Peru continued

So, the bus journey is over, not that bad really, 25 hours in a semi reclining seat is far from my idea of fun but it passed relatively quietly, apart from the annoying loud family in front who were relatively quiet between 2am and 6am. A few episodes of The Fresh Prince in English eased the journey and Loretta and I are both addicted to the Klondike (patience) game on our ipods.

Anyway, Peru... Aguas Calientes is the town at the base of Machu Picchu and literally means ´hot waters´which, when looking for accommodation in Peru can mean anything from scorching hot showers (with no cold tap to dilute it) through to just off ice cold. It´s changed a lot from the shabby shacks hanging over the trainline to a full and not too bad little town (despite what the lonely planet says). This was our base for the trek up to Putucusi and then the next day we got up at 3.30am and braved the rain and dark to climb to the top for 6am opening, beating the tourists, we got our classic shots of MP through the clouds. Really amazing place, if ever you get the chance to visit I´d recommend it as a must-see before you die!! For those of you who haven´t been it´s not just the scale of the building but where it´s situated, right on top of this steep mountain, what the location lacks in practicality it makes up for in impact. The other fascinating thing is that no one really knows why it was situated there and what its function was... all very mysterious.

We were meeting our tour guide at 8am which (of course) gave us plenty of time to trek to the sun gate (cooly named ínti punku´) which is incredible - again to see the early morning mist rising and falling back over the ruins is stunning. We managed to get back to meet our tour guide in the nick of time and it was a really interesting talk. There are now very limited numbers of visitors allowed up to MP and the steep Huanya Picchu (the spiky mountain behind MP in the pictures) so I was relieved to not repeat the experience of the rickety wet path with the 1km drop...

While we were having the tour some muppet of a mother was letting her child play with his toys on the edge of a 10-12ft drop. All we heard was a sickening thud and a scream from aforementioned stupid mother. The kid landed on his head on the stone steps and was knocked out cold, luckily he regained consciousness and we found a doctor to tend to him, although trying to stop the mother from picking him up and trying to keep him still was impossible... he started crying, which is, I guess, a good sign and he was whisked away by a posse of guides and the doctor (probably more concerned with spoiling the tour!) Hopefully there was no lasting damage but for a second there I thought he was surely dead.

Anyway, after that little bit of excitement we were back in Cusco by the end of the day. We had been staying in Los Niños hostel, which was set up to help orphaned street kids... 72% of the hostel´s income goes directly to help the kids who are constantly wandering through on their way to and from school and for meals, really nice. If anyone´s interested in making a donation direct to a charity that is making a difference then let me know, I have their details and can put you in touch.

We´d decided to have a relaxing last day in Cusco, catching up on emails, journals, etc but decided at the last minute to do a paraglide over the Sacred Valley... well why not? (Jem, totally know why you´re hooked now!) It was awesome and surprisingly relaxing, not an adrenaline rush at all, one of the best things I´ve ever done. I went first with the instructor and we caught (I say we, my role was mainly just sitting there enjoying the view and moving from side to side when prodded in the ribs) a thermal and headed up to over 4200m. Stunning views over the Urumbamba valley, which bears a striking resemblance to Tuscany, and a relatively decent landing and then Loretta was up, loving it.

So, Puno was next which is on the shores of lake titicaca... we had a terribly ´touristy´tour to the reed islands which although interesting felt very much exploitative and false. We very much think of ourselves as travellers rather than tourists and very much don´t like to be told what to do so it was very strange to be told to stay with the /herd and do everything together for the day... although we did abscond at the first opportunity just to get some peace and quiet - definitely our first and last such tour of the trip!

After Puno we headed to La Paz, Bolivia´s capital which at just over 4,000m is the highest capital in the world - it may (or may not!) be interesting to know that it has the longest runway in the world as the air pressure is so low and planes need special tyres to land as the have to come in much faster...

Sad to be leaving Peru which is our favourite so far by a long way, just in terms of its spectacular scenery, people, activities, ease of travel and sheer fun. Could definitely live here!!