Cuzco and Lima - 28th to 31st October

Our last day in Cuzco was jam-packed and lots of fun. First headed to a circuit of 4 Inca sites just outside the city. All very impressive, even after seeing Machu Picchu. Especially the 70 ton boulders that made up the walls of the Saqsayhuaman fortress.

We also went to a fantastic museum back in Cuzco filled with amazingly well preserved and beautiful pre-Columbian art including this slightly creepy Bambi-looking deer cup.

Now in Lima where we have had a great time exploring the rather grey and cloudy city. Saw the changing of the guards at the presidential palace which was more like a coordinated dance routine including moon-walking, goose-stepping, rifle-spinning and pirouettes!

We also went to Parque del Agua which has 13 stunning fountains. One particularly massive one had a 3D show, which wasn´t very 3D but still very impressive and we enjoyed wearing the glasses!

 We have now said goodbye to Anna´s parents (after a fun last day and a brilliant 10 days) and are getting ready to fly to Guatemala tomorrow. Very exciting.

Manu Rainforest - 23rd to 27th October

We spent 5 days in the Amazon rainforest in the Manu national park and had an absolutely brilliant time. First we went through the Cloud Forest where we saw the Peruvian national bird, Cock-of-the-Rock. No good pictures so you will have to look it up - a very funny looking thing which did a dance to impress its mate.

On the next day we took a 7 hour boat trip down the river to get to the beautiful lodge where we were stayed for the rest of the trip. From here we saw the Macaw and Parrot clay-lick - hundreds of birds munching a clay wall to help their digestion. So many birds it looks like it´s set up for tourists! On the way there, we narrowly missed seeing a Jaguar by only a minute - thankfully the boat in front of us got an amazing photo so we can kind of claim we saw it. 

 

The pattern of missing large mammals continued when we sat waiting for a cow-sized tapir to arrive for 5 hours, but it didn´t come. Although a lizard did make it in to our mosquito net, and Anna proved herself to be a true jungle explorer by screaming and leaping out. Ben obviously stayed and was very manly. Also, a trip to see giant otters in an ox-bow lake was similarly unsucessful. On a more positive note, we saw lots of beautiful birds which our brilliant guide Kike knew all the names and calls of. Kike also found us lots of insects and stuck a stick down a hole to coax out a giant tarantula and all its babies. Not Anna´s favourite moment!

Still with Anna´s parents which has been so much fun. Now back in Cuzco for one more day before heading to Lima for our last few days in South America.

Machu Picchu - 20th and 21st October

Machu Picchu was really fantastic. It looks just like the postcards! We all caught the train up on Wednesday morning - the views through the Sacred Valley were amazing. Checked into our hotel which looked like a treehouse and then headed up the mountain for a delicious buffet lunch.

The next morning we got up super early and it was really sunny which was good as everyone had told us it would be wet. Luckily, we were just in time to get our tickets stamped to be able to climb up Huaynu Picchu, which we did impressively quickly as we had to meet Anna`s parents and the guide an hour and a quarter later. The city itself is incredible and having a guide was really interesting. We ended the day with an amazing view over the citadel, even if it was slightly spoiled by an American very obviously meditating where everyone was trying to take photos.

Cusco - 13th to 19th October

We've been having a really relaxed time in Cusco. It is a really pretty city and although its very touristy that means there are lots of cafes, restaurants and bars to enjoy. We have found one particular cafe which we love, and have decided they can't ban us, even if we have been known to go there twice a day!

Didn`t do any sights for the first few days as we were saving those for when Anna´s parents got here but have now been into a few of the churches and museums which were all beautiful.

Lake Titicaca - 8th to 12th October

Seeing Lake Titicaca has been fantastic. We spent our first few days on the Bolivian side in Copacabana, where we visited Isla del Sol. This is the biggest island on the lake. We took a 3 hour boat journey to the north of the island and saw some Inka ruins and then walked along the ridge running down the length of the island. Really amazing panormic views over the whole lake. By the time we got to the south of the island it was almost sunset. Had dinner watching the sun go down - pretty nice!

Then headed to Peru to a town called Puno. Here we took a day trip to visit the Uros Islands - floating islands made of reeds in the shallow parts of the lake. Very interesting to see, although a bit Disneyfied. Arrived to local woman singing and waving (just like It´s a Small World ride, though they did throw in a Peruvian-style Row, Row, Row Your Boat too), then they explained how the islands were constructed with miniature props and telling us how much they relied on tourism to buy their potatoes (otherwise they would just eat reeds raw). Guilt-ridden purchases included a mini reed boat for Ben with a Puma AND a condor weaved in - very happy!

From here we went to visit another small, very conservative island, where the woman wore different colour pompoms (and the men different colour hats) to show whether or not they were looking for love. All very clear. On the way back we got lost in a pretty rough storm - Anna almost cried.

Now in Cuzco, where we are generally relaxing and waiting for Anna´s parents to arrive, before going to Machu Picchu next week.

La Paz - 4th to 7th October

La Paz was super fun. Didn´t really do much apart from lots of knit wear shopping (Anna´s dream) and quite a lot of eating and drinking. The city is in a gorge so it means everywhere you walk is either down or up a steep hill - really tiring at 3800m with a belly full of curry and beer!

Went to a really fun musical instrument museum (again, Anna´s dream) where we could play all sorts of weird things, though not the giant armadillo guitar or the double sided violin (disappointing).

Tupiza and Uyuni - 28th September to 3rd October

We've had an amzing 4 days doing a tour of southwest Bolivia. First day included more canyons, whilst on the second and third we went through a national park full of lots of volcanoes, beautiful coloured lagoons and lots of wildlife. Went swimming in some super hot thermal pools which was lovely, although very painful getting out as it was freezing! Also saw an abandoned village now home to lots of chinchillas (rabbit-kangaroo-squirrel cross creatures) and llamas. Finally on the fourth day, we got up super early to see the sunrise over the salt flats around Uyuni. Really stunning scenery, if not a bit of a bumpy ride!

We travelled around in jeeps with an amazing cook called Modesta who prepared some tasty meals, although there was one which involved eating very tough stewed llama. Not so nice. Stayed in very basic and cold accommodation for the first two days but had a lovely hostel on the final night which was made from salt and much nicer.

Now have left Uyuni (on a very very bumpy bus) and arrived safely in La Paz where we will spend the next few days.