Olivers Travels A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...

25th April 2008:- Today we woke rather late, just sleep catching up with us I guess. Have decided to brave the city of La Paz today, all of our valuables are inside the hotel room & we only take enough money out to get by on. Our walk to Iglesia San Francisco is very slow 1) because of the altitude 2) because we took time to take in all of the buildings & people that surround us. Iglesia San Francisco is a fantastic building with I quote “architectural details reflecting the indigenous & mestizo heritage of modern Bolivia”. Inside the Cathedral there are many models of various saints set out along each side. The atmosphere is very cold as the Bolivian people sit down to pray. Taking a couple of pictures secretly inside we then step outside in the brilliant sun to look at the amazing detail on the building, A market surrounds the Cathedral so we are quick to take our pictures and then move onto a quieter place. Taking a very slow walk up to Plaza Murillo we discover that all four Calle Jaen Museums are shut until 15.00. So we head back to the hotel for a short break, the plan was to go back out again, but I then discovered that I have a bad stomach so we stay in the comfort of the hotel room for the rest of the day. This evening we meet the rest of our tour group, there are thirteen of us altogether, 3 Canadians, 1 American & 9 British. Roberto our guide seems very organized helpful, which is good. There are only 5 of the group that sit down &have dinner. Although I try to attempt my chicken soup, it is no good; I apologise & then retire to our room, leaving everyone to enjoy their meals. 26th April 2008: - We leave the comfort of the hotel Rosario feeling sad that we were unable to see more of La Paz. Another place to put on the list to come back to! Our journey starts at 8.00 & I get on the bus a little worse for wear, taking plenty of drugs, so hopefully should be feeling better shortly! Start of the journey is very slow with all the traffic wanting to head out of La Paz. For lunch we stop at a small town called Copacabana, where I play it safe & have a ham roll ( I am soooo hungry by this point). From here we head onwards to the Bolivia / Peru border at Yunguyo, this is done with ease & there are no problems with those of the group who do not have their yellow fever certificate, in fact the guards asked no-one to produce this document. Whilst waiting for our connecting bus onto Puno the border police ask a small boy to go & get something for the Gringos (Tourists). A few minutes later the boy comes out with 6 little puppies, they are so cute & have the exact effect on the women that they wished for! From the border it takes us 2 hrs to get to our destination of Puno. Once there we settle into our hotel Italia & then head out to have a short walk around the very small town of Puno. Puno consists of two squares & one main street containing shops & restaurants for the tourists. We stock up on some nibbles & water then head back to the hotel for a rest, before our meeting at 18.00. At dinner for the first time we tried the national drink of Pisco Sour, it was really nice, kind of like Margaritas, although it is made out of egg whites & seeing as we have no problem about getting upset stomachs I think we might give them a miss! 27th April 2008: - Allilanchu – Meaning Hello on Amantani Island Woke early & had breakfast so we were on time to meet our local guide who will be with us for the next 24hrs as we visit a couple of islands on Lake Titicaca. Our first mode of transportation was a local rickshaw, which took us down to the port where we will catch our small boat to the Islands. Once at the port though we had to buy gifts for our home stay families, who we will be staying with tonight. Our gifts consisted of rice, pasta, tin foods, fruit & colouring pencils & paper for the kids. Our first stop is Taquile Island where we get our first sight of how people live. Terrace crops intersperse the hill side & as you climb higher you have a tremendous view of Lake Titicaca with mountains as the perfect backdrop. We stop at the main square to have a look (& buy) some local handy crafts. A little girl follows me around & takes my hand, at first I thought that she was being cute, but it turns out all she wanted were my bracelets that I had just purchased, cheeky! Lunch is served at a restaurant on the opposite side of the Island, where again the views are fantastic. An ideal place to enjoy freshly caught trout & home grown rice. After lunch we meet our boat at the jetty below & head to the second Island called Amantani. Here we are split into groups of 3; Drew Collette & I were packed off with Estair our host mum for the night. Lucky for us our family spoke Spanish & not the native language Quechua. This meant that our fellow traveller Collette could communicate with our host family & then translate for Drew & me. We had enough time to dump our bags & then head to the football pitch where we had the option of playing football or walking up to the highest point of the Island. I bet you can not guess what we decided to do? Our walk to the top was a bit hard, due to the altitude being 4000m above sea level. But