Today we went up to Machu Pichu by train. We had to wake up at 5am which was a bit horrible as that has been the time to wake up for the past week. The train ride up was supposed to be one of the most spectacular in the world, but Lisa slept most of the way and Matthew contemplated murder as the americans sitting next to us kept coming out with stuff like 'Stonehenge is the same as Easter Island'. There was also this absolute freak who came and sat opposite us, w...

Back in Cusco. Have spent the past three days in the jungle in Puerto Maldonado. We had to get a half hour flight into the main town then a 2 hour boat ride down to the lodge. We arrived, were introduced to the lodge manager, Mr Antonio, and were served lunch which was rice wrapped in big vine leaves before being shown to our bungalows. Each bungalow has 2 single beds and 2 hammocks as well as a shower etc. It was a pretty nice bungalow and an excellent lodge in...

Today we went on a tour to the Sacred Valley. We arranged this through a small tour company for a pretty good price but most companies in Cusco book through the one company so we ended up on a full bus. There were the two of us, two dutch guys and about 20 americans. The bus tour followed the sacred river Urubamba which runs all the way through the valley and much of Peru. The guide explained for about 15 minutes why the Sacred Valley was called the Sacred Valley...

This is a summary of Peru so far. Breakfast in the hotel leaves a bit to be desired but when it´s free and the fruit is fresh you can´t really complain. The hotel is lovely and has some great views but Matthew is pretty sure that walking up and down all those scary steps is going to force his heart to give up. We went around the shops for a day or two just buying alpaca stuff to keep us warm in the hotel and when we head up Machu Picchu. Hats, gloves, jumpers...

Wanted to get up early and head to the animal market but 6am is just too early so we went to the other market where they had all sorts of crap for all sorts of prices. Matthew got his armadillo guitar for about $55 which is good compared to the $360 they cost in shops. Lisa picked up a few oil paintings and some bits and bobs. We got back to the hotel and packed up our stuff before heading for lunch and to the bus station. We got accosted by a huge black guy wh...