Peru
Well Peru was to be the final stop on our trip around the world, and what a way to end it! Our time in Peru began in Lima where we visited several excellent museums and began to learn a little about pre-Inca culture and the Andean religion. Lima itself was an interesting place and though it gets pretty bad press for being unsafe we didn't have any trouble.
From Lima we made our way through the Atacama desert to Nazca where we climbed aboard a little four-seat Sesna to take a scenic flight over the Nazca lines. Luckily for us we hadn't heard about the recent crashes before we boarded, otherwise we may have decided to opt out of what was to become one of the most memorable experiences of the whole trip!
From Nazca we travelled to Arequipa where we visited the convent of Santa Catalina and tucked into some juicy alpaca steaks! Arequipa was beautiful and lively and its colonial city skyline is dominated by the giant El Misti volcano. After Arequipa we took a trip to Colca Canyon, the world's deepest canyon over twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. There we spent the following morning with some Andean Condors and then made our way back out of the canyon over the 4910 metre pass. That whole day we travelled over the Andean altiplano to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca.
We spent a day on Lake Titicaca visiting the floating islands of Uros and the isolated island of Taquile where we had a great view of the world's highest navigable lake.
From Puno we made our way, via several important archaeological sites, to Cusco the capital of the Inca Empire. Cusco was to be our last stop before taking to the Inca trail, and we spent two days visiting the cathedral, museums and stocking up on various bits and pieces we might need for the trek.
The Inca trail trek was not only one of the best experiences of this while trip, but is also one of the best experiences of my life. Our porters and guides were excellent and really contributed to the overall success of the trip. Like for Easter Island words fail to describe just how excellent it was so hopefully the pictures will help! What a way to end the trip of a lifetime!
