Arequipa –
Colca Canyon – Titicaca – Cusco - Lima

Who would have thought Sth America again, but Qantas had
different ideas if we didn't want to sacrifice our tickets. You see the world
is divided into continents, and no matter what your booking agent tells you,
don’t believe them, they will not change your tickets between continents. You
will get no sympathy from Australia’s true blue carrier. *******s!

Anyway a chance to visit Machu Picchu, Titicaca, etc which
would do Gael as she never wants to set foot on the Sth American continent
anytime in the foreseeable future. But Peru, being in Sth America, nothing is
ever straight forward.

From a very interesting town called Arequipa we made our way
by tourist bus to the area of Colca Canyon. A canyon that bears no resemblance
to the other canyon in the USA but never the less gives one the opportunity to
view the rural lifestyles of those little people, the females of who, wear the
Laurel and Hardy bowler hats.

To get to the lake called Titicaca, one must overnight or
two at Puno, a less than inspiring town, where we developed a closer bond with some
local fauna that managed to attach it’s self to our bowels somewhere along the
way. I saw little of the lake as I writhed in agony on the tourist boat. Gael assures me it was lovely.

The 10 hr train from Puno to Cusco environs gave Gaels bowels
a chance to exercise themselves, and the rattling of our teeth associated with
the fever we had developed, kept the other passengers awake.

Gael came good long enough the next day to do the world renown ruins
justice. I continued to study the hostel bedroom ceiling.

From the ruins at Machu Picchu a short Lama ride sees you in
Cusco. Here deteriorating health, lasting now five or six days, sees us visit
our forth Sth American clinic (the last being in Colombia). Here I take my well
rehearsed position on a stretcher, with Gael joining me in the next cubicle. In
no time at all, samples of bodily fluids are provided, fauna identified, pills
issued, and our energized corpuscles head into battle.

Altitude sickness, combined with our bowel parasite issues,
has slowed us down a little over the last couple of weeks. But we don’t think the altitude would have been an issue had we stayed well.

In general Peru’s part of Sth Americas "Gringo Trail" passes
through grubby towns big and small. So travelling the trail, as we are forced
to do on this occasion in tourist buses, you see little else but roadside
garbage. The scenery can be very interesting but the rubbish appears to be a
thing that is unmanageable in Sth America, where plastic waste is out of
control. Quite sad actually for tourists like Gael and I, and the planet, and
you and your kids, your pet rat even!

The people here in Peru do it pretty tough on an hourly rate
of $2.08. But then again, compared to Ugandans at $0.03 it’s a veritable
paradise!!

A couple of days in Lima will see us on the plane home.

Adios from Sth America