Leaving Melbourne wasn't as heart-wrenching as it could have been. This was partly because I was coming back, partly because with a 15-hour-overnight (no chance of sleeping on Greyhounds believe me, it's not like South American buses) there wasn't a chance to get depressed, and partly because I was going back to my beloved Sydney. Well, it WAS my beloved Sydney until I arrived and couldn't find a bed for love or money. My fault really - with summ...

And so I was off to Melbourne... After a brief and not unpleasant day wandering around Sydney in between landing and catching my bus, during which time my Australian love affair reignited, it was a not brief and most unpleasant bus ride via Canberra that took me back to Melbourne. I arrived travel-grubby despite my airport shower, shattered, jet-lagged, unslept and slowly going crazy by having to translate each sentence I wanted to say into Spanish and then back...

Again, not what Santiago looks like. I've been rubbish with photos but you can always have a look on www.ringo.com (if you can find me) for the real thing. Santiago has been a LOT of fun. We stayed at Bellavista Hostel (don't go anywhere else) and have had a few days of debauchery. We've met up with Wolfie and Tony, made new friends, and just enjoyed ourselves. After sleeping for most of the day having arrived from Arica (phew!) Wolfie woke us up, h...

The photo? NOT what Arica looks like. But it is what I wish it looked like... From Cuzco we overnighted to Arequipa, which was a great little place to begin a bit of a recovery from Cuzco. Staying at Loki's "partner" hostel (actually far too sedate to be in anyway related to Loki, but we've been assured that's all to change), the couple of days there were spent wandering around, enjoying the feeling of plentiful oxygen again and a bit of wa...

It's finally time to leave Cuzco...and, I fear, not a day too soon. I eventually joined Caro at the legendary Loki hostel a few days ago - and it has been nothing but parties ever since. The hostel is quite incredible, set high in Cuzco overlooking the plaza with views to die for as the sun sets. It's also very obviously run by backpackers who have established a hostel that actually provides what backpackers want - a relaxed atmosphere, good communal spa...