Southern Peru:
Haucachina: This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip! We had an overnight trip into the desert and to get there we travelled on “souped-up” V8 dune buggies. The drivers really got our adrenaline pumping by racing up and down the sand dunes leaving our stomachs behind in many scattered locations! Following our nerve wrenching dune buggy ride we got to have a go on sand boards sliding down the dunes head first. This was also lots of fun even for Max and Gillian who tumbled down the sand dunes in an array of sand, arms and legs! 
After doing the sand boarding we drove to one of the highest sand dunes to watch the sunset which was really cool. From there we drove in the dark to our camping spot for the evening. We had a lot to look forward to as a BBQ was prepared for us along with unlimited pisco sours which we all took to like alcoholics which we were that night! While one of the dune buggies blared out dance music we all gorged ourselves on the food and washed it all down with copious amounts of pisco sours. That night we also celebrated Hazel’s birthday and made her down a few shots which caused her to dance for hours on end! Most of us had way too many pisco sours to drink that night – even Gillian who passed out with all of her clothes on…The next day was a long and bitter one especially for Lindsay who exclaimed that “these god damned birds should be shot” when we stood next to a noisy bird cage.
Nazca: This proved to be one of the biggest disappointments for me during my trip so far. Not because the Nazca lines weren’t worth seeing but because I never got to see them. Two weeks before 4 British tourists died when an aircraft crashed. The day that we wanted to go there was an investigation by the civil aviation authority and no planes flew. I was really gutted that we couldn’t see the mysterious Nazca lines. That night we camped just outside Nazca at a spot which had a swimming pool which we took advantage of as it was fairly hot. 
The next day we travelled further south and visited the Chauchilla mummies. These were discovered after some grave robbers robbed the graves and left the mummies behind. Many of the mummies had long dreadlocks and were wrapped in blankets. These people were quite advanced with surgery as some of the sculls showed round marks from where holes were ground after head traumas caused in battle. Right next to that cemetery stood towering the highest sand dune in the world!
From there we travelled along a very windy coastal road to Puerto Inka where we set up camp for the night. Puerta Inka is situated in a bay next to the sea and was a very scenic spot. I had a very expensive fishing trip with Eddy as a huge wave crashed over the rock we were standing on, taking with it my small tackle box - my complete supply of swivels, crimps, hooks and many more! The BBQ and beers on the beach later that evening at least lifted my spirits a bit. We also discovered a very random disco and partied hard till we got kicked out. Eddy slept that night in a hammock on the beach. There were two parrots in a cage near the restaurant who kept on wolf whistling and saying “ola chicas!” to anyone passing by. Also ever present were the red headed Peruvian vultures who sat perched on the football goal posts.
Arequipa: Also known as the “3-for-one-mojito city” by most of our group. Eight of us managed to book a trip ourselves for Colca Canyon for the next day. We had to get up at 2:45am to leave at 3:00am! We stopped in a little town called Chivay for breakfast and from there moved onward to see the massive condors soaring above the Colca canyon. These birds are massive and have a wing span of up to 3 meters! Gillian’s zoom lens proved very handy to get some close-ups of them.After seeing the condors we descended down the canyon – a total of 1,100 metres downwards in a zig-zag pattern. It was fairly hard on our knees and also very hot that day. We had lunch in a nice green spot at the bottom of the canyon. Lunch that afternoon was an alpaca stir fry with chips, rice and a salad. From there we trekked onwards huffing and puffing due to the thin air and we were all very glad to reach our destination for the evening which was a green oasis with reed huts and a swimming pool.
The next morning we were up again very early and started walking at 5:30. Gillian, Lindsay and Hannah were too lazy to walk up the canyon and each tortured a poor mule by sitting on them all the way to the top. I raced the mules and managed to get to the top before them by a good 4 minutes! While at the bottom I gave a random dog a biscuit who then loyally followed me all the way to the top. His loyalty eventually shifted and he left my side when another tourist gave him some food. That day there was a local election going on and all the locals swarmed to the main square. Most of the local women were wearing their colorful dresses and iconic hats. Many of them constantly spinning yarn with a long wooden top. 
