Arrived in Cusco today from the jungle town of Puerto Maldonado after spending 3 days at the jungle lodge known as Refugio Amazonas. What an experience. First of all we had to take a 4 hour boat trip up the River Tambopata. The boat was a glorified canoe with a large engine at the back and rolled from side to side. Life jackets were provided. The lodge is a large timber structure running over 2 floors and completely open plan. The bedrooms are in 4 blocks adjacent to the main building. There is no electricity, hot water or doors. All very communal. A powerful torch is a necessity at night. During the day the temperature rose to about 38C and the humidy was in the region of 80. Needless to say our jungle treks started very ... read more

After leaving Heathrow at 18.50 yesterday finally arrived in Peru at 6.00 local time this morning being 12.00 UK time. Came down through a bank of clouds to see an overcast city. No sun here today. Meet the tour representative after going through Customs and Immigration. He was also waiting for another 3 who are also touring with the group. One is called Fred who is from Cheltenham. I am staying in a hotel called Sonesta Posadas Del Inca in what they call the posh part of Lima known as Miraflores. Very helpful staff and were good enough to let me into the room at 8.30am. Very comfortable room with everything I need and after a refreshing shower crawled into bed to catch up on all the sleep I lost during the flight. Up at 11.00 ... read more

Nearly packed and ready to go. Trying to find space for all the various gadgets such as laptop, leads, camera, ipod and all the bits and pieces that go with them. Never had this problem years ago. Need to find a safe place for the 3 boxes of malaria tablets that cost £100. Have to start taking them tomorrow and then right through until 7 days after my return. The book I ordered from Amazon has arrived and so just started reading ''The Conquest of the Incas''. George has lent me ''The Motorcycle Diaries'' which is all about Che Guevara's trip though South America. He went through Peru and so will be interested to read that chapter. Catching the train from Totnes from Totnes at 11-00 tomorrowand fly out from Heathrow to Lima via Madrid arriving ... read more

Just joined up as I am off to Peru on 21 October. Thought this would be a useful tool in not only keeping a log but will enable me to let friends and family know how I am getting on. Really looking forward to the trip and seeing a part of the world I have never been to before... read more