plenty of water & deep breaths later we made it to the top to witness the most disappointing sunset. But never mind all of the walks we complete now, will put us in good training for our Trek later on in the trip. Our home stay is not exactly what we thought it would be, it is actually a really nice new room, with heavy blankets on our beds to keep us warm at night. Dinner consists of potato soup, which is lovely & then a vegetable stew & rice. It is all so good & very warming. Tonight we attended a dance that the local people put on for us tourists. We get dressed up in our traditional clothing supplied for by our host family & then take a walk to the local community hall. For Drew his traditional dress consists of a poncho & a hat. I on the other hand have to wear a 2 layer skirt (purple, just my colour!), with of course my trousers underneath as it is cold now outside & a really thick blouse& head scarf to finish it off. All items are very intricately stitched & are surprisingly warm. Our night is filled with local music & we warm ourselves up even further by taking part in the very long dances. 28th April 2008: - Awoke after sunrise at about 6.30am getting up & having Breakfast of Pancakes at 7.30. We soak in the atmosphere once more of the amazing rural life that seems almost idyllic & after packing we pay for our hats (a nice way to leave a tip) & follow our host mother down to the dock. Other groups arrive with their respective mothers like ducklings walking single file behind them. When everybody has gathered back onto the boat we all say goodbye together in Quechua “Ripushayku” & are on our way. The 3 hour journey back is fairly routine except when we smell burning coming from the pump at the back of the boat. The captain looks at Drew & motions for him to take over the helm, which he does without hesitation. Our captain disappears out the back for about 10 minutes whilst Drew steers us in the correct direction. We reach the floating islands where the Uros people live, basically a bed of reeds about 100 feet square on which they build their houses, living off fishing, originally turning to this life to avoid persecution and taxation by the other tribes in the pre-Inka & Inka period. Our local guide gives us another very informative talk on the culture & construction of the Islands after which we are free to roam around the small reed themed housing estate. I find some small children to give the colouring pencils & paper too, I end up causing a slight argument between the two of them & then make a sharp exit! When we arrive back at Puno we say goodbye to the captain who shakes Drew’s hand with a broad grin “Adios Amigo” In the afternoon we take a walk up to the monument “El Condoro” or The Condor, this large representation of this magnificent bird perches on top of a small tower reached only after a literally breathtaking climb up a huge flight of steps, a plaque marks the altitude at a little over 4000m. The Condor a symbol of good fortune for the long distance traveller looks more impressive from the town centre but we both touch its claw (Drew has to lift me slightly as my legs are too stubby!) & take in the view of Puno nestled on the shore of Lake Titicaca before heading down to our hotel way below. 29th April 2008: - We leave Puno late at about 10.30am on a bus bound for Cuzco much of the day is spent either sleeping or gazing out of the window at the fertile plains rolling by. Aside from a short but not short enough musical interlude when a guitarist & singer come on board, perch themselves in the gangway next to us & sing, well shout actually at the top of their voices, fortunately we both have earplugs to hand which prevent permanent hearing loss! We reach our hotel in Cuzco at about 18.00, check in & then wander the beautiful Plaza de Armes with fountain & lit churches, cathedral & watchful statues of Christ high on the hill overlooking the city. 30th April 2008: - A whole day to explore Cuzco today, so we decided to go out on our own & purchase a Bolito Turistico, this will enable us to get into many archaeological sites around the town. We purchased our ticket at the I Peru building, but I think you could purchase it from other sites around. Our first stop was Museo de Sito Del Qoricancha which to tell you the truth was not that inspiring, so our visit here was short & sweet. We took a 20 Minute walk down Ave del Sol to Monumento Pachacuteq, this is a lookout & marker to the 9th Inca who expanded & refined the empire during his reign & regarded as the most popular & important of all the Inca’s. It offers some fab views of Cuzco & also brilliant info on the otthe Incas (kings). On our way back to the main Plaza we get caught up in a carnival. Music playing & people dancing, it is a fantastic atmosphere set against the architectural exquisite Cuzco Plaza. 