Well then, this is it.

I'm in Lima and this is my last blog; can't quite believe I leave for home today. I've had a think about putting all the experiences together and will try some sort of summary further down, but first to catch up...

In Cuzco I duly spent a few days doing not very much with fellow Inca Trekker Steve, and that was pretty good. Did a tour of the Inca's Sacred Valley just north of Cuzco, seeing impressive ruins and terraced hillsides at Pisac and Ollantaytambo. The first of these really was spectacular, perched on the top of a steep hill, with the terraces seeming to overhang the cliff below. Ollantaytambo was very imposing, with more interesting examples of the interlocking Inca stonework that really is beautiful.

From there Steve and I went to Arequipa, further south, to do a three-day tour of the Colca Canyon. Arequipa itself was nice, with lots of empanada, chocolate and ice crea stalls, and a beautiful main plaza, with snow-dusted volcanoes visible in the background haze. On the first day we arrived at 5:30am so basically just slept, but on the second day Megan, another fellow trekker, arrived and we went to a museum containing a 500 year-old frozen girl, Juanita, who'd been found up a Peruvian volcano in the 90s. It was a good museum and amazing to see preserved skin and clothes on the girl herself. Then went to the amazingly blue and red Santa Catarina monastery, from where the blog photo is taken. Not much to do but very calm and pretty. Also worth remembering from the city were having a crêpe filled with curry, amazing milkshakes and sitting on the rooftoop terrace of our hostel looking over the city at the volcanoes. Our pick up for the tour was at 3am and we drove for a few hours for a meagre breakfast of mini pancakes flavoured with orange, coca and other random miscalculations. After that we visited the Cruz del Condor, where huge vulture-type things fly on the air currents, spreading their impressive 3m wingspan that's fringed with individual feathers at the end. Stayed there watching them gently glide around for an hour or so, then drove to Cabanaconde to start our walk. From there we could see down to our destinations over the next couple of days, really feeling the kilometre that we'd be going down in just a few hours. The scenery was of lots of mountains dribbling away into the distance and a huge deep valley with a relatively small river at the bottom. The walk down was pretty tough on the knees but the feeling of relief on reaching our picturesque little accommodation was all the better for it. Opposite the green bank on which our bedroom perched was the sheer wall of rock we'd walked down, and we could see the impossible zig zags that had brought us there. Mostly we slept and relaxed for the afternoon. Day 2 was walking along the canyon to Sangalle, known as the 'oasis', and the views that day were great. Ribbed rock formations, lush green valley floor, huge gentle mountains behind us and Sangalle itself nestled between two walls of orange rock. This oasis is nice to relax in with its hammocks, well-watered grass, luxury swimming pools and volleyball net, but much too fake to feel like an interesting experience for me. Up at 5:30am the next day we marched back up the canyon over another 2 gruelling hours, from the top being able to see all the way back down to the now tiny oasis. Breakfast. Drive to an immense buffet lunch. Drive back to Arequipa. There I shared a slightly rushed crêpe dinner with Megan and Steve and said a heartfelt goodbye before running for my last bus, a 15-hour ride to Perú's capital, Lima.

Here I've been in a proper hotel to get myself in order, clean and at least a bit rested before coming home. I went to the Miraflores area and enjoyed seeing the sea for the first time in nearly 2 months! Unfortunately the whole region here is covered in a thick fog for 6 months of the year, so there's not much of a view to be had. Wandered around some samey crafts markets and chilled out at the hotel. Then yesterday I braved a public bus into Lima Central, where the main Plaza Mayor is really nice and thoroughly in football mode with a huge TV screen and massive inflatables. I did a quick trip to the catacombs of San Francisco church, where lots of people were buried over the last few hundred years, and wandered briefly around Lima Cathedral, though it wasn't particularly pretty. Then chilling out here some more, reading and casting my mind back over the last 6 months, pretty well aware that in 2 days' time I'll be wishing I was still out here.

So anyway, I've tried to summarise the last 6 months with some Top Ten lists, just for fun and to keep things in my head. So, in chronological order...

Dave's Top Ten Favourite Places

Beijing - so much to do and see, and great memories of amazing dumplings.

Chengde - A stunningly beautiful park and temples all to ourselves in the cold.

Hong Kong - Though filled with suits, it's a spectacle and I loved my birthday there!

Lijiang - A maze of cobbled streets and of course the nearby Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Nikko (Japan) - A great mountainous, icy surprise with some of Japan's best shrines.

Uluru (Oz) - Though over-touristed, just being in the landscape was an experience.

Sydney - A real top favourite. Sunny, beachy, watery, clean, vibrant and friendly.

Wanaka (NZ) - Beautiful landscape with amazing lakes and a calming vibe.

Coromandel Peninsula - A beautiful drive with delicious beaches. A real paradise.

Cuzco - The city itself beautiful, Incan and vibrant; then Machu Picchu...

and

Dave's Top Ten Favourite Things He's Done

Great Wall of China. A walk almost to ourselves with amazing snakey views.

Tiger Leaping Gorge walk, with great people and unbelievable scenery.

Watching sunset over the Pacific in Perth with Kath, food and James Squire.

Scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, a different world.

Having Eggs Benedict under the Sydney Harbour Bridge with a top early morning view.

Bungee Jump off the Kawarau Bridge. Frightening. Exhilirating.

Walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing amongst volcanoes and sulphur lakes.

'The Valparaiso Experience' with Julia, Lizzie and Manuel Perez.

The beautiful Iguazú Falls, from both sides of the border.

The Inca Trail and indescribably awesome Machu Picchu.

And that's it. I've come to the point where I feel comfortable with this life on the road; like I've never done anything else. Of course I miss home and tomorrow will be the 11th thing on both of the above lists, but I've managed to find a way to be happier and more sure of myself. I've not been conscious of learning anything in particular as I think it all quietly seeps in over time, but I like to think I'm more chilled out now, able to take things a day at a time, enjoying life and 'playing it by ear' as I've often been advised. Just being. And that's got to be the best experience I've ever had.

P.S. Managed to get one last photo up, check the albums...