After toasting mum a safe journey home with a Pisco Sour it was back to travelling with a bump as my overnight bus to the mountains had a screaming baby one row in front!

Huaraz is a standard town at the foot of Peru's largest section of Andes. As it was Easter weekend had a nice procession on the Sunday but the main pull is trekking to the various glaciers and lakes which didn't disappoint as you can see from the photos.

Highlight for me was the Canon Del Pato or Duck Canyon. Decided to venture by bike alone from Caraz along a very scenic downhill (thankfully) mainly tarred road. As in a valley you can't get lost! In true Brit style I donned my hat, slopped on my sun cream and headed out into the midday sun with not enough water!! A gentle meander for 39km ended with the last 12km in the Canon Del Pato. Armed with my crappy head torch I cycled through the 35 tunnels getting covered in mud and with each tunnel running the gauntlet with potential on-coming traffic. By the end having gone through dust, mud and tar I felt like a cartoon villain covered in all sorts of materials.

My reward was a quiet village by the river which due to traffic restrictions for the return journey was my home for 4 hours...so I plonked myself in the only restaurant to kill time. The restaurant had no menu so my option was only meat; it was served by "the only gay in the village" Little Britain character; had Peruvian Strictly Come Dancing starring 12 Anne Widdecomb's to keep me entertained...the only saving grace was the owner like football so enjoyed Chelsea 0-0 draw in Champ League!! As you can tell the 4 hours passed pretty quickly just observing Peruvian life.

I decided to make one final stop on my Inca / Peruvian culture tour at Chachapoyas back in the jungle (ish). After a while archaeological sites get samey just like in Thailand and India with temples. Still good but sometimes need a change of scenery.

Chachapoyas is a neat little town with these old houses and balconies similar to Cuzco. After a bus travel fail over 24 hrs to get there i checked into a single room for $9...bargain! Just what i needed as was tired and smelly!

The pull factor here is Kuelap a sort of Machu Picchu but built 900yrs before. Hence although set upon the hill and a defensive fortress it lacked that WOW factor of Machu. It didn't help that it was raining...but still impressive given when it was built.

The other reason people visit is for the statues/tombs/sarcophagus of the Chachapoyas people placed upon shear limestone cliffs around 1200AD...they would destroy the paths once placed to avoid thieving. Unfortunately as limestone meant erosion over the years and so loads of fallen and broken...even a few bones lying around the place!!

Prior to this stop were some caves where we donned some wellies as turned out to be very sticky mud...a few came face to face with it! Again the caves used to be a cemetery but also a cavern of stalag "might touch the ceiling" and stalactites. 




Prior to going into the caves i had an "old people" moment which at 3* yrs is bad news but now see what my mum's friends must go through on a daily basis! We were waiting to pay entry and one of the group picked up a broomstick...

In my head i was oh "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" or a witch from "Wizard of Oz"...

Group member said oh its a "something 2000" (something = he said something but didn't register)

I was like "uh"

He said "you know quiditch"

I was like "uh"

He said "Harry Potter"

I was like "ohhh" after which i found the nearest seat, put some comfortable velcro shoes on, lit my pipe and read the back section of the Daily Mail deciding which pair of elasticated trousers to buy next!

After another long bus journey (3 buses in total) i am finally at Mancora beach for some rest and relaxation. Was last at the beach at Xmas and need to have some time to recharge the batteries...assume I have no sympathy!! Staying at the party hostel in town which reminded me why beaches are a good place...lots of scantily clad young ladies everywhere meant I had to jump into the pool like Kevin and Perry!!

Quick annoyances from the bus journey. Reading "Captain Philips" about the Somali pirates and as I jumped on the bus guess what film starts...and for the first time not dubbed and in English!!...alas despite my speed reading I finished the book as the film closing credits came up. Secondly when people jump onto buses (and planes) why can they not find their seat?? This guy was looking for seat 56487..his luggage ticket number!

Anyway the beach is nice and the water warm and after a lame attempt at surfing decided to go body boarding which I also failed at...I realise that I am not a water baby. What I did realise I am good at is beer pong! My team made the final but couldn't make the final cup which meant drinking copious amounts of beer and a blood bomb (don't know nor want to know what's in it!). The same night I got a complement of looking 25 yrs old although my smile was removed when someone else said "you're not an accountant are you?" What?? Do I have a badge on? Is it really that obvious? You would have thought being away for 7 months I would have lost it!