1st May 2008: - Woke to firecrackers at 7.00 this morning, we think it may have something to do with May Day! So we take this early morning rise as an opportunity to get some exercise & walk up to Saqsaywaman or better known as Sexy Woman to tourists. These ruins are totally amazing, stone walls are fitted together with the slightest of joins, as Drew explains how the walls are constructed I am blown away by the enormity of the job. Sasaywaman was constructed as the head of a Puma, with Cusco town making the outline of the Pumas body. Jaggered walls could be mistaken for defence purposes, but in-fact these represent the Pumas teeth & the site was only used as a temple. From here we visited two other archeologically sites of Qenqo, Tambomachay (fountains) & Pukapukare. Each site shows you the stone work of the Quechua people from the Inca period. From Pukapukara we catch a shabby local bus back to Cusco centre where we sit & have a late lunch at Plaza Regocijo. We choose to sit inside as the afternoon sun is far too hot & also not that many street traders come in to bother us whilst we are eating. This afternoon we were due to go to a couple of museums that are included on the Boleto ticket, however as it is May Day they are closed for the afternoon. Instead we head back towards the hotel & see that the Museum Inca is open until 17.30, so we spend the rest of the afternoon taking in Peruvian history. We also find a rather nice alpaca table runner made by a local weaver; it is a bit pricey so we leave it on the rack for now. We spend an hour back in the hotel room & then head out again to the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo Danzas Folklorias. Basically it is a theatre that shows traditional dances of the Peruvian culture. They are good, however nothing can compare to the carnival that we witnessed yesterday. Unfortunately we leave the theatre at the interval as our stomachs are talking to one another. We end up having pizza & I was gutted I could not manage the Lemon Meringue pie they had on display, it looked fab. 2nd May 2008: - Today we wake up, yet again with the sound of fireworks going off in the courtyard outside. We leave the hotel just before 9.00 & head to the following three museums: - 1) Museo de Arte y Monasterio de Santa Catalina 2) Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo 3) Museo Historic Regional We visited all three on our Boleto Turisitico, so we do not have to pay any extra. Museum No 1 & 3 have some very interesting artwork displayed, some going back to the 16th Century. We are both amazed that you would be able to touch these paintings if you wanted to, as there are no barriers to preserve these unique masterpieces. The contempory art museum was my favourite museum, each of the paintings are for sale & we could have easily have purchased quite a few. Although we did manage to take pictures of the ones we liked, so we may put them up on the wall instead! Our afternoon was spent having lunch at the lovely café on the Plaza Regocijo. Food is good here & it is nice to sit outside under the shade of an umbrella, you just have to be a bit careful with your belongings! We also head back to the Museum Inca to purchase our table runner, we figure that it is a fantastic piece of art work & we may never come back here again. Our last stop was South American Travel, where we purchased a map of the Lares trek. Whilst there we also found out that SAT is a fab company if you want to travel South America on you own, just wished that we had found it sooner! 3rd May 2008: - Well today we had to pack for 5 days away; yes this is the part of the trip that we have been looking forward to. The countdown to Machu Pichu has begun. Our alarm was set for 6.00am & we just have time to go through everything & pack our duffle bag of 6kgs to last us until we get back to Cuzco. With 15mins to spare we stuff our faces with breakfast before getting onto the minibus for the day. Our guide for the day is Marol & she seems very nice, even though she talks too much for such an early morning. Our jam packed day starts with a visit to a weaving community, where women sit around weaving, spinning, and dying wool for the sake of us tourists. That said both Drew & I buy some bed socks for the cold nights ahead on the Lares trek. From here we visit an Alpaca & Lama info centre where we got to feed the spitting darlings. Although I must say the baby animals looked so cute, I was just wondering how I could get one through USA customs! The first archaeological site we visit today is the Sacred Valley at Pisac. Getting some practice in, we walk up to the ruins on top of a hill. Such amazing stone work, it would have taken the Quechas such a long time to build such buildings, just thinking about getting the stone up to the top of the hill makes my back twinge! After an our hour long walk informative walk with Marol we head back to the bus & onwards to a small market in Pisac, where yet again Drew & I give into the Alpaca & buy a very warm throw for just over £10. Lunch is at a hacienda restaurant, where we have a fantastic buffet. Drew discovers that he likes a very Peruvian dessert of black corn pudding, he could not get enough, 2 bowls & I think a third was not out of the question! With lunch finished & both of us rolling out of the restaurant we head to a bar. Yet again this place is set up for us tourists; we get to try corn beer which is an acquired taste, Mick you would not like this one! A short drive & we reach the small village of Ollantaytambo. Here we opt to do the additional 45min hike to the ruins. Apparently this is much like the Lares trek with very steep steps, hauling yourself up to higher grounds. Although we need to add about 1500m in altitude on to this hike to get anywhere near the Lares. Again Marol gives us some great info on the site & also about the Spanish invasion around this area. Once back down from the ruins we head to our quaint hotel in the village & relax for the rest of the afternoon, building up energy for what lays ahead. 