Arrived in Cusco yesterday morning. It´s so nice to be here after Lima. The air feels clean and the scenery is spectacular. Went on a tour of the city yesterday and today had a sneak preview of the Sacred Valley on the way to Pisac market. We start the Inca Trail tomorrow at 6.30am; I´m slightly scared after our briefing last night. I hope I´ll be able to make it and don´t die of exhaustion or hypothermia. Still, we´re being well looked after: we have porter...

Arrived in Lima yesterday - it was very grey (lots of fog/smog) and most things were shut. Today was a bit better, but I can't say I'm a big fan of Lima. Leaving early tomorrow morning for Cusco, which I'm really looking forward to, and tackling the Inca trail a couple of days later. Not much to report, but hopefully there will be soon!

I've got some catching up to do, I think. We've done a fair bit of travelling in the last few days. Next stop after Banos was Riobamba in preparation for the Devil's Nose train ride the next day. It was sooo cold; I had to sleep in my sleeping bag with my coat on as well! The train ride was a bit of a disappointment. I think they're doing some kind of repair work at the moment, so we only got to travel along the tame section of the route, and in a bus adapted to...

Uploading pics failed I'm afraid ... the internet connection was too slow. I'll try again at another internet cafe. Amazon jungle was a fantastic experience. We stayed in an ecolodge - it had no electricity and was lovely and peaceful, with just the sounds of the jungle at night. Went for a trip down the Amazon and had a go at tubing down the 'rapids' (which were pretty tame). We also had a bit of a walk in the jungle and visited an animal refuge - so now I have...

Just been up the basilica in Quito - you can reach the top of the spire by climbing a metal ladder. It´s a little hairy, and there´s no way you´d be able to do that in England (I was afraid I might lose one of my flipflops - not the best climbing gear!). Spent this morning in the Botanical Gardens in La Carolina: a very relaxing place to be - I was the only visitor. On Sat went to Otavalo, which is supposed to be the largest indigenous market in South America....