacks as well as the usual items, Kim, Stephen, Kath and I head to the "Art District" to exlore the shops and markets of this area. The remaining group members headed to the "Sacred Valley" for a day long tour. We duck in and out of many, many stores either window shopping or actually purchasing a trinket or two. Some of the artwork and jewellery was amazing - particulalry the Incan inspired statues at a jewellery story but at US$10,000 [View Full Entry]

---

---

November 1-3, 2009 - Puno & Lake Titicaca, Peru After a decent night´s sleep, we are all thrown into Taxi Chollos (small three wheeled, peddle powered taxis) which take us to the port of Puno where we will board a boat to take us out on to this massive lake and head for Taquile Island, about three hours away. The scenery is amazing here so there are plenty of photos to see (when I get a chance to upload them) and being on a boat is far better and much more relaxing than our previous days on buses travelling over bumpy [View Full Entry]

---

---

October 31, 2009 - Sibayo, Peru Still affected by altitude sickness, I took some Nurofen Plus at about 10:45pm last night to help me sleep - it did the trick! I woke at about 5:30am to the not to distant sound of a voice over a loud speaker, presumably from the town square only 50 metres away. We later find out that the use of the town´s PA system is for news broadcasts and to advertise work where labour is required - this town is also rebuilding from an earthquake and most of the town is pretty ´new. After eating some [View Full Entry]

---

---

October 30, 2009 - Chivay F$#KING ALTITUDE SICKNESS!!! Last night was the worst night (attempting to) sleep EVER! What was more like a massive migraine than a headached, kept me awake most of the night. The somewhat warm temperature in the room may have also contributed. After some Nurofen Plus and a cold shower, I headed down to breakfast and seeing Michael´s reaction at seeing me, I knew I did not look well. Once the Nurofen kicked in, I managed a few pieces of bread with cheese and a cup of coffee - tasty, International Roast! The slow and winding journey [View Full Entry]

---

---

October 29, 2009 - Arequipa Following breakfast at the hotel, we board a mini-bus that will take us to Chivay, with a few stops along the way. Deviating off the main road, we drive along a track that leads us into the mountains. We de-board at a small town called Sumbay which is nestled in a valley bordered by landscape resembling that of the Grand Canyon. Needing to use the bano (loo) due to the volume of water i was drinking to prevent altitude headaches, I entered, did what I needed and left promptly when Kim just happened to be approaching [View Full Entry]

---

---

October 28, 2009 - Arequipa I slept better than expected on the bus, calling seat #29 before we boarded which turned out to be the best seat on the bus with only the staircase from the lower level and a flat roof in front of us - perfect for stretching out my legs (like I need the room!!). I opted to stay at the hotel for the morning to catch up on my writing and to rest a little as the last few days had been pretty non-stop. This hotel is by far the best we´ve stayed so far; though lacking [View Full Entry]

---

---

October 27, 2009 - Nazca I forgot to mention that we stopped off at a small winery yesterday where we sampled some of the wines made here. Though at 40%, they were more like spirits than wines and with nothing to eat since breakfast, I was a little pissy. After a very full dy yesterday, today was about the Nazca Lines - and maybe a few other things nearby. Before dinner last night, we attended the Naza Observatory for a briefing on the many theories about how the lines came to be and more interesting, why were they made? The theory [View Full Entry]

---

---