From Cabanaconde we travelled to the hot springs in Chivay. The water there was very warm and it was nice to soak our aching muscles after the hard hike in Colca Canyon. A cold beer perfectly accompanied the thermal water that day. On returning to Arequipa we discovered that poor Siobhan had stepped on a tent peg during the night and had damaged her foot, a little worrying for her given the Inca trail was to start in just a few days.
Cusco: Cusco, although a bit touristy, is my favorite city so far in South America. I always felt safe and the cobbled streets had a lot of charm - especially with all the little stalls selling colorful alpaca and llama items. There are also many markets – one which we stumbled across was a locals’ market which sold various cuts of animal offal - including cow’s snouts and bulls testicals! The food stalls were situated right next to the offal stalls and with the cheap prices we gave it a miss. Another market we visited was called Mercado Molino. This was another huge locals’ market selling clothing, electronics, musical instruments, food and interesting cuts of meat. I bought a really cheap fake North Face fleece from the market.
We started the Lares Trek from Cusco which is an alternative to the Inca Trail. We chose the Lares Trek because 500 people hike the Inca Trail each day so it was going to be too crowded for our liking. We also got to interact with the locals on our Lares hike. The first day of the Lares Trek was another early start - we left at 4:00 in the morning. Our first stop was a market in the small town of Pisac where we bought bread which we were going to give to the kids along our hike. From there we travelled up a very bad road through the mountains and stopped to see the Ancasmarca ruins. These were used back in the Inca times for storing corn, potatoes, weapons and armour.
We had breakfast in the small town of Lares that morning and from there we were dropped off at our starting point at the foot of the mountains at an altitude of 2,850m. Our bags were left next to the bus ready to be loaded onto mules. The hike itself was fairly easy going up a gradual slope and we quickly found ourselves in a small village where kids materialized from every nook and cranny to receive their free bread roll. It was nice seeing their faces light up every time we handed over a piece of bread! All of the women we saw were dressed in their local dresses and most either spinning yarn or weaving colorful ponchos. Otherwise a fair few random pigs and dogs decorated the green mountainous landscape. We also saw the ever present herds of llamas and alpacas roaming around the mountain slopes. At one point we visited a local family in their small mud house. They had a whole family of guinea pigs living underneath their bed and chunks of smoked alpaca meat were stuffed in the ceiling. We hiked a total of 11km on the first day. 
All our meals were prepared by a chef in a tent which they erected in record time each mealtime. We were served a lot of tasty hearty soups. We slept in tents that evening at an altitude of 4,200m in a place called Sondor. It got very cold that evening and I woke on my birthday morning to snow capped mountains as it had snowed during the night and it was the first time that the 20 October was a white one for me! The day was made even more special when our chef somehow managed to scrape together a home-baked birthday cake for me! Local tradition states that I had to take a bite of my birthday cake which left me with a white icing moustage! It was quite decadent having cake for breakfast and we were all in good spirits as we tackled Pumawanka Pass (4,600m) which was the highest point of our trip.
It started raining towards the top of the mountain and we all donned in our waterproof gear. Adrian bought me a can of oxygen as a joke for my birthday and we both raced up the mountain while wheezing and franticly inhaling my oxygen. Gillian bought me a hip flask filled with Jack Daniels whisky which I brought out at the top of the pass for celebration even though it was only 9:00 in the morning! After taking some pictures we headed downwards where we saw the scenic Laguna Aruraycocha nestled in the mountains. Along the rest of our route we saw many more locals and handed out a lot more bread which brightened up the kids faces. After our descent that day we camped on a grass field next to a stream on our last night. We travelled 17km on our second day.
