scotty15

One of the new 7 wonders of the world, so it was. Do it if you can before they close it, which is what might happen in the future to protect this beautiful countryside and historical sites. But meanwhile 2500 people visit Machupicchu by train and bus daily whilst only 500 (300 porters and 200 guests) are permited to walk the Inca trail to Machupicchu, which takes 4 days over 47kms. This is what we did, and made it, phew!, all that walking has paid off. We've agreed that this was the highlight of our RTW trip and certainly one of the most challenging, and very very worthwhile. It started in Cusco at 6am with a pick up by bus with the other 11 people in our group. There was 2 Americans,6 Brazilians,1 Spaniard,1 Dane and ... read more

Puffing and panting in Cusco. Well thats what your likely to do what with the steepness off the streets. The Walk Inn hostel was one of those at the end of a steep road. After two days we changed for one at the bottom of the road. Not for the steepness of the walk but for the total lack of water(only available between 4am and 9am),600m down stream we found a 400 year old building/hostel called Suecia, it was great, so much we returned after our 4 day inca trail. Terracotta roofs,steps, and loads of culture and history brings Cusco alive if you can cope with the 3300m altide and thunder storms that swept through whilst we were there. One site we saw was Saqsaywaman(sexywoman). Its an ancient fortified town on a hill up from Cusco,which ... read more

It was only 3 hours by bus from Oruru to La Paz. Nothing prepares you for the surprise once you drop from the Altiplato down into a valley which is La Paz, 1.5 million clinging onto the sides of the canyon. 20mins down into the heart of the city we took a taxi to an area called Rosaria where our hostel the Cruz de la Andes was. Our room had a fantastic mural but the showers and room were very cold, otherwise a really good place. First stop, the Witches Market to buy some warm Alpaca jerseys. When we were there it was cool with thundery showers,which ran off the streets into goodness knows where. Two days after we left there was a landslide and others were drowned locally. The problem is that with such a ... read more

We're in Bolivia. This is how we got here from Buenos Aires( sorry for the spelling mistake last blog): 20 hr bus to Salta from BA, 2 days in Salta then 7 hr bus up to the Altiplano(3000-4000m plateau that spreads north to Peru) and the town of La Quiaca,1 night there. Walked across the Rio Grande Bridge into Bolivia and the town of Villazon. Half hour wait then 3 hour bus to Tupiza 70km north. Two weeks learning Spanish hasn't really done the trick,we're still struggling and to make matters harder they(Bolivians)pronounce letters differently. It was fantastic to get away from the city and make our way north to the small city of Salta(1400m) with less fumes etc. But it was even better to climb even higher to La Quiaca(3400m)where we started to feel the ... read more

We thought it would be a formality leaving Chile, but we didn't expect 2 hours delay at the borders,dirt roads up alpine passes and the heat and dust that was. The scenery and especially Lanin Volcano at 3787m made up for the discomforts and I suppose its given us a taste of border crossing! Over the Andes up to about 1300m, not high, but isolated apart from the borders buildings. We probably could see Lanin for 50km, it stands out as a landmark and is on the border between Chile and Argentina. So they both own it and its part of two national parks, Villarrica NP in Chile and Lanin NP in Argentina. I think Argentina own about two thirds of the volcano so they maybe have the right to call their NP after it. We ... read more