A taste of South America

---

After a flying visit to Chile's capital, Santiago, (didn't do much apart from sample the local cuisine and beer), we arrived in Lima, the capital of Peru. Spent one day with Lynn's parents and then headed to Cusco with our tour group for our hike on the Inca Trail.

We had a day acclimatising to the altitude in Cusco (could definitely feel the altitude, climbing stairs was a nightmare - we weren't sure how we were going to do the Inca Trail!) and then the next day had a tour of the Sacred Valley and had our first sight of Inca ruins. The following day we all headed to the start of the Inca Trail. We hiked 45 km over 4 days, camping at night - some parts were very tough especially on the second day when we climbed to 4,200m, a struggle towards the top but we made it! Thankfully, we only had to carry our day packs on the trip - our group had 18 porters to carry our clothes, sleeping bags, tents, food, etc. Each one carried up to 30kg each - at lunch and camp, the porters were already there with everything set up and lunch or dinner on the table! They were amazing - they basically ran along the path while all the tourists struggled to walk!

Our reward at the end of the hike was the view of Machu Picchu - it was raining and a bit cloudy but we managed to catch a few glimpses from the top before heading down to walk around the ruins.

We headed back later that day by train to Cusco - headed out with our group 'Team Sexy Woman' (there is a story behind the name, will not bore you with the details) for dinner, drinks at the World's highest Irish Bar, and then to a cheesy nightclub for some bad dancing - Maria (1), I will always remember your break dancing!!! It was a great night and everyone managed to stay up for 24 hours after having to get up at 4am that morning!

This tour was definitely the highlight of our trip - an amazing experience, amazing views and an amazing group.

After Peru, we headed to Buenos Aires, Argentina. A really cool city - have ventured out to some sightseeing - La Boca (artist's area, where all the buildings are brightly coloured), a tango show and of course sampling the local steaks and vino!

We've had a really good time here and today we're heading on the overnight bus (travelling business class on the bus, fully reclinining seats, dinner served with champagne) to Iguassu Falls on the border with Brazil. Going to stay there for 3 nights and then heading to a beach resort just north of Rio called Buzios for a week of sitting on a beach! We're pretty wrecked after all this travelling!!!

---