Better weather on Day 6 By day six, the weather started co-operating with us and I awoke to brilliant sunshine. However, trouble was brewing as evidenced by the worried and perplexed looks on our guides' faces. "The donkeys are gone", were the first words said to me in response to my "Buenos Dias". "What do you mean they're gone? Where did they go? Or were they stolen? And what does that mean for our group?" (of course, this conversation happened in Spanish) Our group a

View from Day 1 I returned last night from one of the most physically and emotionally arduous walking journeys of my life. The Huayhuash circuit is legendary for its grand peaks that are close enough to touch, and its sheer unspoiled wilderness. I'd first heard about it through reading the book "Touching the Void" about the perilous and ill-fated attempt of two British climbers to scale Siula Grande for the first time. I honestly can't believe how much happened in these past

Santa Cruz Trek, Cordillera Blanca, Peru Despite some initial trepidation about needing more time to acclimatize, I booked my 4 day Santa Cruz trek with the Galaxia Tour Company in downtown Huaraz to leave the following morning. Marco, the very jovial owner, explained that it really was a trek designed to help a person acclimatize and should definitely be attempted before doing the Huayhuash Circuit. Since I got a nice discount, I booked both treks, knowing that I'd get a day

I write this to you from the Lake Titicaca Bolivian town of Copacabana. I am leaving in a few hours for La Paz . Bolivia has been a bit of a NIGHTMARE, I was forced to pay $135 to enter the country as they refused to accept my British passport, there are NO ATMs in the town, and the bank is CLOSED for a festival. If it were not for the kindness and generosity of a couple of fellow travellers, I would be sleeping on the streets and unable to eat. More about THAT later...

I know its only been a day...but I´m heading off to the Amazon jungle tomorrow for four days so I need to take this opportunity to journal my time since I arrived in Cusco last Friday. Because a LOT happened to me. Some tragic, but all funny when told in hindsight. Mirjam and I spent the first two days in Cusco acclimatizing, and trying not to do too much. The first morning, after recovering from the Death by Pan Flute Express, we went out for brunch at a restaurant cal

It has been too long since I last wrote, and if I don´t put pen to paper soon, figuratively speaking of course, I will forget what I have done this past week or so. I have just returned from a six day trek through the Peruvian Andes, the " Salkantay ", ending in Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley...but before I get ahead of myself- I will continue my travel account from where I last left you...standing alone in the middle of the night outside my hostel in Arequipa waiting f

Its 4.30am and I am waiting to be picked up for my Salkantay Trek which ends in Machu Picchu next Thursday. It is going to be one of the hardest hikes of my life, covering 75 kilometres and going over a 4950 metres pass! I am excited, exhausted, and terrified at the same time. One things for sure, I´ll be coming back thinner. I am sorry I didn ´t get a chance to write you all yesterday. I was in bed most of the day suffering from the effects of heavy partying for my bir

Where did I last leave you hanging? I believe that I was just arriving in Pisco, dismayed at what I witnessed, a town that looked like it had been ravaged by civil war for 10 years... Nevertheless, I was happy to be out of Lima, and set about using the afternoon to firm up some of my other travel arrangements (still minus an English guidebook!!). I booked a day trip for the following morning to the ¨Poor Man´s Galapagos Islands¨ of Las Islas Ballestas followed by an afterno

When I last wrote you, I left off at the point where I was saying farewell to Central America and heading to the airport for my solo adventure in Peru . Well, what an adventure it has been so far. We´ll start with the saga of the guidebook. All travellers know that a guidebook is essential to any foreign excursion. Especially when you are doing a ¨ DIY ¨deal, it is essential to know what there is to do, where you can stay, how you get to places etc. Without said guideb