4th May 2009: - Our night in Ollantaytambo was really uneventful so we went to bed shortly after 9.00; this meant that both of us were wide awake by 6.00. This gave us enough time to relax & get everything sorted for our trek. We then went down to find that we had a meagre breakfast of bread rolls & jam. So we decided to go in search for a decent meal before what will be a long day! We found a perfect place that served the best French toast I have ever tasted, so sorry I am unable to remember the name of the place, but we left feeling very full & ready for the day ahead. We were slightly late for our bus that just left after 8.00, but no-one seemed to be that bothered. Our first stop is Colca we could stock up on food & gifts for the children we will meet along the way. A very twisty gravel road at great heights & 11/2 hours later we reach our starting point of Kiswarani. Here we meet village ladies & there children & as soon as they see us they try to start selling us items for our trekking experience, however we have very limited money, so stay away on this occasion. Collette & Emma get out the balls that they purchased in Colca & we form a circle & start playing a game of ball with the local children, little communication is needed to note that all of us are having a great time. Hair bands were also purchased for the girls & I end up sitting down with my brush to braid their hair, although I’m not a patch on their hairdressing skills, It was a magical moment. Our trek starts after a fab lunch of corn soup & spaghetti bolognaise, very filling & I am now thinking that I will not be loosing that much weight on this trek! 13.30 & we are off; the first part of the trek is very tiring as we have to climb up to a pass. Both Drew & I keep a steady pace & take our time to enjoy the fantastic scenery of mountains, glaciers & valleys around us. We stop for about 10 minutes with the whole group & then descend into the valley below where we will be camping for the night. The pass known as Kunkani takes about 11/2 to get to & as the rest of the group motor on ahead Drew & I take our time to enjoy the waterfalls, running streams, fluffy clouds & the odd roaming Lama up on the hills beside us. We also bump into a little girl & Drew practises his Quecha language with her. She is so sweet & waves us onto out tent set out below. Once at our tents we get two bowls of hot water to freshen up with, we change out of our sweaty cloths & into some warm clean cloths (not for long!). As I write this entry I have 4 tops on & a lovely Alpaca blanket keeping mw warm. Tea was served at 5.30am and consisted of crackers, popcorn & hot chocolate. We both filled up on popcorn & then retired to our tents & at the moment we are waiting for our dinner call. Will let you know how dinner goes, not that we need anything to eat. 5th May 2008: - Last nights meal was brilliant by the way, soup to start, followed by a stew & then topped off with the Peruvian black corn pudding, Drew’s favourite. This is five star camping, we are woken at 6.00am with the porters brining round a cup of tea for everyone. Drew & I choose coca tea, over the past couple of days this is all we have had to drink, to try & help with the altitude sickness. Not too sure if it works, but it is a lovely cup of tea, kind of like green tea. I do not think we are brave enough to chew the leaves yet though! We also get a lovely bowl of hot water outside our tent again, so that we can freshen up before breakfast at 6.30. Once in the dining tent our breakfast appears, this is a three course breakfast & is again so good, I am so amazed at what they can prepare in such a small space for so many people. Porridge is our first course, which is fantastic I think it was Genoa porridge instead of oats, slightly less heavy, then bread & jam which is the usual breakfast here in South America, to top this off we had a massive pancake with Gap written onto top in their famous caramel sauce, I think Drew will be rolling me up to the pass! Starting time is just after 7.30 and we leave the campsite, which is at a height of 3900m and take a very gradual but a little tough climb up to 4770m, this will be the highest point on our trek, & I for one could not wait to get there to see the views. The sun beats down on us as we pass the ever changing rock faces, although we are up in high altitude the sun is very fierce & the reapplication of sunscreen in essential. Otherwise both Drew & I would end up looking like bright red lobsters, although this will most prob give the rest of the group a laugh this is def not the look we are going for! We both find the climb ok, again we take our time& rest little & often. I am very surprised at how much stronger we feel climbing up to this height, breathing seems easier than yesterday. At 4770m the views are outstanding & are enhanced by the fact that there is hardly any cloud cover at the top of __________ pass. Mountains surround us & looking back at the climb, we get an immense sense of achievement. Climbing down is easier than it looks, the footing is not that good, rocks roll from under you feet, so the walking sticks take much of the strain as we head for the lunch tent. Once at the tent everyone seems to be suffering from the descent we have just made. I think we may have come down too fast, Drew & I have major headaches that stay with us until we full asleep at night. Lunch is yet again fantastic yet again & we are stuffed once we are finished so I am very happy when our guide Erica suggests that we lay down for a siesta. Drew & I lay down with the sun warming our bodies. At 14.20 we start our descent down to our campsite at 4200m high. On our way down the scenery begins to change, vegetation takes the place of rocks & small trees line the path that we take down to our tent. Our horses & lamas love our camp area & seem to take quite a liking to the close perimeters of our tents; I just hope that we are not going to get one munching at our tent in the middle of the night. Or worse a lovely shower! 6th May 2008: - Today we were able to have a lay in until 7.00; however both Drew & I were wide awake at 6.00, so we caught up on our journals & stayed snug & warm within our sleeping bags. Went out to use our hole in the ground only to find that a well trained lama had used the toilet during the night, at least it did not leave the seat up! Although we both went to be with headaches, we actually woke up feeling rather refreshed. A cup of coca tea went down extremely well again this morning. Our walk today was a three hour descent from our camping ground. Loose gravel trek made up the majority of the first hour, but both of us did not think it was as bad as the shale on the Tongariro crossing. The was beautiful & I just wanted to keep on walking as we had plenty of energy left & felt great, just a pity the rest of the group were not experiencing the same feeling. That is the only thing with travelling in a group, you can not do a trek at your own pace, and if the group wants to get finished quickly then you have to follow. You see Drew & I so wanted to go slower just to be able to fully take in our environment, just staying that 10 mins extra in a village would have been so special, but no we had to finish the trek in record time! The only problem with the path we were taking, there was a lot of visible litter, o instead of just looking at it, Drew & I decided to pick up what we could. Both the guides at the back did not seem too pleased, we felt like they just wanted to get back to the finishing point. We finally reached our finishing point at about 12.00, then we were told that lunch was not ready so we could just sit back and relax for an hour, I for one would have preferred to have taken a little bit more time on the trek rather than sitting under a tree. After a superb lunch we all thanked our porters & kitchen staff who did such an outstanding job, without them our experience would have been a tad bit more challenging! A short bus ride to Ollantaytambo & from here we catch the train up to Machu Picchu town. The train service is great here; we receive a meal on board, just like you get on a flight, maybe even better then those served on a train! Once at Pachumama Inn we have an extremely lovely shower, the colour of the water was not attractive. We have a group dinner at a restaurant called Inca Wassi restaurant. A tad bit expensive but our pizza was superb & the rest of the food looked great. Just could not eat much more food after stuffing our face’s for the last few days. Although the Lares trek was an achievement I think for us the Tongariro circuit will always stand out for us, as we achieved that ourselves, we did not need porter’s cooks etc. Saying that we are very grateful for those people on the Lares & it is an experience we will never forget. 7th May 2008: - Rise & shine at 4.15am to make sure that we are n some of the first buses up to Machu Picchu. Turns out quite a few other people had the same idea; we must have caught the 6th bus in what was a very long queue. However we made it up to the entrance of this enchanted place at about 6.00. Very excited we went through the check point making sure that we had a Machu Picchu stamp & date in our passports. Once through the gate we choose to climb up to one of the highest terrace to get a perfect view of the Inca village down below. The view just opens up in front of you; the sun had not yet popped its head over the mountain to the west so there were no shadows cast just yet. We have a few photos taken & enjoy what must be the most peaceful part of the day at Machu Picchu. Eventually the sun envelopes the sacred village & we watch in ore as it comes to life before your very eyes. A very long journey & such a spectacular view, one of our last real defining moments as we enjoy Drew’s dream of seeing Machu Picchu. We have seen so many pictures of this wonder of the world, but once there you realise that these pictures do not do it justice. It is an amazing feat of engineering & elements of the building buildings are so instigate. An