mich1978

Well I am finally back where it all began 3 weeks ago - in Lima city. Yesterday I enjoyed more of Arequipa and spent some time at the huge San Catalina Monastery as well as just relaxing on the roof terrace of the hostel reading. I am on holiday, after all! Last night I had dinner at a Turkish cafe and got talking to a German couple who had just arrived in Peru a couple of days ago, also on a 3 week holiday. As we chatted and I advised them on the various cities and options I realised that I had become the same person I met in my first few days out here, offering all the tips on where to stay, where to eat and whether to spend 1 day or 2 in various ... read more

I luuuurve Arequipa! After the slightly unpleasant start in my grotty hostel I now think this place is amazing. It's a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains, mostly built of white stone / rock, with lots of wrought iron on gates and windows. If you wander off the main streets you regularly find yourself in a quiet courtyard with stunning architecture, fountains etc. Plus, the weather is great. I'm making the most of it in anticipation of my return to the wonderful British summertime this weekend. I've dropped down to around half the altitude I was at in Cusco / Puno and I can feel the difference. It's less touristy here than Lima and Cusco which means that although you do get hassled here, it happens much less than in those other cities. There is a very ... read more

On our return to Puno from the islands tour yesterday, I arranged with Miho that we would take the bus down to Arequipa together. I'm pleased we did as we arrived late at night and it's much more comfortable with 2. The bus journey was meant to take around 5 hours but in reality took 7, so we arrived here at around 11.30pm. Miho's Spanish is much better than mine so she took on the organising role. I have begun to realise how it is that I seem to have massively overspent this holiday. There are people like Miho who are managing to spend next to nothing. Firstly she told me off for not negotiating with the taxi driver who took us from our 2 hotels to the bus station at a total equivalent cost of ... read more

So I went on a 2 day trip onto the islands of Lake Titicaca. It was a bit of a weird trip, starting with the realisation that it was cheaper for me to go on this organised tour onto the islands, including meals, than it would have been to just stay put in Puno. First stop was the Uros floating islands, made from reeds. People do genuinely live in this way and have done so for hundreds or thousands of years but as I suspected the ones we went to were the tourist ones. I doubt the genuine ones have cafes! Interesting still but I succumbed to guilt purchases from the floating market which I have so far managed to avoid. Simon, we are now the proud owners of some Peruvian embroidered artwork. Please start thinking ... read more

Well I made a decision, staying over night on one of the islands on Titicaca. I´m not sure which one as I couldn´t understand the hotel manager who booked it for me. I think I will be staying at the home of one of the locals. Should be an experience. Puno is horrible, quite intimidating. Although that may just have been as I was in the town at night. Full of beggars and deformed people for some reason. Couldn´t find anywhere to upload my photos either. More soon xx... read more

I´ve just been on the most amazing and utterly decadent train ride. I left Cusco this morning on the Andean Explorer which I think is owned by / linked to Orient Express. It was lovely! I had my own armchair and table with a lamp and flowers. 3 course lunch, afternoon tea and Pisco Sour (Peruvian-blow-your-head-off drink) included. At the back of the train is the lounge and the observation car which is open to the elements at the back so yet again I´ve taken many hundreds of photos of the changing scenery over the 10 hour journey. Actually I can´t believe it´s been 10 hours, it just flew. I wonder if I can get back to the UK on one of these things?! OK so it´s not entirely in the spirit of backpacker travel but ... read more

Spent the morning at Machu Picchu. Amazing. Totally lives up to all the hype. This is the ´lost city´of the Incas. Of course it was never really lost, the natives always knew it was there but it was rediscovered in 1911. The city would have housed 500-700 people. I´m not going to give you any more of the history lesson. This is probably one of those places best described in photos, of which I have around 150. Simon - lovely thought to make a slide show out of my photos but do you want to rethink, bearing in mind I have taken 332 since landing in Lima nearly 2 weeks ago? zzzzzz for you! I will put together a very small selection and try and upload some over the next few days. We reached MP at ... read more

Just back from my trek. Wow. What an amazing time. In Aguas Calientes and in a bit of a rush but will try and get something down before I crash. I have had such a fab time and a brilliant birthday. Long trek, uncomfortable (and cold!) nights, great company, amazing scenery, many laughs. This part of the world is just amazing. Our route, unlike the traditional Inca Trail was almost deserted, we were probably the only 14 people (trekkers and team) on this route. The only people we encountered were locals with their babies on their backs or riding their horses to town to sell potatoes. Very peaceful and enlightening. I had a birthday cake made for me by our cooks, made from layers of pancakes layered with some condensed milk topping and Feliz Diaz written ... read more

According to the wisdom of my mum, whom I spoke to this afternoon, today is my Birth Day on account of the mens Wimbledon final being played today, just as it was on the day I was born. Happy Birth Day me! Well, I´ve stretched it out over several weeks as it is, so I can hardly argue. Finally plans seem to be getting back on track. I leave tomorrow morning for my trek AND I managed to switch my booking for the train journey to a day later. According to my mum´s husband, who is a trainophile, the journey I will be taking next Saturday is on the highest railway in the world. Needless to say he´s very envious. I´m enjoying indulging my capricious side on my travels. As the trek had been put back ... read more

I´m sure it was getting a bit tedious just reading a page of text so I´ve now managed to upload a few of my photos from the past week. It looks like I´ve managed to avoid getting altitude sickness up here, which I´m very relieved about. The only real effects I´m getting are a feeling of having fallen asleep in a room with an industrial strength dehumidifier. My eyes are dry and stinging, my lips are cracked and I´m constantly thirsty. Compared to what I could have been dealing with, I´ve got off very lightly! The temperature up here is crazy. I spent part of the afternoon sunbathing in the hotel gardens but as soon as the sun disappeared behind the building it became FREEZING and I had to rush inside, throw a load of layers ... read more