The final chapter......Peru!

GEORGE: I'm in such a fluster that this is the last posting, I can't think where to start! Of course I can really. I'm just being dramatic!

Right, just for the record, we missioned it on a 27 hour bus journey from Guaquille in Ecuador to Lima, the capital of Peru. Our final country. (Have I already said that? Impact!) But we did not hang around in Lima....oh no!

ALEX: After our 'long bus journey' PB we very quickly realised that the best thing about Lima was leaving Lima - having been to several capital cities on our travels it was without doubt the most uninspiring one!

GEORGE: Our rear ends were shot to pieces, the budget blown out of the water.......so we jumped on a flight and headed to beautiful Arequipa (SE Peru in the desert) to rest for a few days.

Full of beautiful colonial architecture and squares, this was a lovely place to enjoy the sun, shops and even the odd convent!

Even Alex really enjoyed this convent. It was a small wall enclosed city that was only open to the public in the 1970's. Until then, no one knew what it was like inside, except the nuns but they never came out! And so it remained a curious mystery for so many years.

ALEX: Yes, that's right, I enjoyed a sight seeing tour of a convent - would you 'Adam and Eve it'?! Clearly an illustration of how I've grown as a person as a result of exposure to many many wonderful cultural sights around the world........

GEORGE: Have I mentioned that so far, all the avocados I have eaten in South America have been amazing?

Right, after a well deserved rest, it was time to head north east....and up, to Puno where lies Lake Titicaca. The largest and highest (I think) navigable lake in the world, stretching a 130KM across the border between Peru and Bolivia.

It was kinda cool. Now, I'm sorry if I sound cynical. And perhaps I have now just been too spoilt by so many things over the last 7 months, but Lake Titicaca is so big, I felt like I was sailing on a calm sea. This was another 'tick the box' adventure. We met a few families that live on the lake of man-made reed islands. They showed us how they were made. This was interesting but felt like such a tourist trap rather than experiencing their way of life! (Ooooo....the cynic!) Anyhoo.... and on another one of the islands they were having a colourful festival with lots of beer and dancing which was fun.

Travel tip: For all those planning a trip to Peru. Despite my negatives, it is worth going to see Lake Titicaca, but don't plan to spend longer than two days there (in fact one day is enough), as there is nothing else to do in Puno!

Anyway.....with the clock counting down, we had no time to waste and headed on to Cuzco. At an altitude of 3,400m, this is the base where people come to do the Inca trail. We actually decided to do a slightly different and less touristy route called the 'Lares trail'. It is actually slightly easier than the Inca trail (less of a continuous steep gradient), and still ends in Machu Picchu, but we actually only passed one other group over the four days! You still walk along Inca original paths though. Oh the detail, the detail!

This trip was fantastic. Stunning landscapes and physically demanding. Really physically demanding! Trekking at 4,400m I thought my chest was going to explode! Along the way, the local children always run after you in the hope of getting sweets, pencils, hair clips! They all had such red cheeks. And they wore bare feet in sandals despite it being really cold!

ALEX: What a great way to come to the end of our trip! This trek was incredible - very physical but incredible. And It was definitely my idea of camping - largely because you have a porter who puts all your stuff on the back of his horse, risks his life running ahead of you to make sure he gets to camp ahead of time, then sets up your tent (complete with mattress and pillows) and lays on a 3 course meal when you arrive at camp that evening - and all for a wage that most beggars in London would turn their nose up at! Why they scrapped the British Empire is beyond me.........

GEORGE: Each day we walked about 4 or 5 hours. And at night we camped at 3,700m in a local village. During the night the temperature dropped to -3 degrees. So we slept fully clothed and with thick sleeping bags and blankets. We were really cosy and warm. No showers on this trek!

Sorry the middle picture is on it's side. If you just turn your head to the left, you'll see the inside and kitchen area of a local home.

In the morning, our guides loaded up the horses, and we set off again.










We had an international group and everyone got on really well. This picture was taken when we reached the 4,400m pass.

We were lucky enough to be invited into one of the local schools in the area. We went into one of the classrooms and hung out with the over excited kids which was great! Of course it cost us sweets, pencils and hair clips! And they loved having their photos taken.

I was trying to read and pronounce their ridiculously long words which they found hysterical. I can't remember what their language is called!

ALEX: Having left school some time ago, the girls took pity on George and ran her through the complexities of nuclear physics.

