Pisco - 7:00am I am still struggling to get a solid night´s sleep over here - I´m not sure if it´s all the noise (car horns beeping, dogs barking, roosters crowing, etc - or if it´s to do with having a heightened alertness to ensure that I respond quickly to situations of attempted kidnapping, theft or earthquake. It´s about 7:30am when most of the group board a bus to take us to a little port town where we will then board a boat to take us to the Ballestas Islands - those staying behind have been or will go to the Galapagos. The Ballestas Islands are a group of three islands that have an abundance of wildlife, mostly birds, and an absence of humans due to the lack of their being any fresh water as there ... read more

October 24 - Lima, Peru 11:05am Despite a somewhat "interrupted" sleep last night, I´m feeling even more excited abou the tour now that I´ve met three of my fellow travellers - there will be 9 of us in total. Richard, a Canadian living in London is my room-mate in what is the third room I´ve been in since arriving, Aine (pronounced On-ya) is an Irish lass from Dublin and Megan is a fellow Aussie hailing from Newcastle. We´reabout to head into downtown Lima for a bit of a lok around and lunch before we meet up with all but two of the remaining travellers we´ll be spending the next three weeks with. October 24 - Lima, Peru 3:45pm The first thing I noticed on our trip to downtown Lima, specifically Miraflores, I noticed the number of ... read more

October 23rd - Lima, Peru 1:09am I´ve finally arrived at my starting point for my big adventure and honestly, driving through this city with the obvious poverty and less than comforting appearence of homes with high fences, some electrified, and bars on all their windows leaves me with the question, "Why am I doing this alone?!". Yes, this is something that I´ve wanted to do for a long time and I really am excited about the actual tour, I guess I´m a little unsettled being half-way around the world in a place so different to home, alone, and very, very tired - it´s now been 32 hours since I departed Brisbane!! The place I´m stying at for the next few nights, "Hostal Puraka", is modest and clean and thankfully, has private bathrooms (although in the state ... read more

Ocober 22, 12:30pm Santago, Chile I am tired beyond anything that I have ever been and I´m yet to begin the final leg of the journey to Lima, Peru - the starting point of my adventure! But before I venture further, I must go bak to the beginning of this much hyped and highly anticipated trip.... The feeling that I´m actually doing this ebbs and flows and it wasn´t until I peered out the window on the plane and gazed upon the sunlight sparkling on the water below that it dawned on me - I was on my way to Peru! Yes, the dazzling sight below that was "The Brown" (Brisbane River) at it´s mouth near Fisherman´s Island made me ponder, "Will I ever return to this place?" Sure, plenty of tourtists embark on journeys of ... read more