Welcome to the world of Tom and Beth´s travels! We set off from gatwick Peru bound at opposite ends of the plane which in hindsight probs wasn´t a bad thing with us spending the next 4 months together! 21 hours and a change at the massive Atlanta airport later and we were welcomed to Lima in true celebrity style to a crowd of Peruvians wanting us in their taxi, hotel or on their tour. However we´d already opted for the more showbiz option of a guy waiting with a ´bethan jones´ sign...living the dream!

LIma

This man took us to what we hoped wouldnt be our standard of living for the next 4 months - the hostal was okay but the room slightly resembled our idea of a brothal.

First day in LIma we opted for traditional Peruvian cuisine - chicken and chips. Although Tom did panic and opt for a pisco sour, only to discover it tasted like tequilla mixed with coffee - perfect for midday! we then decided to be tourists for the day taking endless pictures of buildings on an open top bus ride. It did stop once at Francisco Catacombs, basically a dark tunnel underground filled with thousands of old peruvians skulls and femurs arranged in pretty shapes - a very nice experience from start to finish! That night we went to the largest fountain park in the world -WOW! Was really gd to be fair, lots of big colourful fountains some you could walk through and stay dry with good timing (I got soaked!).

Our second day in LIma was filled with more Peruvian culture - a steak house for lunch, followed by a walk down the beach and a quickfire visit to the zoo which in S.America mainly consists of monkeys and ridiculously noisy parrots! After sampling what Lima had to offer and Tom developing a cold due to the fumes we headed to the clean skies of Cusco - or at least tried to. We set off at 5.20am so naturally we were soon both fast asleep on the plane only to be rudely awoken by the pilot announcing despite the fact we were over Cusco we were heading back to LIma, apparently the weather was too bad to land! After an hour wait on Lima runway we took off again and successfully landed this time - one hell of a job by the pilot who had many a mountain to dodge!

Cusco

At first we didn´t know what all the altitude fuss was about until we tried to carry our bags and it felt like we gained 20 stone, moving was a challenge! In order to get used to our new found body mass we chilled out for a few days in our Irish hostel the Wild Rover.

Our first trip was the Sacred Valley tour which consisted of a Llama farm, a peruvian market where Tom acquired his first alpaca christmas jumper to be one of the cool kids, some incredible views, our first of many inca ruins, guinea pig lunch and feeling slightly awkward whilst being serenaded in a church by our over enthusiastic Spanish hating/ inca loving guide.

Next came the inca trail - four day hike to Machu Picchu.

Day 1 - known as "Easy Day"

Began with us meeting our fellow twelve hikers, Beth buyig her Machu Picchu waking poles (soon to become the bain of Tom's life.) and stocking up on coca leaves (leaves used to make cocaine but used in Peru for just about everything!) We set off for the first 12km not too hard with many stops for Inca sights along the way. The porters were incredible, charging past us with most of the gear, setting up the campsite and preparing our four course lunch and tea in a full on dining tent for when we arrived - legends! We finished the day with a well deserved beer and some amazing star gazing.

Day 2 - "Challenging Day"

Pretty full on 9km uphill, to the highest point Dead Womans Pass, with us both getting breathless. I soon took my place at the back of the group and gave Tom my bag (really it was to boost his ego). Once we reached the top it was a two hour walk back down to campsite two where we ate, slept, ate and slept again.

Day 3 - "Unforgettable Day"

15km consisting of ups and downs, rain showers and loads more inca sights along the way. At the end of the hike we were rewarded with the best view yet over the whole valley. Dinner at the campsite 3 was also an experience not only did we have a Machu Picchu cake but we were introduced to our 16 porters and chef during a cramped tipping ceremony. This involved a handshake, a smile and a quechua saying "see you in the next life". Pretty bizarre but amazing all the same.

Day 4 - Unique Day

Woke up before sunrise at 4am to take our place in the disneyesque queue to see Machu Picchu. Except unlike Disney after the queue we were subjected to another hour long climb. All very rewarding though as at the top we gained our first glimpse of Machu Picchu and took the first of a thousand photos. We then enjoyed the rest of the day exploring Machu Picchu, the guide books don't lie all very spectacular etc etc! End of the day we relaxed our aching bodies in Hot Springs - basically awkwardly sitting next to loads of other hikers who like us hadn't washed in 4 days...niceeee! We then returned to Cusco on what was supposed to be a short train ride. However we woke to what felt like a train crash only to be reassured by the porter that it was just some boulders falling on the tracks and we were unlikely to derail- BRILLIANT! Reassured we slept our way back to Cusco.

Back in Cusco, Tom having made freinds with our guides went to play football the locals. All very fun even involved a beer after the game with Tom sitting there oblivious. Also watched the United game, did a spot of white water rafting in and ziplining over the brown Urumbamba river. We then moved on to Puno where we went on a boat trip to some floating islands. All in all a fun time had in Peru, bring on Bolivia!