The third day was our last and we only had 8km to walk. We hiked up a mountain to reach the ruins of Pumamarca. These ruins were fairly intact and pretty impressive to see. Our guide showed us how the Incas used to have up to three storey buildings as well as store rooms on the outside. They distributed food during hard times to all families. From there we travelled to Ollantaytambo where we boarded a train to Aguas Calientes where we stayed for the night. We got there early afternoon and had ample time to visit the hot water springs to soak our tired muscles and have many cold beers.
The next morning we were up at 3:45 to get into the early morning queue for our bus to Machupicchu. They only allow the first 400 people to hike up the Huanapicchu mountain and we were lucky enough to get tickets. Soon we were rewarded by the magnificent view over the iconic ruins of Machupicchu. Seeing these ruins were one of the highlights of our trip and the view from mountain overlooking Machupicchu was beautiful. I can definitely recommend this trip to anyone visiting South America! 
We took a train back to Ollantaytambo and from there a bus all the way back to Cusco. The next morning we hired two motorbikes and travelled along the Sacred Valley. I had a 650cc with Gillian on the back and Adrian had a 400cc with Sally on the back. It was great fun zipping along the roads! Our first stop was at an animal sanctuary where we saw pumas, an Andean cat, parrots and three massive condors. We got to go into the same cage as the condors and we were amazed as just how big these birds are! From there we visited the salt flats in Salinas and then the circular ruins of Moray. It was a really nice day racing along with the bikes! I felt a little sorry for another guy who also rented a motorbike and wiped out. He sat at the rental place with a bleeding knee and grazed elbows.
Puno: From Cusco we travelled to our next destination, Puno which is right next to Lake Titicaca. The next morning we got picked up at our hotels by bicycle taxis which took us down to the lakeside. We bought food there for the local families which we were going to visit that evening and boarded a boat which took us to the Uros Islands. These are floating reed islands which are constructed on top of a floating mud/root base. The islanders then lay layers of reeds in criss-cross patterns across the floating base for added stability. The islands then get anchored by long stakes that are driven into the lake bottom to stop the islands from getting swept away by strong winds!
The islands are an absolute tourist trap but actually lots of fun when you just go with the flow. All the huts are constructed with reeds and cooking is done on clay ovens suspended above the reed floor. As pets some of them kept herons, flamingoes and cormorants. Our guide told me that the locals drink the blood of cormorants as they believe that it heals cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcohol abuse. One of the local women showed us her hut and was then quick to show us all her llama and alpaca souvenirs which were of course for sale. After a quick walk around the island we were taken on their reed boat for a row around the island. The local women were all colorfully clad and shouted “hasta la vista baby” as we left on the boat! Some of them even sang “row row row your boat” as we left – cheesy but fun!
From the floating islands we travelled to meet our hosts for the evening on another island called Amantani. Our host was a very friendly man with a very difficult name which we struggled to remember – we think it was Segondino. His house was situated high on the slopes of the mountain and we were huffing and puffing when we got to his house due to the high altitude. The houses are constructed with mud bricks which are then plastered over with a mixture of mud and hay. Our abode was more than I expected and we had comfortable beds, plastered walls and even electricity which was supplied by solar power and batteries. We were served a late lunch of quinoa and vegetable soup followed by rice, ocra potatoes and finally delicious fried cheese (something like hallumi cheese).
The next morning we travelled back to Puno via an island called Taquile. This island is known for their brilliant weavers as well as an iconic arch. We had a lovely lunch there of soup, bread, fried trout, rice, chips and salad. The South Americans sure love their starch! The view from the restaurant was very nice and reminded me slightly of the Greek Islands. Back in Puno we were in luck as there was a carnival and the streets were alive with groups of dancers each followed by their own band comprising of drums, flutes, pan flutes, trumpets, symbols and whistles. Each group also had their own theme and some were dressed as giant apes, witches, prostitutes and many more. There was a great buzz and the atmosphere was brilliant! So it was on a high note that we spent our last evening in Peru as the next day we were crossing the border into Bolivia.
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