example of this is the sun temple where on the summer solstice 21st June & the winter solstice 22nd December the sun karsts the perfect shadow through the window & across a stone platform. Quechuas must have waited until that perfect moment to place these stones into position, now that is dedication for you. Once into Machu Picchu we have a short tour with Erica, which was made even shorter as we waned to climb up to the top of Huayna Picchu. When we arrived at the gate to enter the trek, we were told that no more people could go up at this time they had already filled up the 200 places we would have to come back at 10.00. So instead of complaining we just stood outside the gate & I think that the guards could tell that we would wait till 10.00 if we had to. So a few minutes later we were able to enter without any fuss, yeah. Now the climb up to Huayna Picchu is very steep & the lonely planet says that it takes about an hour each way, which is about right although I think the fastest time someone has completed it in is 20 minutes, they must have been flying. After breathing very heavily for the last hour & quite a few stops along the way we reach our destination. The view from up here is amazing & because we were the last people to come up in the early morning group we have the place to ourselves. So peaceful & quiet that we stay up there for just over an hour, relaxing taking photos & just taking in every part of our experience. After our climb we have a walk through Machu Picchu again & then head back towards the town for lunch, where the cost of food is slightly cheaper. We both have a pasta dish in Pachu mama’s restaurant (near the train station) where we meet a few other people from the group. After our early morning we then head back to the hostel from last night & ask if we are able to use the sofa & TV upstairs in there common room. This is fine & we are able to have a very restful afternoon before we catch the train back to Cuzco. Talking about the train journey back, basically the train is full of tourist so they use this opportunity to sell us something yet again. The stewards put on a lovely fashion show for us strutting their stuff in the unique Alpaca wear from the region, gave everybody a bit of a laugh, now can you imagine that on the train from Colchester to London? 8th May 2008: - Yesterday was a long day getting us back into Cuzco at about 22.00. This morning we wake late at the Plaza Hotel, but is still gives us time to upload some photos to the blog before meeting at the hotel at 12.00 for the flight to Arequipa. Some are waiting for laundry to return & Emma has not had her duffel bag back from the trek yet. Roberto gets a phone call it is the Plaza hotel No.2, they have Emma’s bag, and laundry is now back we all pile onto the minibus. 5 minutes until we have to check in & we are driven into the main plaza in Cuzco where there is someone holding Emma’s bag, the driver swings round the bag is thrown into the bus (we do not stop!) & we are off. We have the same maniac driver that we had last night behind the wheel he is not hanging around, flying down the side streets towards, across roundabouts using the attitude I am bigger than you so you better stop! We make it to the airport just in time for last check in. Then sods law we end up in the plane on the runway waiting for an hour, the wind is too strong for us to take off, hilar. The flight is extremely bumpy; I think it may have been the worst flight I have ever been on! Running off the plane…..we arrive in Arequipa & head straight to the hotel Sotar arriving at about 18.00. 9th May 2008: - No time to rest in Arequipa, this morning we jump on a bus with an overnight bag and are shuttled out of the city past El Misti the massive 5000+m volcano that looms right behind threatening to blow with up to 15 tremors a day! We are on route to Colca Canyon, but to get there is a days drive crossing a high parkland area & a pass at 4950m. We stop briefly at the highest point to take photographs & for me to do a little shopping (bought a lovely bright scarf) Where else could you buy something at this altitude we wonder? Our bus pulls into Chivay for lunch & then we are taken to our fotel before heading back out to the local hhot springs, where we spend an 1 ½ hour relaxing under the stars before our evening meal. Although we are both v full up from the buffet lunch & just want to go back to the hotel & sleep. It is not just us the rest of the group are feeling the same too, but we are taken to a tourist restaurant where they bring all of the tour groups, so of course we are subjected to the same folk dancing & singing that we have had in nearly every town. It is extremely pleasant to watch & listen too but some nights you just need your bed! 10th May 2008: - This morning I was very impatient to start our day. We left our hotel in Chivey just after 6.30; it will take just short of 2 hours to arrive at Colca canyon, but the journey was worth every minute. As soon as the bus slowed down to the park we could see the giant condors circling on the morning thermals. Once we were allowed off the bus we hurried to the viewing point, for about five minutes we waited with no giant bird passing by. Then all at once we saw one below us, wings outstretched to their fullest 6m is the largest. Then from either side, other condors start to soar high above us. At one point there were 6 around us flying effortlessly in the sky to reach the crossing over the mountains & far away. This was a spectacular experience with about twenty other bus loads of people to share it with. Although it did not seem to bother us, everyone respected each others space unlike some places we have been to. In the afternoon we return to Arequipa, to the same hotel as before. For some reason we were exhausted so we went out for an early dinner & came back to the room to relax for the rest of the evening. 