Well folks that is the 2012 Peru trip officially over :-( I am safely back in Scotland after my >36 hrs journey travelling back, note to self: in future I need to think more carefully about the return travel! My bus trip from Arequipa to Cusco was uneventful....however my taxi driver in Cusco did try to charge me an extortionate amount of money for a 3 min journey....thankfully I had my wits about me that morning and very little currency left, so I told him what the fare was going to be (I still gave him more than he deserved after his cheek) and he just accepted it, never let your guard down! At the Cusco airport I had the pleasure of having all my luggage inspected by 2 police officers (in their thirties), trying to ... read more

Thursday 7th June Last day in Cusco...following the early rises from the previous days, I thought I was going to get a long lie in...no chance! I was up at 6am, so decided to tackle the packing ahead of my departure to Arequipa later this evening. So rather than putting my dirty clothes to a laundry, I have instead re-packed everything so that the clean clothers are easier to access...I am sure my new washing machine back home can cope with the Peruvian dust no problem. Today is an unexpected surprise, there is a local Christian festival. So I arrived in the town square at 9:30am and got a prime spot to watch the parade and listen to the sermon and beautiful signing (what a turn for the books considering my lack of christian faith other ... read more

1st June Last day before the Big Birthday (thank you for all the wishes). It has been a chilled out day, went for a leisurely walk up a small incline to ensure my legs will handle the trekking tomorrow and it went well. Not too many stops were needed other than to admire the scenery...views down to Cusco! First thing this morning I stumbled across what appeared to be a practise run of some form of ceremonial sequence in the grounds just round the corner from my hotel. The majority of participants were school children....what a great way to spend a morning away from the class room! In addition there were several public displays around the main squares with traditional Peruvian dancing and music, where the participants were in the local costumes....very colourful. Later in the ... read more

Well my time in Lima is almost up...just when I was becoming an expert road crosser it is time to say farewell to the traffic, noise & pollution (not sad about the last one!). I took the opportunity of an early rise to go and visit the local park and pick up some supplies for the bus journey. Peruvians do like their plazas and parks. They are always well utilised....lots of school / college kids seem to frequent them either before or maybe even during their classes...I guess there are worse things to be doing other than bunking off! This park had lots of water features that I was truly tempted to soak my feet in....it is another scorcher of a day and my skin is still feeling rather hot after yesterday´s baking! But due to ... read more

Well my sleep pattern has returned almost back to normal, had 7.5hrs uninterrupted sleep, which is great....obviously all the walking is doing the trick! My 10 bed dorm had only 4 of us in it last night, so it was less stuffy than the previous night when all 10 beds were occupied. I am getting used to the luke warm water in the showers and remembering to avoid flushing the toilet paper down the loo....progress! Observations 1. Constant traffic noise, the amusing bit is that a number of vehicles have an ambulance / police sounding horn / alarm in a vain attempt to get through the traffic.....not sure how successful that is proving considering how many vehicles have exactly the same sound system! 2. Very few smokers on the streets....which is making walking in the centre ... read more