Crossing to Chile We left Arequipa on the morning of the 26th April on an early bus, The terrain to the border is monotonous just desert, grey ugly desert so we snoozed. We jumped a cab in Tacna on the Peruvian side and our driver was a star, he helped us with our papers, lugged our bags and advised us on crossing the border, turns out it was pretty uneventful, We had no food stuff on us as they are very strict about no fruit and veg and also other food stuffs, the list is on the back of the migration card you have to fill in, We heard stories of some travelers trying to smuggle fruit over but getting caught, why would you? The fine is $250 and is not worth it for a few ... read more

Peru is as interestingly diverse as any country in the world, There are dozens of indigenous groups with many differing traditions and dresses, here is a collection of a few.... read more

goodbye Haucachina/Hello Nazca We arrived back in Haucachina and were surprised but happy to find Heidi still there, we decided to stay for a few more days, John needed to get back to work and he got stuck into that while Heidi and I enjoyed our last few days taking advantage of the pool and the great weather. It was Heidi's birthday and she wanted to celebrate in Ica, we jumped a cab a to the big smoke, now here's the thing, Ica is a large town but it was virtually impossible to find a decent restaurant, Ica is an odd place still recovering from the earthquake in 2007, many of the streets are in a tumbledown state and many building remain vacant and appear unsafe. Unfortunately it also has a reputation of being very unsafe. ... read more

We had heard that Paracus is a must see when you are in this area so since its only an hour away from Ica we decided to take a taxi there, what the hell, The somewhat barren desert landscape continues but there is respite from the heat as the breeze picks up nearer the coast, What's fascinating about the area we were driving through has flat plains on which there are perfectly square plots of various crops, green and lush surrounded by unforgiving desert, Dill, Asparagus,Paprica and of course potatoes, When it does rain which is seldom the farmers collect it in man made reservoirs and use it to irrigate their crops, there is also access to underground water. We arrived in Paracus village to yet another festival ( I swear we are not seeking them ... read more

Moray/mountain biking from ollantaytambo/ Maras Carnival 20th Feb 2010 After the climb to the garrison in Ollantaytambo we took a wee walk around the town to look for somewhere to eat, On the main square surprisingly we found a tour operator open selling mountain biking tours as well as white water rafting though it was unavailable due to the high river and dangerous conditions but we decided to go ahead with the bike trip the following morning, from Ollantaytambo to Maras, down the mountain to the salt mines and then a bus connection to Cusco. We had an early start and surprisingly were not the only people doing the trip, a couple from the U.K. were our companions. We started at Moray another Incan site, this one unique as it's believed to be a nursery for ... read more