Up early we loaded the bikes to start our Inca Jungle adventure. We headed out to Ollantaytambo, where a local lady sold me the nicest tasting banana cake, as we stocked up with additional supplies (i.e chocolate). The car climed up to 4300m at a pass where once after the highest point we unloaded the bikes for our downhill ride. It was very cold and overcast up there, obscuring our view out. It drizzled a little, but the ride down was very exhilarating, we went down to about 1200m. The first 2 hours were paved and the next hour on gravel. [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Cuzco at the Cruz del Sur office we again encountered the usual scene. With my patience wearing thin with the taxi drivers in Peru we both weren´t in the mood for their games. We were going to Incama hostel, they started at 10 soles which we knew was way overpriced, fair enough they can ask high, but when the guy tried to tell me the hostel was "muy lejos" or very far away (even though it is only a few minutes in a cab) I was ready to strangle him. I left it to Deb to bargain down to [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Arequipa I was quite surprised at how dry the surroundings still were. We searched around town before finally finding a basic hotel near the Monasterio Santa Catalina. The temperature was lovely so we decided to take a stroll around town. It has a great Plaza de Armas, one of the best we have seen in South America. A massive catedral sits on one side with the massive mountains of El Misti (5822m) in its perfect cone shape and Chachani (6075m) looking more raggedy with a snow capped peak. Much of Arequipa is built from sillar, a white volcanic rock. [View Full Entry]

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A short ride from Paracas put us again in the desert, only this time in the oasis of Huacachina. A very small village, a lagoon in the middle surrounded by palm trees and a few hotels and restaurants. (Although Huacachina is only 5 minutes from the much larger city of Ica). It was a strange setting to see, there are massive sand dunes surrounding also, must be around 10 stories high. There was not a cloud in the sky and the heat made us really realise that we were in the middle of the desert, not many people around as they [View Full Entry]

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Only 3 hours South of Lima on the Panamerican Highway we were to arrive in Paracas. The Highway was again through the dusty desert, this time near the coast with many desolate beaches where the desert meets the sea. Paracas is only a newly built town (although like most Peruvian towns it may not look new) after an earthquake and tsunami in 2007 destroyed the town. We are here to see the Ballestas Islands or poor mans Galapagos as they are also known. We know we are now well and truly on the tourist path, there are many, many camera toting [View Full Entry]

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A good nights sleep on Cruz del Sur (cool name for a bus company) was a blessing and arriving early in the morning wasn´t great (they´re early when you want to get there later and late when you want to get there early). We took a taxi to some accomodation in the Miraflores district of Lima. The first three places we visited were all full, this is the first time it has happened to us in South America and we were very surprised. We were losing patience and the fact that every taxi driver tried to overcharge about 300% meant one [View Full Entry]

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Absolutely amazing is the only way to describe the Cordillera Blanca. It is the second highest mountain range outside of the Himalayas and has 22 peaks over 6000m. The scenery has been stunning, glaciated peaks, pristine lakes and valleys. We stayed in the capital of the Ancash area, Huaraz. It was quite a busy town, with around 100,000 inhabitants it really had a lively feel to the place. The indigenous people in their colourful constumes coming and going. The area sees the Cordillera Negra (Black) on the west side then a long valley cuts through north to south where the main [View Full Entry]

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We caught an overnight bus to Piura in Peru, it all went very conveiniently and being the only two gringos on the bus meant we didn´t have to wait long once we were able to wake the Peruvian immigration official from his slumber. We got a bit of a surprise in Peru as we realise that unlike the other countries we have visited, not many of the towns have a bus terminal. Meaning you go to the companies station. So once in the station we had to get a taxi to get some Soles (Peruvian currency) and find another bus companies [View Full Entry]

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We are staying in Hostal Izchayluma just outside the small town of Vilcabamba (pop only around 5000). The hostal has its dining area overlooking the valley and the town. It is an amazing sight and one we will not forget, there are nice garden areas around the hostal and we have a lovely lodge with the biggest bed we have had yet in South America. The food at the hostal has been delicious and massive portions, along with the view has made for a lovely relaxing stay here. Our first day I went for one of the self guided walks that [View Full Entry]

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Next stop on our trip down the Andes was Cuenca lying in the Southern Highlands, we had decided to skip the train ride 'the devils nose' in Riobamba. The last I had heard was that you were no longer able to ride on the roof, which was the main drawcard. From what I have read on other peoples travelblogs it seems that a couple of Japanese tourists were decapitated a couple of years ago (more recent than my guidebook) and the train has been replaced by a tourist bus on traintracks sort of thing that no longer allows roof riding. It [View Full Entry]

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