So we're at the end of our 2 months in South America. We kind of didn't specifically plan to spend almost half our trip on this continent it just turned out like that with volunteering and everything but I'm glad we did. It is a truly incredible place, the people are nice and the culture is fascinating. Starting in BA was really good as well as it broke us in slowly with a slightly more European city, the differences that we can see now between BA and say La Paz are just staggering. But then at the same time with bits of Lima you could tell it was the same continent.

Think I left it in La Paz last time out? So have Peru to tell you about. After the staggeringly cheap times of Bolivia it was marginally more expensive but still not too bad. We were in La Paz earlier than expected as buses around the Salt Flats had been quicker and easier so were much less worried about getting to Cusco on time.

We ended up heading via Puno, which is on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Now, it was quite a tourist town but we'd relaxed quite a bit with money by then so were able to treat ourselves to a few fancy dinners. On one of our days there we headed out onto the lake and the floating islands of the Uros people, they were very cool, these people have lived out on the lake for generations. We saw a demonstration of how they built the islands using layers of reeds and went on a boat made out of reeds, similar to one that the Uros used to live on. It was all quite touristy (that's how they make their money) but a good experience.

From there we headed to Cusco, arriving nice and early with time to chill out and enjoy the town. Cusco is really lovely and our hostel was in a great place on Plaza San Fransisco, not far from the main square. We had a lovely relaxed few days wandering around the markets, beautiful plazas and fitting in a few historic, inca sights. It was up there as one of our favourite South American cities, probably partly due to the fact that we had plenty of time to properly appreciate it.

The Inca Trail. A 4 day hike to the Inca city of Mach Picchu. We had been surprised at how few people had realised that you have to book it in advance when we'd mentioned it to them and so were very glad that we had. It had meant we had a set date to be in Cusco and were on more of a schedule but that didn't matter too much as we had time for everything we wanted to do.

Anyway we did it through Peru Treks, don't quite know how we found them, recommended by some people I believe. We were picked up on a bus early in the morning and taken for breakfast at a restaurant on the way. Now we were only taking our standard sized backpacks with us and hadn't hired an extra porter seeing it as unnecessary and expensive. This meant we had to carry all our stuff for 4 days as well as a sleping bag and roll mat, luckily there were woman selling straps (at the start of the trail) so we could attach stuff to our bags otherwise I don't know how we would have managed. I also bought a fine sun hat.

There were 12 of us in our group which seemed to be quite a good number and they were all Brits and Americans. We had a guide, assistant guide and 16 porters. The first day was the 'warm up' and wasn't too hard walking with good scenery and some nice sun (I needed the hat.) We camped (had forgotten how much I love camping) which was great fun and woke up (albeit very early again) to incredible views of snowy mountains in the distance.

Now the second day was the toughie. We had to climb up to 4200m. First we had a coca leaf chewing lesson, coca leaves are supposed to help you deal with fatigue and altitude. I lasted all of about 5 seconds before spitting them out, just too bitter and leafy for me.

I started the day really cold wearing all the clothes that I'd brought but with shorts (I knew it would get hot but must have looked pretty silly.) Before long we were stripping off all the layers. It was pleasant to begin with going up under trees and beside a river but once we'd got above the treeline it was hard work. The altitude started to kick in and the path got really steep, we were out at the front of the group plugging away with another couple, keeping each other going.

It took us 7 hours of hard walking to get to the top but it was well worth it when we got there. The feeling was incredible, we'd really earned the views that awaited us. Had bought beer and Inca Kola to celebrate at the top and spent a while just soaking it up while piling on clothes as the cold hit us.

That was the hard day but then Day 3 was the long day. Beautiful views but a lot of walking, not too hard once we'd done the first hill. just rolling forest and inca ruins. Tired by now though after early mornings and long days walking, it was a relief to get to the camp in the evening.

Now the food throughout the whole trip was just utterly incredible. Bearing in mind that the chefs are creating it in a tent with the stuff that they've lugged around for days, it was staggering how they managed to produce three course meals for us three times a day. Unsurprisingly we (and particularly me) had the biggest appetites. It really kept me going, the knowledge that this amazing meal was waiting for us, probably the best 3 days of meals we've had!

We reached Machu Picchu on the 4th day after another early start but only a couple of hours walking. It was well worth the wait. Really breathtaking, couldn't believe how big it is and so cool and preserved. We had a tour with our guide which was good and then wandered around a bit ourselves, one of the best things for me was the inca water channels which still work today. Actually being there after seeing the photos and everything, I could imagine it as a working Inca city and just amazing to think all that happened there. Of course it was quite touristy but I relented slightly in my hatred of tour groups because as many people as possible should see the great Inca city of Machu Picchu.

One of the best things about our Inca Trail experience was our guide Cesar who was just so enthusiastic, kind and caring that he made sure everyone had a good time. He was so passionate about Machu Picchu and the Incas that he always made his talks interesting. Full credit to Cesar, the amazing porters (you are often passed by porters carrying twice the wait you are) and Peru Treks generally!

Back in Cusco we headed to Arequipa for a few relaxed days in the beautiful white city. Lots of pretty buildings and plazas. Went to a museum where they have preserved the body of a girl (Juanita) who was an Inca sacrifice and found frozen on the top of a mountain. Very interesting history and everything was so well preserved by the ice that you could really imagine it all happening.

We also went rafting in Arequipa. Bit of a splash out (no pun intended) for us but we thought we deserved the treat. It was really good fun, definitely planning on doing it in Costa Rica as well. Not too technical really, we were in a raft with a guy steering at the back and we occasionally had to paddle as we went down some rapids, very enjoyable day out but ice cold water!

Lima was next after (hopefully the last) overnight bus, hoped for a nice one to finish but company we went with were a bit of a let down. Weren't in Lima for very long as had heard it wasn't worth it, wandered around Miraflores, the parks and the beachfront and then spent a few hours in the centre but glad we had limited time as didn't seem a whole lot to do.

And then our time in South America was over. What a time it was. Will have to come back to do Brazil, the Amazon, Patagonia, the North but what we saw was incredible and we really enjoyed ourselves. On to Costa Rica, sun and heat, rainforests and animals and hopefully lots of beaches! The final leg of the adventure...