As I said in my blog title I am off to Ecuador tonight but thanks to my stupidity I have also signed up for the Lima marathon on 18 May. Need to somehow get race fit in just over 2 weeks...so ventured out for an 1.5hr run which apart from getting chased by dogs was a relatively successful run. Issue being not many training opportunities over coming weeks so won't be getting a PB but will have ticked off a marathon in South America...will be 4 continents down!! In my 40th year plan to run the Antarctic marathon...tick off my 7th continent and RETIRE!!

With my friends Ellen and Nikita allowing me to jump on their coat tails and feeling hungover we all ventured to Copacabana and Lake Titicaca (Borders Peru and Bolivia) ... which is the highest lake in the world at 3800m. You begin to realise everything is high around here and not to be forgotten even when walking up stairs!

We checked into our hotel accommodation ... yes a hotel ... it had been a few weeks for me and months for Ellen and Nikita. For $22 we splashed out! Las Olas is essentially an Alice in Wonderland themed place ... we turned down the snail house for the castle ... A 3 story building with a turret on the top overlooking the lake. I got the lower Little Merman shell bed (thanks Phil for the pun!) ... A ginormous suite and the only thing missing was the mirrored ceiling! The hotel also had a guitar for Nikita to serenade us each night with some Ed Sheeran and a hot tub with llama's to enjoy (not in the hot tub - that would be wrong as they can't swim). We had hot water bottles given to us every night and apart from leaving the toilet seat up occasionally I was a perfect room buddy! This was what we all needed after partying very hard in La Paz. It meant we had take aways for the first 2 nights and egg sandwiches for breakkie...a back packer treat! Although did venture out for one night of trout ... the only fish living in the lake.

Copacabana (Brazil's poorer cousin) has numerous islands and villages ... the highlight of which is Isla Del Sol (Island of Sun). A very slow boat ride for 2.5hrs ... swimming was faster! But well worth it, the highlight being the pre-Inca ruins where rituals on virgins were performed due to them believing it was where the sun was born. We also took a taxi tour of the mainland with Miguel to the local villages to get some stunning views of the the lake, Isla Del Sol and Isla Del Luna. The highlight was walking through a mock-English village with cobbled streets called Sampaya. The only thing missing were the scones and jam.

My journey at the moment is a little zig-zag in terms of efficiency of routes and bus rides. I headed to Peru for 5 days to Arequipa and Colca Canyon which meant another country but also another stamp in my passport. I should hopefully make it back to London with a spare page otherwise Mr Consulate will be getting a visit - or I am not coming back!

The reason for coming to Peru briefly was that it is not on my trip next month with my mum so as it was only a 6hr bus ride from Copacabana and I heard it was worth visiting...FOMO (Fear of missing out)!

My first bus ride in Peru was special compared to the others, I would like to say that having the toilet locked all the time was new - but no. It was the awful stench from the bus and passengers (mainly coming from the guy next to me and I washed in the morning!) Also during the journey every hour someone comes on to sell you food but gets off 5km later into the wilderness I assume they get a lift back to where they started. To finish the journey off a guy with speakers comes on for 30 mins - I initially thought he was preaching but it turns out he was selling nasal spray! Bizarre...but anyway I bought nothing and learned that I need to ensure a bus has a toilet and good facilities...aka "cama" But this is obviously different in every country you go ... the joys and fun of being on the road!!

Arequipa is Peru 2nd largest city and is surrounded by volcanic mountains and is due a big eruption within a year! Good timing on my behalf! It is a lovely old city with plaza's, cathedral and convents for a bit of history. I had some good meals and nights out... I tried llama and alpaca ... tastes just like chicken! The issue being not many gringos (tourists) were out in the town and the enticement of free drink was enough to keep me out ... despite compliments of "dancing well for a Brit" from a Dutch friend ... the nightclub with 2 people in it (1 attached, the other a lesbian) is not ideal stomping ground so like all Brits on tour I resorted to drinking games to continue the night. Which meant I felt terrible the following day, I'm getting too old for this.

The great thing about travel is stumbling across random things ... I went from Starbucks to eating cheese ice-cream to a convent to a body building championship to a chicken shop to a supermarket selling tuna called "Fanny" all within 2 hours!


