Isn´t it funny how a taxi driver is happy to rip you off but you try to do the same then hell breaks loose. After getting to the central square at 5am being told by the Lonely Planet that a coffee shop would be open, I decided to get a taxi back to the station to get the fuck out of dodge. Translated: Me: Good morning sir. Tereste bus station please. Driver: Good morning sir. Si, no problem. Me: How much please? Driver: Aye curumba parrot bung hole arrreba yapa yap Me: Sorry I speak very little spanish. What is cost [View Full Entry]

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Well, it´s 4:30 in the morning and I should probably be sleeping but I have to be up in a little over an hour to head out on my Colca Canyon trek. At this point it feels silly to even try to sleep I´d probably just snooze right through my alarm anyway. I´m still fighting off the tail end of a cold so I really should be getting my sleep, but at the same time I leave for the trek I´m also moving out of my apartment. There was just too much to do! So, please forgive me if there are [View Full Entry]

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So 2 days ago we went to scout out information about climbing el misti for ourselves and found it was very difficult and the guy in the travel shop was a really good salesman and sold us a 2 day expedition for 170 soles (35 quid). We got up at 7 yesterday to meet the guide at 8 (more like 9 as with everything in peru) and he gave us more warm clothes and camping gear. We got a jeep from arequipa (2300m) to 3300m at the base of the volcano. This was down a dirt track in a jeep. From [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in lima on monday late after a horrible 36 hours non stop travelling. Miami airport was a nightmare but managed ok despite long delays at customs. Stayed one night in the hostel with ben, liz and some crazy columbian political activist. Not keen on lima so we left the next day. Got a bus to ICA, then taxi to Huancachina. This is an oasis in the middle of the desert where we went sandboarding and dune buggying. Best 8 quid i ever spent. Had a few problems sorting out making decisions but we´re starting to get a system going. Left [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Things are going pretty well where I´m volunteering at the orphanage. We´ve been trying to find things to do to keep the kids entertained. Idle hands are the devil´s handiwork might have never been a more true statement than it is at the orphanage. Everything we try to do is complete chaos but mostly fun nonetheless. The main task that I´ve been given to work on with the kids is homework. The main Tía, Lilia has requested that I continue in afternoons to be able to do it with them. I usually spend most of my time with a group of [View Full Entry]

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The journey from Puno to Arequipa only took 5 1/2 hours through some cool scenery (the Peruvian altiplano). You'd think that such a short amount of time would fly by, but the toilet on the bus was locked and we didn't make a single toilet stop. When we finally arrived in Arequipa the whole bus piled off pretty quick! Arequipa feels like we have entered civilisation for the first time in a long time, there are clothes shops, a supermarket and proper chemists, all with recognisable brands in pristine packaging. A policeman even stopped traffic to help Emma to cross the [View Full Entry]

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Uno mas por esta noche! After dining on a cup of coffee at my 10:00 dinner tonight, I have found myself incapable of containing my blogging. Damn that stuff is strong down here. It´s good, because my blog needs catching up. We got on our bus from Copacabana with only 4 people. It was only 75 bs! (less than 10$). We met a nice couple. The guy was from brazil a week or so earlier, and had his bag stolen from some elaborate scheme involving a fat man blocking his view from the overhead storage dept on the bus. This included [View Full Entry]

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Blogger Bec Early, crack of dawn, sparrow´s start this morning for a long bus ride to the depths of Colca Canyon to see the famed Andean condors - filthy ugly yet majestic creatures found only in the Canyon. The ride to the condor lookout was spectacular. Incan terraces lined the cliffs and tiny villages dotted the countryside. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky. Many of us were still a little shaky from the very high altitude but we were compos mentus enough to take in the scenery. I think the photos speak for themselves but suffice [View Full Entry]

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