It took us 3 hours to get from Puno to Copacabana, with a quick stop at the border. The four Americans on board were rushed to the immigration office because we had some lengthy paperwork to fill out. All other nationalities got stamped through but we had to fork over a hefty $135USD for our visa. Once we arrived in Copacabana we checked into a very... interesting hostel. It was called 6 de Agosto and at 25 Bolivianos ($3.56USD) per night we couldn't complain. Besides, once we got rid of the bedspreads it wasn't so bad. (We just used our own sleeping bags and pillow cases). Copacabana is even smaller than Puno. The main street is pleasant, it has quite a few shops, restaurants, coffee shops and leads right down to the docks. In the morning ... read more

We gave ourselves a day to relax in Cusco after the Machu Picchu trek then took the bus 6 hours south to Puno. We arrived mid-day, checked into our hostel, The Point, and explored the town. Puno is a small city, densley structured around the bank of Lake Titicaca. It was very quiet, hardly any travelers. We ate lunch at a hole in the wall Cevicheria, which we thought was a bit sketcy, but turned out to be one of the best meals we've had yet. Then we shopped around the tour companies and booked a morning tour to the Uros Islands. We were picked up at 9am and brought to the pier to board the boat with 12 other tourists. Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake and the Uros Islands are it's main ... read more

We booked our overnight bus to Cusco with CIAL bus company, it's a bit cheaper than the others so we decided to try out the cama class. Even though the seats recline back nearly into a bed, I couldn't sleep. (I think I was fearful the strike wasn't actually over and we would get stopped at 4 in the morning). But we made it and immediately checked into Loki Hostel. The Loki in Cusco is well known amongst backpackers. It can accomodate over 200 people in very comfortable and clean bunks. It is a very social hostel with a couple courtyards and a hoppin' bar scene. The tour desk is also extremely helpful and they don't jack up the prices as much as other hostels. People generally spend a few days here to acclimate to the ... read more

We took the local blus, Flores, an hour south to Ica. We then took a 10 minute cab ride to Huacachina, a desert lagoon oasis. This used to be a destination for elite Peruvians but has since been taken over by backpackers (and consequently the maintance of the town has decreased a bit). The town is centered around a lagoon and takes about 10 minutes to walk around. We checked into Hotel El Huachinero - which is a hotel, but they have one 10 bed dorm room for backpackers. This was great because we got all the amenities of the hotel for 30 soles a night (around $10). In the morning we decided to hike up the sand dune just out the back gate of the hotel. Man, did I underestimate how difficult this would be. ... read more

After 13 hours of traveling we arrived in Lima just before midnight. My first thoughts of Peru were: AHHH! Apparently there are no rules on the roads - or if there are, no one follows them. The cars that get to pass through an intersection are the ones who are most daring, which makes for very scary taxi rides. And the same goes for pedestrians; you basically have to step into the road and hope that the cars stop. Thankfully we survived the taxi ride and checked into Loki Hostel for 3 nights. It was your basic hostel dorm room, no frills, but everything you need (including hot water). At roughly $9 a night I was pretty happy. The next day we walked along the coastline through the beautiful Parque de Amores and just wandered about ... read more