11th May 2008: - Today was a bit of a hanging around day, we had to check out of room at 11.00 however we did not catch our bus until 21.30 in the evening. We were unable to do too much today though as Drew was not feeling too well, yes you have guessed it a stomach upset again. We stayed close to the hotel where we had 2 rooms that we could use for the rest of the day & popped out occasionally to use the internet & phones. Someone else in our group has just been diagnosed as having a parasite in her system. So maybe Drew has that but it has not been encouraged to develop with large amounts of alcohol! We still have plenty of Cipro (antibiotic) left to take, so we will keep on popping those pills. We are both looking forward to NY, where we should be able to eat & drink anything that we wish to. The night bus is ok, v comfy compared to the other ones we have taken, the only thing is, I am kept awake by the bloody tv that is situated right in front of my seat, looking back on it now it was not such an upheaval but at the time it is so bad. 12th May 2008: - Did not get much sleep last night, although Drew had a very good nights sleep. We got into Nazca at just after 6.00 & got drivwn to out hotel straight away. Our hotel is quite far from the town so our surrounding area is very quiet, apart from the flights going over to view the Nazca lines. The rest of the morning is spent chilling or in my case catching up with sleep. We meet the rest of the group at 13.00 to go & have lunch. Some of the group are going up in a small aircraft to see the Nazca lines. We have opted out of this as 1) to save some money 2) because it will make me sick 3) there was a crash the other week. Anyway we get to see some lines tomorrow on our way to Ica. After our lunch we had a short walk around the town before being picked up by the bus. Then it was over to te pre-Inca dessert cemetery site, which houses some impressive 1500 year old mummies, bones & pottery. The cemetery is interesting & worth a visit, but once you have seen the first site there is no point viewing the rest. Our guide lets us ride on top of the bus as we arrive at the site, which is an exhilarating experience, wind in your hair with your feet dangling over the side of the bus as it drives over the sandy surface. We are back at the hotel at about 18.30 in time for dinner at 19.00. Both Drew & I have got our appetites back & go for the very Peruvian dish of burger & chips. 13th May 2008: - Today we drive from Nazca to Pisco a small coastal town off of the Pan American Highway. We are on the road from about 8.00 & we do get to see one of the Nazca lines at Ica, it is the tree I believe, we have some photos but to tell you the truth I do not think it does it justice. I still think it is mind boggling how these pictures appeared on the land around Nazca, although personally I think that these giant master pieces could have been produced using a grid system. I’m not sold on the Alien explanation! We get into Pisco late afternoon; unfortunately Pisco suffered from a very large earthquake in August last year & hardly anywhere has been rebuilt. Some of the areas of town are still just rubble & a lot of people are still living in tents. Our Gap group is one of the first tour groups to go back into the area, which is good as it has started to bring back money into the area. When our host at the hotel saw Roberto her face just lit up & was happy to see her establishment full again. We ate in the hotel as there was not that many places around Pisco to eat, it was very good & they even accommodated my fussy request for dessert. You see I do like to have my pancake & ice cream separate not rolled in side, well I must say that once I ordered one the whole group of 14 ordered the same. Drew also purchased a CD from the people playing music around the table as they played so well & we thought that the money would be going back into the community. Unfortunately we did not attempt to drink a Pisco sour here; it is made with egg white so we saved our stomachs! 