Day 20: Arrive in Areuipa, Mummy of Juanita and giant convent.

Arequipa is Peru?s secod ciy home to just over 1 million people it is flanked by several large volcanoes, one of which is snow capped. The cities main attraction is the mummy Juanitia, found within the last 20 years on top of one of the tallest volcanoes in the area. She was an Inca sacrifice and was very well reserved by he freezing temperatures.The most likely explanation for her sacrifice was to appease a mountain god, and it is suggested that it would have been considered a great honor to serve the community in this way; as with much archeology, especially in Peru, most of the ?facts? are speculation without any written record to show what actually happened.

One of the other big attraction is the Museum of the Convent of St Catherine, it was a vast convent founded by wealthy nuns, the endless cells all run into oe but generally it was very pleasant to wander round or a few hours. Hey seem to have missed the idea of the vow of poverty with many nuns having multiple servants and living a rather comfortable life. That was of course until local bishops intervened much to the dicust of the nuns. They may have been decadent by some standards but they seem to have been devote in other ways, especially when it came to fasts and bodily mortification, Dan Brown eat your heart out.

Day 21: Bus to Colca Canyon, Crazy Guide, amazing scenery, Lamas, Alpaca and altitude between 3600m and 4900m!

Colca Canyon is one of the largest/deepest in the word, it?s hard to say exacty as our guide enjoyed a certain level of hyperbole when tlaking about his area. This extended especially to his love of the local pre Inca people, who seem to share may believes with Indian Hindu?s. But what can you expect for a guide who trained as a sociologist and fancies himself everything from a physicist or anthropologist to a mystic and spirit guide!The area was starkly beautiful, mountainous with vast terraces for use during the rainy season, when we visited was of course winter with very few plants to speak of. Really nice Hotel looking out over the terraces, big buffet for dinner including Alpca, sorry samah & t.

Day 22: Very Early Start, lots of Condors, Walking and hot springs. Alpaca for lunch!

So we set off at 6am to Condor Look out point, not much to say but the picture are worth a look! Relaxed in he hot srins in the evening. Day 23: Bus back to Arequipa chilled afternoon?. Writing my blog!

Day 24: Cuzco

7am flight to Cuzco, it?s better to fly because t takes half an hour rather than 11 hours round mountains by bus! Breakfast at an Irish owned resaurant, managed by an aussie, called Jacks, well worth a visit if you?re in the area!First sight of the Inca Imperial Architecture at the temple of the sun, now a Franciscan priory. As with much of Cuzco the priory was built on top of the Impeccable Inca construction. The building method for important buildings was to cut stones that fit so exactly that no mortar was needed and joints were almost invisible. Extra bracing would be cut into the stones like a tongue and grove joint.

Earthquake, strangest experience ever, the grounded moved very slowly because we were so far from the epicenter. At first I thought I was going mad because I was sitting on the bed when the bed started to move, it was only when someone jumped into my doorway hat I realized what was going on. It was only later when we were making Pisco Sour that it became clear that it was a big one, our guideds were worried for their famalies, it was a tense moment, it was only 2/3 days earlier that we had been in Paracas and seen the island that had been 70% destroyed, check out the pics because there wont be any more!

Headed out in Cuszco that night, one or two drinks and lots of fun at Mythology.

Day 25 Day spent relaxing walking around Cuzco some shopping and last minute preparation for the Inca Trail. Not to mention, the day we bought Lionel (Lionel Adventures on Facebook... he needs more friends!).

Day 26 Sacred Valley Tour, the Sacred valley of the Incas is known as such because of the Rio Urabumba, the river that flows through is supposedly starting out from the Lake Titicaca the source of all life as far as the Incas were concerned. We started at the Planeteara Project run by Gap, it's basically a village where GAP support he local people, using the men as porters for the Trecks and teaches the women to weave. Nice women with cool weaving stuff, bought a scalf... enjoy when it gets home!Next onto more Inca ruins, don?t remember the name but they weren't very exciting just a stop off place forguide to tell us some Inca stuff.