GEORGE: After about 30 minutes and enough distraction we kept going until we reached the next town for lunch and football. 'Peru' v's 'The rest of the world!'

It was a close high scoring game with 'The rest of the world' winning 8-7.

ALEX: Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the fittest guy in the world but you try running round like an idiot for an hour, playing a sport you haven't played for 10 years (in hiking boots) at altitude. Needless to say no offers of a contract with any of the big clubs emerged.

GEORGE: I hung out with the cheer leaders and eyed up all the good looking players!

Our final stop was Machu Picchu. The lost city of the Incas. We were up at 5:30am with hoards of tourists to get up the mountain and appreciate the sights before the 10:30am train arrived carrying far too many more tourists to mention.

Because I keep using the same adjectives....'stunning', 'amazing' and 'beautiful'. I'm not going to write too much here. You can just look at the pictures!

ALEX: Indeed you can - this place was amazing. One bit of local knowledge is that if you want to climb Waynapichu (the big peak that overlooks the site), head there first as they only let in 400 people per day and by 8.30am the gates to the path were closed.

ALEX: Difficult to tell from the pictures, but this is the view of the site and surrounding area from the top of Waynapichu.

GEORGE: I know the below looks like a ridiculous postcard shot, but the lamas really were there!

Us with our gorgeous guide Paull.

At the end of a true highlight (hee..hee) of our trip....we got the train back to Cuzco.....

where Alex and I came down with colds, were aching all over, so needed to chill for a few days. Sorry, not many pictures here.

Then a 20 hr bus ride to Nazca, to see the Nazca Lines. Our final sight seeing stop.

What we were not expecting was the earthquake which happened about 9 hours after our arrival at 6:45pm. It was so scary. We were on the first floor of an internet cafe when we were plunged into darkness and the whole building started shaking. The noise of moving metal and concrete is the scariest bit. We fumbled our way out of the building and ran into the open square where we stood whilst the earth carried on shaking beneath us. It was such a horrible experience. The epicentre was 200km north in Ica and Pisco. Unfortunately these old towns with old buildings are not built to withstand earthquakes and were pretty much flattened. Anyway, I guess you all saw the news. The aftershocks carried on for about 24 hours.

Despite the chaos and lack of electricity, the next morning we were up in a small airplane by 8:15am to look down on the mysterious Nazca Lines. Huge geometric lines spread over 500km squared.

If you look closely at the picture on the right you might be able to make out a 'humming bird'. There are lots of theories behind the existence of these lines, which you will find on 'wikipedia' I'm sure.

ALEX: With only days to go and having just survived an earthquake we still managed to squeeze some more fun in.

GEORGE: After delays we finally managed to get back to Lima. The main road we needed, passed through Ica and Pisco. There were 1 metre cracks down the centre of the road and at time the opposite traffic was 1 metre higher than we were! Nuts!

ALEX: We should also mention that in South America when a bridge is out of action due to an earthquake, there is no need to worry because although your journey will be delayed, the bus will simply drive down to the river the bridge crosses, drive through the river and then up the other side - wallop!

GEORGE: Safely back in Lima we celebrated the end of our 7 month AMAZING adventure with champagne in a posh hotel! Nice!

(I know I keep talking about us going to places to relax, which probably sounds ridiculous, but from Lima we went to stay with my family in LA for a week........to relax!)

ALEX: Three words - God Bless America. We're off to relax which means 200 inch plasma screens, 14 meals a day, 4x4s bigger than most commercial jets, the zenith of customer service ("have a nice day!"), skinny double shot caramel mocha frappucino's with eggs over easy, a side of wheat free, low carb sour dough bread, and most importantly of all - guns in your glove box.

GEORGE: My closing speech: Thank you all for following our blog and adventures over the last 7 months. And for all the emails we have received throughout. It has all been incredible. Thanks to my friends and family for all their support... I love you all (said in an American accent)! Big thank you to Alex for everything. Wallop!

ALEX: My closing speech: Thank you George for forcing the issue on this conversational approach to the blog which after 7 months I will admit does work (well, I think it does anyway). Thanks also for coming with me because it's been amazing and finally thank you for for being brave enough to say yes! Hope you've all enjoyed it guys, looking forward to seeing you all soon.

GEORGE: (oh my God....is it really all over? So soon?)