14th May 2008: - Today was a bit of a crazy day, we had so many times to stick to. Early morning we rose so that we could be down at the dock in time to get a boat out to the Ballestas Island, known as the poor mans Galapagos. Our boat was a fast speed boat, that was ok going over calm water but once you headed out of the protection of the inlet you were out in to the open sea jumping over the waves & then smashing back down. Our backs took a bit of a beating but it was not that bad. As we were kangaroo jumping passed the sand dunes we saw what looks like an ear of corn imprinted in the sand, apparently this has been there for as long as the Nazca lines & locals are unsure of its use, some say it was an old marker to tell sailors where they were, who knows! We reach the Ballestas Islands & the smell is overwhelming, guano is the course & it is produced by the thousands of birds that nest in these Islands & call it home. Both of us were lucky enough not to get caught in the bombing raid of the cormorants as they flew overhead from one Island to the next. The sight however is awesome, so many birds it looks like it is a scene from Alfred Hotchcocks movie of the same title. Although the birds do have there uses, plenty of the guano that they create is harvested I think very 8 years & sold the world round as fantastic fertilizer, apparently! Our boat takes us as close as it can to a very large colony of seals. They are very inquisitive creatures & come close up to the boat to have a little look at us as we take some superb shots of them. I even get to see a seal wrestling with a crab, I think at that point the crab was winning as it was pinching the seals nose without being thrown back into the sea where it belongs. After our trip we then head back to the town of Pisco, in time to catch our bus to Lima, the capital of Peru & also known as the City of Kings. Once off the bus we are taken to our hotel, here we dump our bags & then head out to try & find what is suppose to be a fantastic shopping mall. However our stomachs took priority & we decided to take a break in a little café, which was an excellent find, So much so we eat here for the next three days, hilar. After our little energy boost we then go straight back to the hotel & start getting ready for the last meal as a group, Yeah. Personally this trip as now confirmed to us that we are better off travelling on our own, with a group you have to take everyone into consideration & you are not able to divert off of the planned itinerary if you wish. Hey ho you live & learn. Our last meal is spent at a very nice open air restaurant in the middle of Lima, we thank our guide Roberto who has been a brilliant guide & he showed us his caring & supportive side on our Lares Trek. After a couple of drinks later we then head back to the hotel where we have a bit of a night cap with Collette & Emma, which was a nice way to end our tour. 15th May 2008: - Today we have a whole day in Lima, it is such a beautiful city & somewhere where I think we felt quite safe. It may have something to do with the fact that Lima at the moment has all of the police & security staff available to them out on the streets. The reason for this is the fact that there is a conference being held here, with many of the presidents attending from the countries that are situated within the pacific ring. They are here to discuss the environmental impacts effecting there countries & to try and find solutions. Anyway feeling safe we head to one of the shopping centres to find some souvenirs for everybody back at home. Knowing that we have not got to carry our rucksacks much further we buy quite a few things to take back with us. After our shopping spree we then head back to the hotel for a bit before we go out & have lunch with Emma. We take her to the little Café that we went to the other day & have a very nice lunch with us each having one of their ice cream milkshakes they have to offer. Unfortunately Drew’s stomach is not feeling terribly good again so we purchase some more Cipro & head back to the hotel for the rest of the afternoon. After a relaxing afternoon we then go into Lima just after 18.00 & find a really interesting photography montage being displayed in the central Plaza in Cuzco, it takes our interest even more so when we find that half of the pictures taken we have visited, just need to go to the other half now! 16th May 2008: This morning we pack our rucksacks & ditch a lot of stuff that we no longer need, so that we can cram in everything, do not worry we still have room to buy a few bits & pieces from New York. Yes & you have guessed it, we have ended up back at the little café to have breakfast, it was fantastic & set us up for the day. We check out at 12.00 & then catch a very hair raising taxi to the airport, I think he though he was the only person on the road, hilar. We are at the airport really early put at least we are there & we are able to book some pretty good seats on the flight. Our first flight is from Lima to El Salvador where we need to catch a flight to Miami. I must say that Taca airline are very efficient, even though we left Lima late we caught our connecting flight with no problems & our bags did actually make it all the way to Miami Once at Miami airport we had the ridicules process of going through customs. Now you think at midnight this would be no problems & that it would not take that long this late at night, well you are wrong we spent an 1 ½ hours waiting to get through the security. Once through though we discovered that the airport had no seats without armrests so we could were not able to sleep that well. I ended up just laying on the floor with cleaners walking passed me often. Well it saved on a hotel for a night & it was not that bad really.