A week's worth of travel

Well, we are both still alive having made it though a week’s worth of travel! It really feels as though I've been gone for months already, with all that we've seen and done. I never really imaged what the landscape was going to be like – I thought there would be possibly quite a lot of vegetation and the like, but in the last week, I think we would have been lucky to see more than about 2 dozen trees. Along the coastline it is such a dry and barren area, with mountains of sand and stone and nothing else…and still there are these little townships that exist there.

Since we left the Nazca Lines, we have been following the major highway - the Pan American - that seems to have been engineered with amazing feats - it is just cut into nothing and seems to hug closely to the edge of the mountain side.

We had a couple of days in the second largest Peruvian city, Arequipa. Compared to any other city we've been to it was clean, prosperous and very safe to look around. We spent some time looking through the Santa Catalina Convent and the museum.

Our next major sight was to Colca Canyon. To get to this point, we had to pass a peak of 4910m above sea level!!! Not an experience I wish to repeat as I nearly fainted at the top with such thin air!

The Colca Canyon is also renowned for the condors that glide on the thermal currents that come up for the base of the valley. Given that we were there at about midday, the chances of us seeing them were reduced, but the gods must have been smiling on us, because as soon as we got out of the bus, there was a condor above us! And, later down the path, another one just seemed to rise out of now where about 15 meters from Nicole and I! We could really appreciate the approx 3 meters in length that they are. In total we had a about 7 sightings of these amazing birds

We are now in Cuzco, the old Inca capital, for 3 free days to explore before beginning the Inca trail. Cuzco has so many amazing things to see and do that we're really going to have to try and decide what we have time not to do!

Other than that we are travelling well - at least nothing that a good cup of coca tea won't help with any anyway!

Will let you all know how we survive the trek and will tell you about Machu Picchu very soon!

Keep on smiling!!!!

Love Cathy

I've made it!

Hello All,

Well, we have made it to South America and are having a blast! We seem to have seen so much already that it feels like time is just flying. After a long 36 hour trip to get to Lima, we were all set to start out Tucan tour.

There are about 16 of us on the trip - some older and some younger than us - but we all seem to get along really well. Yesterday, once we had left Lima, we took a speed boat out to the Ballestas Islands - a haven for birds and seals - quite cool (literally!!!) . Then we headed to an oasis in the middle of the dry arid land and went in 6 seater dune buggies doing some of that thrill-seeking driving around.

Today was one of my highlights of the trip so far - the Nazca lines. We were so lucky that the sky was so clear and had great views of them. I can only hope that my photos do it some justice!

So all in all, things are going great. Nicola and I are still talking to each other so that's got to be a good sign! In the next couple of days we are heading to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon - can't wait!

Love Cathy

Bags packed, ready to go!

8 hours to go!

Well, I'm now packed and ready to head off to South America on my 7 week holiday!! I'm starting my adventure with a 21 day Tucan tour "Condor". On my last night before I depart I've got mixed feelings of excitement of exploring a new country, and the uncertianty of being in a place where English is not feely spoken, and the ever-asked question: have I taken too much stuff from home or not enough? Only 8 hours until the journey begins...bring it on!!!!! Cathy