Hello from Copacabana,

After some heavy nights in Cusco, we set off on an overnight bus ride to Arequipa. Unlike in England, you have various different bus companies to choose from. Turning down the first company because at nine english pounds we thought it was too expensive, turned out to be a huge mistake. Feeling pretty smug with ourselves for saving 4 quid each we went outside to find our bus. To our surprise they all looked really nice, one bus in particular looked amazing! It soon drove away, revealing the "Eco Bus" which we were booked on. We were going to be spending a whole night on what looked like a 1950s school bus, but slightly worse. Every penny counts! Or that`s what we told ourselves before we realised how bad it would actually be. We became increasingly aware of the Peruvians surrounding us covered in every blanket they own as the temperature plummeted to below freezing. We realised shorts and flip flops may have been a bad idea.

Finally arriving in Arequipa, deprived of any sleep due to being in an igloo and two Peruvian people taking it upon themselves to provide the music for the bus, in the form of the most annoying, out of tune high-pitched singing you have ever heard! We found our hostel, only to be greeted by one of those eternal travellers that you don`t want to meet, who was reminiscent of Golum`s Celtic cousin, despite claiming he was German. After spending a day in the beautiful Plaza Da Armas, enjoying a Peruvian beer, we decided to take in some real culture. So we went to see `Juanita the Ice Princess,` who was a 14 year old girl frozen by the Incas as a sacrifice after a three month pilgrimage to the summit of Mt. Ampato, only discovered in 1995.

Next on the cultural tour of Arequipa was the infamous Colca Canyon, due to it being the deepest canyon in the world. After an early start, we arrived at the canyon to find that it was inhabited by condors, which are particularly rare and extinct in many countries! It was a pretty amazing sight as the condors flew back and forth over our heads. We relaxed in some hot springs on the way back, which was a nice end to a long day.

Our last stop in Peru was a small town called Puno which borders Lake Titicaca. It is famous for its `floating islands`and pretty much nothing else. After a much more enjoyable bus ride from Arequipa, we went on a quick tour of the islands which are made entirely out of reeds and move up and down as you walk on them. They are so fragile that they need to be remade every year as they often separate and float away! How families live on them all year round is incredible!

After one night in Puno, we moved swiftly onto Copacabana in Bolivia, leaving Peru behind. Soon after arriving in Copacabana, we discovered that there was no ATM in the whole town, which scuppered our plans slightly. We managed to find some dollars, pounds and euros at the bottom of our bags, scrambling enough together for a tour of Isla Del Sol and it`s Incan ruins, a night in a hostel and a bus ride straight out of here!

Next stop, `Death Road` in La Paz!

Rob