Peru was fantastic and rates as one of the best holidays ever.
It took a whole day to get there via Miami, but that was an experience in itself. I saw all the Florida Keys and the whole of the city from the air and it looked fabulous. Unfortunately, all I saw on the ground was grumpy US Customs, Immigration and baggage check. Boring, especially as I was there for 5 hours!
I arrived in Lima late that night and was met at the airport by the owner of Hostal Victor, who gave me a lift to the hotel. It was basic and located behind a salsa bar but I was so tired that I went straight to sleep. The next morning I caught an internal flight to Cusco (which 'Victor' had arranged cheaply through one of his contacts) in the Andes Mountains to meet Jeremy. It was there that we would base ourselves for the next week to do the Inca Trail and other adventure activities.
Cusco was bizarre- a city in the middle of nowhere at 3500m above sea level, bursting with life and full of European backpackers. It was very touristy without being tacky. I loved it. I found Jeremy in the hostel Casa Grande near the main square sporting a wacky Inca hat and playing the Palin role, bantering with the locals - quite obviously in his element. Peru was the fourth leg of his South America trip, having travelled through Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.
After a day of sightseeing around the city we celebrated my arrival in some of the numerous bars, finishing off in Mama Africa Samba club which was a very cosmopolitan mix of locals, Americans and Europeans, mostly wearing Berghaus geek-fleeces (yes, I was too) and walking boots.
The next day we booked a pony trek to see some of the Inca ruins outside of the city. It was 20 soles (5 pounds) for a whole day’s trekking, which was a bargain. Not sure my horse was too impressed with carrying a 14-stone lump, though, as he kept snorting and trying to bite me!
After the tranquil mountain scenery of the pony trek, we decided to crank up the pace a bit and enroll for a day’s whitewater rafting, 3 hours’ bus ride from Cusco. I must admit I was apprehensive at first because we opted for the class 5 session (it's rated 1-6, with 6 being the most dangerous), and the fact that our bus contained a posse of die-hard Aussie extreme-sport types made me even more nervous. However, after 2 hours bombing down a mountain river at breakneck speed, paddling like maniacs to avoid becoming a bloody splatter on the rocks, I wanted more! It was fantastic.
The next four days were taken up doing the Inca trail, setting off from a point in the mountains 3 hours from Cusco. The idea was to follow the classic route, ending up at the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu on the final day. It was an organised tour for 15 with two guides and a team of porters and chefs who would be carrying all our tents and cooking equipment - they were very strong and very fast, and did the whole route in sandals!
For those of us not quite so accustomed to the altitude, it was a little more difficult. I had real trouble breathing on the first and second day and got quite dizzy at some stages. It was a lot harder than I expected, or maybe I was not as fit as I thought. However, after 4 long days, we arrived at Machu Picchu at 5am, just in time to see the sun rise over the snow capped mountains and light up the ruined city like a stage show. It was magical.
We returned to Cusco on the Sunday night and, having all bonded over the past few days, our group arranged to have a big night out to celebrate. Made friends with some Parisians, Norwegians, Swiss and Irish and had a great night. We eventually staggered into the hostel at 6am. By the time I awoke later that day, Jeremy had already been into town to reserve us seats on the 7-hour bus journey to Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian border. We arrived later that night in the town of Puno. The following day we went on a boat trip on the lake to see the floating Uros Islands, made of reeds, and had lunch on another island.
Jeremy and I parted company on the Wednesday, him heading to La Paz in Bolivia, and I got a flight up to Lima to stay there for a few nights. Compared with the rest of our trip, Lima was a completely new experience and I was immediately hit by the pace of the city, and the need to be constantly vigilant for thieves (a slick team of three tried it on me, but I had them sussed straight away!). On my first night I was watching a political protest in the Plaza Mayor, only to get too close and get a lungful of pepper spray or something similar which the riot police had sprayed at protesters! Ouch!
I didn't really go big on the sightseeing - preferring to walk the streets and check out some non-touristy cafes and basically just get a vibe for the place. On Thursday afternoon I sat in the Plaza Mayor for hours and had several long chats with all sorts of people, from shoe shiners to artists, who gave me the lowdown on everything from Peruvian politics to some Peruvian Newcastle United player. It was interesting and everybody was very friendly.
I explored Chinatown and the central market (which stank). A large crowd was protesting outside congress about President Toledo and the riot police were out in force again. Nothing kicked off, so I went into the nearby Spanish Inquisition museum, which was vaguely interesting.
I must have eaten something very dodgy on Thursday (I think it was the Peruvian KFC) as by evening, I had a fever and was feeling a bit sick. The room in Hostal Espana was far too hot and there was a group of very loud and annoying school kids next door, so I went for a walk to get some air. Unfortunately this didn’t help and I ended up involuntarily throwing up in the street, all over my shoes. Uurrrrggggh! Even the usually persistent shoe shiners wouldn't go near!