Tuesday 26th

Basically a travel day today with a late 4 hour flight to Lima. The rain has been continuous and there wasn't any chance to do much in the morning so it was a very quiet day.

The first highlight of the day was getting to see where the boarders between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet through a rain covered bus window. The boarders intersecting at the confluence of Iguazú and Paraná rivers . You may recall we visited the Parana Delta while in Argentina on April 20th (1050kn down stream as the crow flies). The Brazil being on the right side, Argentina being on the left side and Paraguay being in the distance.

The second highlight being beer-o-clock in Lima.

    Wednesday 27th

Another travel day with an early start and a morning flight to Cusco. we did a bit of sightseeing of Cusco before heading to our accommodation in the Sacred Valley. (roughly half way between Cusco and Machu Picchu).

Some views of the Peruvian Andes from the plane window.

The plane had to do some manoeuvring around a few mountains before touching down in Cusco

Outside the cathedral

The Church of Santo Domingo on foundations of Inca Coricancha temple. Up close you can see the extreme differences between the Inca stonework and that of the Spanish who built the church over it.

La Cathedral del Cusco

A model of what the Inca village might look like before the church was built over it

Some of the intricate Inca stonework found on the site

After leaving Cusco we stopped at a co-op which breeds, shears and weaves the wool from Lima's and Alpacas

Some happy snaps from the final stage of the day on our way from Cusco to the Sacred Valley

Cusco is at 3,500m and we certainly did feel the effects of the reduced oxygen. Although a struggle we did manage to see some of the local sights before heading to our accommodation in Urubambra which is at 2,900m and slightly less stressful than in Cusco.

The day finished with a very well earned beer-o-clock at the Aranwa Hotel.

   Thursday 28th

A day of touring around the Sacred Valley taking in the Inka sights of Ollantaytambo, the obligatory overlong stopover in a tourist market of Pisac, followed by a visit to the Munaychay children's village.

Some amazing scenery on the tour

   Friday 29th

Whoo Hoo - Today is Machu Picchu day

 It started with a short bus ride back to Ollantaytambo to the station to catch the Peru Rail Vista

Dome train to Aguas Calientes (aka Machu Picchu town). From there it was onto the shuttle bus up to the Machu Picchu National park. After a spectacular day we stayed overnight in Aguas Calientes.

   Saturday 30th

We stayed overnight in Aguas Calientes and had the morning to have a look around the town and markets before catching an early afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo and a bus back to Cusco where we would stay for the next two nights.

and

Some images from around Aguas Calientes. Its a cute little town perched on the rugged

terrain at the confluence of two rivers.

Some images of the awesome scenery on the trip back to Cusco

Aguas Calientes is 2,000m and Machu Picchu is at 2,400m so the altitude wasn't too much of a problem. Now the fun begins when we get back to Cusco at 3,500m, and then over to Puno at 3,800m. On the way to Puno we will reach 4,300m. To this point, most of those on the tour have had some of the symptoms of "altitude sickness" which can be anything from headaches to stomach upsets to aches and pains. The lack of breath was common amongst all of us. Fortunately we have not experienced anything as bad as most of the others.

   Sunday 1st

The schedule for today included a walking tour of Cusco. Charlie opted to have a quiet day and

stay in at the hotel while Phil went on the tour. This was a holiday weekend in Cusco and there

were many people about for parades, etc.

2,400Some images from around Cusco on parade day. The top couple of images are examples of the awesome Inca stonework.

   Monday 2nd

A long day with a 12 hour bus ride to Puno on the shores of lake Titicaca. There were a few

stops on the way to break up the trip.

Stop 1 - Small town of Andahuaylillas with it's famous church (apparently the Sistine chapel of south America). No photos allowed. The photos below are from Google.

Stop 2 - The archaeological site of Raqchi covering the Temple of Viracocha and the storage and granary buildings from the Inca times.

Stop 3 - A horrible place where 100 tour busses stop for lunch and it is a mad rush to get something to eat before the food runs out - Totally unworthy of any photographic memories.

Stop 4 - The highest altitude that we will reach on the tour - 4,335m

(Roughly twice the height of Mt Mount Kosciuszko)

Smoko at 4,335m  -->

   Tuesday 3rd

A easy day with the only item on the schedule being a boat trip on Lake Titicaca to see the floating islands.

There are many "islands" which are built by a family group. Many are connected together in a group. You stop off at one island and the "owners" explain the history of how the islands came about and how they are built. All very interesting. The last is a picture of of hotel overlooking the lake.

Wednesday 4th

A travel day today with an early afternoon flight from Puno to Lima. The bus ride to and from the airports did have some short stops to see some sights of Puno and Lima. 

Before leaving Puno

After arriving in Lima