Friday 23rd December - Tuesday 27th December Arriving early Christmas Eve morning back in Cuzco, we decided fate had made us still be in Cuzco for Christmas for good reason; the massive Christmas market in the centre square that spiralled out to the side streets and outer squares, and the chance to hear the ancient organs and choir sing in the huge cathedral for the Christmas mass. We couldn’t wait to start celebrating and with a calmer Peru and believing everything was normal again (at least until January) we had settled with plans to move down to Puno by bus after Christmas and then into Bolivia for new year. However, as good as we were feeling, when finalising our rearranged buses, we soon learnt that the political truce had obviously not been agreed by the protesters ... read more

Tuesday 13th - Sunday 18th December 2022 The celebratory drink and lunch was soon consumed and we were left with a big decision to make with very little reliable information to hand. Our guide Ivan tried to offer a choice of plans with the information he had, but we could see even he (and all the other guides and staff swapping info with each other) didn’t really know for sure what the situation was. At this point, we either waited in Aguas Calientes in hope the train starts again later this afternoon (and, if the highly likely situation that it does not run then we end up staying a night and hoping again tomorrow) or we start walking the train track ourselves to the point where the road joins at km82 and we can get our ... read more

Tuesday 6th December to Friday 9th December Four days in Cuzco The first time I woke on the night bus to find it stopped, I figured it was just a driver break. The second time I woke to find it stopped, felt a little more suspicious, especially when Paul pointed out that 6hours in and, according to google maps, we were barely away from Arequipa. Trying to see out into the blackness more, we realised everything was covered in snow! Whaaaaat?! No information given, but no panic with no one seeming bothered, we continued to sleep on and off for the next several hours, following on google to see we were going a different route then expected, until, after a 10hour journey became a 17hour one, we finally reached Cuzco. Uber, Hostal, Cafe, and, feeling real ... read more

Saturday 26th - Tuesday 29th November 2022 Waking up early, as we bumped along with the continuous rumble of the bus, we were met with beautiful views of huge sandy hills, intercepted with the winding road we were following and various little towns along the way. A few more hours later, and we suddenly saw a much bigger town ahead of us, sprawling inland from the Pacific Ocean to the desert like land, Lima. Happy to be getting off the coach 20hours later, we had a confusing time finding our pre booked taxi, followed by another 2 hours in a taxi from one end to the other; turns out Lima is pretty big. Pure Lima traffic, apparently normal for here, meant quick starts and stops, clear attempts at trying to whizz off the main road and ... read more

Monday 14 - Monday 21 Nov 2022 Being part of Ecuador, visiting the Galápagos Islands, with all its legendary beauty and unique wildlife, seemed like a no brainer when planning this trip, and boy are we glad we made it! It is beautiful and magical. It is also mega expensive, so let’s start with that. Firstly, you have to fly in and out of the Galapagos from Ecuador (Quito or Guayaquil) so with no other option that is around 500 straight up; make sure you’ve got your return flight out booked as proof is needed when entering. Then there is the 20USD tourist tax to pay at the mainland airport (in a booth by the airport entrance before even checking in!) followed by the 100USD entrance fee at the airport on the other side (to help ... read more