Then onto the big prize, Ollantaytambo (sp) the ruins here are amazing no least because they are unfinished. Literally perfectly carved blocks being dragged unto 10k by bruit force, with dimension of 3m by 2 m by 3m. Night in the town before the Inca Trail early the next morning.

Day 27 Inca Trail:1

Easy day to srat with, I did pretty well in he middle of the group and fairly close to the front runners, carried Lionel for the first 1.5 hours then just enjoyed the views. It was surprising how many people lived on the first part of the trail, many happy to sell water sweets etc. One or two archeological cites, first signs of the vast construction undertaken in a mear 90yrs of occupation by the Incas. A two course lunch was served after 1.5 hours of walking in a tent erected for that very purpose by some of our 22 porters cooks and or course don?t forget the waiter!

Arrived at camp around 5pm for tea with crackers and pop corn. We were at a mere 3300 above sea level but the mountain air got clod fast and after a quick game of wink murder and a three course dinner we were off to bed.

Day 28 Inca Trail: 2

I slept really badly on the first night feeling very sick all night I gave up at 5am and had to vomit my guts out, not a good start. I tried the straight forward answers of water and coca tea ( only a very tiny percentage of the stuff can be used to make cocaine... it really is harmless!). This only served to induce more vomit, soon to be a pattern of the day.

About 1 hour up, and I mean straight up, I as sick agian and told the guide (well he could hardly fail to miss it) who gave me smelling alcohol, altitude sickness tablets and anti sickness tablets, all of which got me to the first break 1.5 hours in and still straight up. AT the break I got some rehydration salts and stronger smelling alcohol stuff (maybe to help dilate the blood vessels in my lungs to improve the oxygen trunover, or possibly to to get me so high I didn't realize the pain, who knows ??).

Then came the big push, we could see ants in the distance walking up the side of the mountain getting higher and higher and at the end what looked like a sign and possibly a pass over the mountain. In absolute agony I pushed on for this point (don?t let me sound courageous... i was pathetic) Launa, a nurse with a terrible compulsion to help people stayed at the back with me and help pushed me on alot. We got to the sign only to realise that we were only half way, in total it took us 3 hours of walking straight up the steepest path I?ve ever walked to get to the 4200m pass. It was hell. So at the top of the pass, exhausted having eaten nothing all day, vomited everything I drank (including the rehydration stuff) fuelled only by half a Gatoraide we had a 5 minute break before setting off back down the other side. Stone steps each about 30cm high, at least the air got bit thicker and downhill was a little easier, wehn I got the the lunch site the porters had ut out a bed for me, where i promptly collapsed (all the mental energy keeping me going went and I promptly started vomiting again).

They tried some strnage celery tea thing and some special soup neither of which worked and I resolved not to go any further. Unforuntaely I then fell asleep only to be woken up just before everyone was leaving and was too asleep to object. The next 2 hours were the worst of my live, 10 Stars at a time and after every ten stairs it felt like I?d been sprinting for 10 minutes. But I made it just. Hardest physical thing I?ve ever done. Many thanks to Launa who pushed me on and eveyoen else who was really supporting (even carrying my pack for the second pass).

So other than my ramblings of pain the facts. 1st Pass was called dead woman's ass due to the shape of the peaks. We stared at 3300m and went upto 4200, that?s 900m up for those to whom I taught maths. Down another 600m to lunch then up another 300m to the second pass then back down to 3400m above sea level. Total length of the treck 16km (that?s 10 miles). I have never felt quite such a snese of acheivement when I got to that camp site.

Day 29: Inca Trail: 3

13 hours sleep later I eat breakfast and then actually enjoyed the treck to the final camp site. Today we had clear views out over the loud forest we saw some more Inca sites and generally had a very pleasant day walking. We arrive at camp just in time for lunch and even got a hot shower!

Day 30: Machu Pictu and Agua Callientes

Day 31: Recovering in Cuzco

Day 32: Bus to Puno

Day 33: Boat ride Lake Titicaca and Home Stay

Day 34: Back to Puno

Still to come: Heading for Boliva Tomorrow, meeting a new tour guide, salt flats etc...