Arequipa is famous for having the Colca Canyon and Condors to view within driving distance if you call 4 hours nearby. It was worth seeing although the 2.30am start was not very welcome ... the Condors are big but we were not close enough to do the trip justice. Colca Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and I also threw myself onto a horse for an afternoon...our guide ran this dodgy stables with 15 dogs that also needed a comb. The horses were smaller than UK horses which provided a bit more comfort as my horse 'Nacho' was prone to rearing! The best bit was our trekking guide ... a short plump sleaze who decided to woo the 2 girls at the half way point with Salsa dancing lessons that providing me with much entertainment ... the offer of one-on-one lessons after hours provided us with numerous giggles as we recounted the stories back at the hostel. Needless to say it was very cool to canter along the river with mountain scenery but won't be recommending a visit to the stables unless you're accompanied by someone else!

Zig-zag time continued so I took an overnight bus from Peru to La Paz ... one night in La Paz for a long awaited Ruby Murray and quad biking before another night bus to Argentina and a flight to meet Mrs P in Buenos Aires on 31st March ... oh, did I mention a harvest wine festival in Salta that I have to attend? Life is once again tough being on the road.

The past week i have been in 2 Bolivian cities...certainly a tale of 2 cites...

Started in Sucre which is the capital albeit baby cousin to La Paz. It is where the declaration of independence was signed many years ago. It is a great university town with a nice cafe culture.

Essentially this is where i put the brakes on and took a holiday within a holiday. Did admin of photos, planning, researching and sleeping!! What was needed after the salt flats and noisy dorms. Even managed to hit the cinema and arcades for some retro fun with Double Dragon and Bomberman! Markets always provide a good insight into local eating habits and exotic fruit/veg but also some decent cheap eats!! Thanks to the fertile land the fresh fruit juices are a big draw to any market visitor.

La Paz on the other hand is the louder, bigger and brasher big brother. After an overnight bus where they decided to lock the loo you arrive at the top of La Paz at 4000m (Altiplan) and decent into the city to c.3500m (highest airport and city in the world!). Great views sweeping into the valley. But as you can tell this kind of altitude means you need to take things "Pole Pole" Swahili for slow slow i learned on Kili.

La Paz has a reputation for being a party town so i checked into an Irish party hostel to see what the craic was all about!! Oz guy in my room was going to bed as i arrived and proceeded to sleep all day!! The hostel was full of school leavers called "India" and "Henry" on their Garp Yars with silly haircuts all seeking cheap booze and cocaine (illegal but available...even bars where for sale over the counter)...first time on the trip that felt old but also in a hostel with people on different wavelength.

What better way for me to feel normal than heading to Gustu - a restaurant run by the management that own Noma (was best restaurant in the world!). Went for the 7 course taster menu with accompanying wines...everything is locally obtained except the cutlery and Riedel glasses! Nice way to spend $80...so much so that went again with some other friends! It was pay day after all!

As usual with big cities i do the free walking tour where you pay in tips...great way to familiarise yourself with a city...to be fair after 2 hr walking tour felt as though covered La Paz...not much else here to do.

You may of seen the Top Gear episode where they had the 4x4 in South America and i essentially am following their trip in reverse. One part of their journey involves the Death Road...named most dangerous road in the world! So i decided to mountain bike down it! Decent from 4400m to 1000m over 64km of tar but mainly gravel...if you like adrenaline sports this is one to do...they ask you for your insurance company when signing up! You get what you pay for so i went with the longest and most expensive operator which meant to bikes and superb guide. As you can tell by reading this i made it to the bottom in one piece and didn't help justify its name! The views and scenery are spectacular although we were a little unlucky with the weather.

Finally in La Paz went slightly out of town to some pre-Inca ruins at Tiwanaku with my pals Ellen and Nikita. Try Brits in shorts and T-Shirt we were under prepared for the cold and rain. These sites are interesting but a lot of imagination is required to see what it looked like years ago!!

Yesterday the La Paz marathon was on which started at 3500m upto 4000m and back again...now I need to do a SA marathon to help complete my 7 marathons on 7 continents but this is a step too far!! I helped cheer them on but considering I struggle up stairs here I think a marathon would kill me!!