Peru

We flew from London Heathrow to Madrid, then on to Lima, arriving late in the evening. Our total travelling time from home to the hotel was 24 hours. From there we flew on to Arequipa by Star Peru. Arequipa is an attractive Andean town, situated 2,350m above sea level, and has the impressive peaks of the Cordillera Volcanica as a backdrop. Here stands the perfect snow-capped cone of El Misti (5,842m).

I visited the Santa Catalina Convent, after which we all sat down to a group meal, which consisted of alpaca & ostrich for the carnivores, quinoa gnocchi for me!

We took an excursion to Colca Canyon to see the condors, despite the early start (2.30 am). I try to sleep in the mini bus but the road is very bumpy, however the stars in the night sky are simply amazing! We reach town by 6.00 am, then on to the site after breakfast and the birds perform! We got back in time for lunch and returned to Arequipa in time for dinner. My son had fried guinea pig & I had potatoes in savoury sauce with hard-boiled eggs.

Visit ‘Julia’, the mummified remains of an Inca girl sacrificed on top of mountain, in the Museum, and then after lunch, we visited the church, and returned to the hotel where I slept and my son, Edward, went out with group for dinner.

We drove through Juliaca, the town where, a couple of months ago, the mayor was lynched! Thankfully we don’t stop ~ it seemed to consist of roadworks, dust and more petrol stations than seemed necessary. We stopped to see the Sillustani then travelled on to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. This is the highest navigable inland 'sea' on earth, at 3,856m). Unfortunately I was suffering from a bout of altitude sickness so after taking some medication, I returned to the hotel by taxi.

Mercifully the next morning I felt much better, although breakfast, interesting as it is, was a bit of a challenge. We took a boat across the lake to explore some pre-Inca ruins at Taquile via the Uros Islands, which are not islands at all but rafts built of reeds each big enough to accommodate several houses. Taquile has no electric or running water ~ the accommodation was clean but basic and the non-flushing outside loo is several yards away, so bring a torch! Celebrations for Independence Day are going on in the village square. The band is out of tune and time, but nobody cares!! We watched the sunset and dinner was basic and frugal but much appreciated. After a walk round the island, we return to the square for another fairly basic lunch and are able to watch the Independence Day speeches from the vantage point of our upstairs restaurant. Goose-stepping is the order of the day on the march past the village elders, with the children concentrating so hard on getting it right.

The next morning we take the rackety train ‘Orient express’ across the high Altiplano, where bowler-hatted Indians graze their llamas, to Cusco, (3,400m). A good three-course meal as well as Afternoon Tea was served on the train, all for U$15! Departing at 0800, we arrived at Cusco ~ the Navel of the Universe ~ at about 6 in the evening. The next day We visited Sacsayhuaman,, sitting high above the town with its imposing stone walls which took 20,000 workers 90 years to finish. We visited an alpaca outlet and Pisac market, after which we had lunch in Cusco and took a tour around a monestary.

At 3.30 am, unfortunately it's now Edward's turn to be ill! Still, we had to leave the hotel hotel at 5.00 to get to Aguas Calientes and up to Machu Picchu, the most outstanding feat of stone engineering in ancient America. Edward collapses in a heap, wakes up some time later and throws up. We manage to get him down in one piece and into bed at about 2 o’clock. I decided to go to dinner with the group without him.

The next morning we had another early start ~ 7.00 ~ and went again up to Machu Picchu, with a guide. Thank goodness, Edward is much perkier. We came back down for the 2 o’clock train back to Cusco, and whilst my friend and I decide to have dinner, Edward still can’t face it!

Today we took an excursion ~ White water rafting down the Urubamba Valley. It's level 2 and 3, and more fun than dangerous, although they say the rapids get to 6/7 in December when the river rises another 10-15 feet. We have a group dinner at the Fallen Angel. Upon our return to Lima, we have an afternoon tour around the city, and visited the catacombs. Lima is generally overcast all the time in summer. We spent the day wandering about Miraflores.

Frustratingly, when we checked in for our flight home that evening, we learnt that Iberia had changed our flight so we have 4 hours to wait at Madrid airport for our flight home to London!

Here are some general comments you would do well to bear in mind if taking a similar type of holiday:

The EXPLORE holiday price does not include breakfast in any hotel, which was a good thing as the best we had was in Puno ~ bitter coffee, cocoa tea, unleavened bread, margarine, plastic ham or cheese and Sugar Puffs, and condensed/evaporated milk. Unless you're leaving early, do try to eat out in one of the restaurants, although there were only a few days when this was possible on our tour itinerary.

Hotels are supposed to be 2* or 3* but this is a third world country. Showers that are more like overhead taps require you to be patient. After five or ten minutes the water will come through warm, and sometimes even hot!. Televisions often don’t work, and if they do, expect to watch Buffy and The Simpson’s in Spanish, while CSI Vegas & Miami & Greys Anatomy have Spanish subtitles. The electricity sockets hang off the wall so you daren’t plug in the electric heater, although some of our group did and were rewarded with a burning smell! Asking for an extra blanket is safer, and you might even ask for an extra pillow as well, as all the hotels we stayed in had tiny pillows.

Our tour leader was a friendly, knowledgeable Kiwi and all the transfers were well organised. However, my biggest tip is to be aware of the altitude and take it easy! Everybody suffered from sore throats and dry lips for the first week, so take a good lip balm and an effective sunscreen because at that altitude, the sun burns a lot quicker than at sea level. Also note that a warm sunny day can quickly turn into a cold evening so a fleece and gloves come in useful, although, of course, an newly-acquired alpaca jumper works wonders in keeping you warm! Unfortunately we were in Arequipa by the time I discovered that my son had packed nothing but T-shirts. The jumpers are not that expensive ~ maybe US$50 and up, and well worth budgeting for as useful 'souvenirs'.

A lightweight raincoat is essential if going up to Machu Picchu, although you can buy plastic hooded ponchos from street sellers once you get there, as the early mornings are damp and wet before the sun burns the clouds off.

U.S. dollars in cash are easy to exchange, while travellers cheques create hassle, although there are ATM’s in all cities. As with a lot of places, only drink bottled water, which is readily available everywhere.

Iberia is a basic airline, and although our crew looked bored, at least we got there and back in one piece. However, you should note that some flights used by EXPLORE route through USA (American Airways change at Miami) so you should make sure your passport is valid under the Visa Waiver Scheme or that the necessary Visa has been obtained.