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Hello,
Well we started our tour about two weeks ago and it has literally been non stop ever since. We met up in Lima, which is the capital of Peru and renound for being a biy dodgy. As we arrived at the airport their were big warning signs everywhere telling us to ensure we only get in official taxi cabs. We were also warned of scams involving fake policemen and people throwing mustard at you so they can clean you up whilst stealing all your worldly goods! Having said all that, we actually found the place to be really pleasant and I never felt insecure walking about (though I did look out for people carrying condiments!) We saw lots of parlimental buildings and even watched the changing of the guards at midday which was quite impressive (lots of marching and playing of instruments).
There are around thirty of us in our tour group, all between 20 and 35 years old and mostly from England but also from Australia, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and Switzerland. We have one main tour guide, Jules and also two trainees, Jamie and Kim, who are been shown the ropes.
After Lima we headed off to the dessert for some sandboarding action. This basically involves lying on a kind of surf board and flying down huge sand dunes. It was very scary but great fun. I screamed lots that day. We also got driven around in sand buggies which was absolutely mental. The more I screamed the faster the lovely guy seemed to drive, flying down the hugest dunes and almost tipping us over. More scary than any roller coaster I´ve ever been on. In the evening we had a barbecue in the dessert and drank lots of Pisco sours which are the local favourite alcoholic beverages, before camping down underneath the stars. Sounds really romantic but actually it was bloody freezing and Dean and I stupidly choose a hill to sleep on - I kept sliding down the hill in the night, waking up and having to crawl back up to the top. lol.
The following day we headed to Nazca, where we got to see some of the famous ´Nazca lines´, which are a series of geoglyphs in the dessert, representing hummingbirds, spiders, fish and lizards. We stayed at a campsite in the evening, and Dean and I decided to upgrade to a room, rather than sleeping outside again. Anyway, there was some mistake with the room and we ended up being given the suite which had a living room with a bar and fridge, bedroom, bathroom and best of all, a Jacuzzi!!! We spent the evening hosting a poker game in the room and swimming in our little tub. Heaven.
The next day we went to Porta Inca which is a tiny little beach resort. Dean enjoyed some volleyball while I did what I do best and got some extra sleep! In the evening we had another BBQ on the beach which was great fun.
After Porta Inca we went to Arequipa, which was a gruelling 8 hour drive, but an opportunity to play lots of card games and eat junk food! Developing a new love for snickers bars out here (I´m all about tring the local cuuisine me). From Arequipa we went on an overnight tour of the Colca Canyon which was a stunning drive where we saw plenty of llamas and alpacas. In the evening we bathed in the hot springs sipping beer under the stars as we bobbed around. The following day was an early start in order to see the Andean condors. Unfortunately I was quite sick in the morning, but Dean went and got the pictures and they were awesome.
From the Colca Canyon, I continued to be ill for the next four days, which was pretty horrible, and made worse by the fact that we had to do a 12 hour bus journey to Cusco. As many will know, Cusco is the main base people use to do the famous Inka trail. I continued to be ill right up until the day of the Inka trail and in the end I decided to go, despite not being 100% The Inka trail is a gruelling four day trek to the famous site of Machu Pichu, camping inbetween. The trek was definitely the hardest i have ever done in my life, made worse by the fact that I was weak from not eating for three days. But the scenery was stunning and the photographs are awesome! When we finally arrived at the site of Machu Pichu (one of the wonders of the world) the scene was just amazing. Can´t wait til i can actually upload some photos.
So now we are in Cusco, which is a really quaint city with plenty to do and lots of souvenirs to be bought! We are spending some time relaxing after our huge trek (legs are still killing me!) I´ll be in touch soon (hopefully). Claire xxxxx
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