Fab World Tour

30 December to 2 January Feliz Año Nuevo
Lots of travelling - Arequipa to Lima to Trujillo to Lima to Santiago...
My faith in human nature is being restored as I see and spend time with Sarella, Paola, Andrew, Diego and Cheryl (may have this lovely lady's name wrong here and apologise profusely if so)

Spent some time getting to Trujillo to be with family for New Year. Peruvian new year was late but pretty quiet. Didn't get to the venue til 11pm even though it started at 9pm and there were very few already there. In fact most of the crowd didn't arrive til after 12. It seems the family dinner on NYE is a MUST and THEN you go out. There was no count down and no fireworks, although I did hear some crackers go off at private parties around our venue. They dance Latin all night but 90% of the crowd don't dance touching like the the stereotype...its just like a big latin disco. Not that much different from home except less variety as we at throw in a few styles. Maybe I missed something not understanding the lyrics...stylewise that is...bands played til 6am. We left 4am and went for a drink in a classy bar after. Got to bed after removing the face etc at 5.30am.

They're a lovely bunch my family and their friends. So kind to adopt me and take me in. They make such an effort to include me. Thank you all!!!...

New Year's day was very quiet, we were all very tired and in fact we all fell asleep for a nanna nap in the afternoon, waking up in time for a Chifa (Chinese) dinner and a reasonably early night. Chifa in Trujillo is as good as Cusco and again quite close to Oz Chinese. Fresh and tasty with plenty of veges. And the wontons at his restaurant were the best 've had. Lovely meaty ones freshly made pastry and sweet ginger sauce...mmm...

Andrew had to go up to Piura for work for a few days and it wasn't practical for me to go along. Was hoping to get a look at his mine but not to be...In fact I really feel like it's time to be at home. Peru has been great but starting to feel like I'm marking time and really want to be back with my boys. I miss them terribly and have done for the last month particularly.

So with them in mind, and the thought of many hugs and kisses, I am sitting in Santiago airpot now trying to get a standby flight home. No problem getting this far but crossing the pacific ocean is a bit more challenging. I don't hold out hopes and may end up spending days in the airport waiting in the wing lounge for someone to take pity on me. But if it means I get home sooner then it's all worth the wait. Love you Hunter. Love you MacLean. Can't wait to see you...mum xxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxooo

27-28 December Canyon de Colca
Two days commited in the hope of finding Condors gliding the thermal winds of this isolated canyon.

Left Arequipa to travel across some very wind-swept mountain sides. This is the heart of the southern Peruvian Andes. The mountains rise up to 6500m (the glacier I visited in the Cordillia Blanca was 5600m and the highest mountain there is about 7000m). We travelled above the tree line and met desert ice country. Barron, windswept plains. It snowed in the passes on the way in and back out. We actually got out at 4800m just to say we had and it was bloody cold. What the alpaccas, llamas and vicuñas eat up here is beyond me. Although there are wetlands up here too - more like peat bogs - where the animals seem to congregate. Vicuñas are the one of the two wild species in the llama family and their wool is incredibly expensive. A scarf costs around $700US.

Took most of the day to get to Chivay our overnight stop. It was raining quite heaviy on arrival and it was COLD but we decided as a group not to forgo our hike up above the village as it was a chance to warm up (and the village had nowhere to hide in the warm anyway). So we headed off ponchos, hats and hoods on. Up behind the town there were a few badly robed graves but some good outlooks over the farming community. Again, there is an incredible amount of pre-Inca terracing. This region is particularly productive as the river provides water and the microclimate makes it warmer than the surrounding countryside. When we got down the hillside, there was a very welcoming hot spring to soak in. My poor frozen fingers and toes thawed out in the mineral spring and I just didn't think about how cloudy and grey the water was...

The ladies here embroider beautiful blouses and hats. I was very taken with the hats but they are all machine embroidered now and when I discovered they are manufactured in Arequipa and brought in for sale I lost interest.

We had another local dance night tonight. What a lot of fun - and a great way to keep warm. Each of the small regions has their own suite of dances and music. My new trail buddies (ladies from Greece and Holland) and I laughed so much when the local lady kept picking on the young Japanese tourist to dance with. We decided she rather liked that he was taller and cleaner than any of the local men...

Very early start on day 2, to make sure we're at the canyon before the air warms up and the Condors start riding the thermals. Walked about 1km to the head of the canyon. But not a condor in sight. Waited and waited but none appeared. And then, just as we had given up and got in the bus, there was one...He cruised with such effortless grace along the canyon, 1000's of metres deep...but right at our eye level as we stood mesmorised at the top of the canyon wall. A wing span of 3.25m, he's a member of the vulture family so only eats carrion, deep chocolate brown with cream wing markings. This guy was young and alone. We did see a few more specs up high in the sky but today only one graced us with his powerful presence. It seems they mate for life, only breed after reaching 7yo and have only one chick each 3 years. They can live to be 75yo in captivity but they don't know if they last that long in the wild.

What fun to fly. No wonder man has dreamed of flying...but nothing we have invented matches the grace and pure power of a large bird's flight. And he was having FUN!...Swinging along the canyon wall. Tumbling up high and then soaring and dipping down 10's of metres in seconds and then next time taking his time to glide down and show off his feathery finery to we mere mortals.

Arequipa...the white city...
Bused in overnight from Puna. Bloody freezing and uncomfortable on the bus. The recline on my seat was broken and it kept slipping into upright position. What an uncomfortable night. Luckily the hostal I am staying in is clean and warm. In fact Arequipa is very warm. Although I'm still at altitude the city is turning on some weather in the low 20s and it is very pleasant. And it is a 'Spanish' styled town as I expected. Very beautiful, with lovely cathedral and staely buildings throughout. Equally pretty to Trujillo and Cusco as expected.

The town is busy and full of people. The Plasa de Aramas is full of Christmas decorations, there are pan flutes playing christmas carols and 'The Sounds of Silence' again...Little kids with their Christmas presents - pushing toy buses, sharing new dolls, throwing balls and enjoying time with their doting parents. Lots of ice creams and pigeon food being bought.

Touts looking for restaurant business constantly but not as much souvenir hawking as in Cusco. Here began my beginning with the end. Was approached by a tout wanting me to come to 'his' restaurant. Laughed and pulled an identical drink voucher from my pocket given by one of his colleagues earlier. He said 'keep mine too and have two drinks'. Didn't think any more of it and walked on enjoying the day and the atmosphere. Same bloke reapproached me later asking if I could help him with some words to an english language song he was writing out. Didn't think it could hurt and sat on the steps of the cathedral with his MP3 player helping him get the words of a very poor dictioned 'Soho girl' - some London band...got talking and agreed to take one of the Lonely Planet scenic tourist walks together and take photos. He had his own digital camera and mobile phone and MP3 player and when questioned the money seemed to come from working in the oil and gas industry. Intelligent conversation during the afternoon about trade agreements, politics, and wars between Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.

Got some great views of the city, the surrounding volcanos, the river delta, etc. Even visited a local garden that had lots of local fruits growing and discussed agriculture. Found out about the local pawpaw, a kind of passionfruit, chillis, etc.

Split up later that afternoon and went our own ways. I was surprised 'Yamil' found me while I was eating dinner in a little mexican restaurant away from the main tourist strip. He chatted to me as I finished my dinner and somehow I agreed to help him with his music some more. First big mistake...Second big mistake...when I left his home two hours later I didn't check my bag before I left. Even though I had taken it with me when I went to the bathroom and it was closed when I left, somehow he had done the dirty on me.

Crazy thing is we have had the conversation about not being able to hate someone if you meet them. And by individual people meeting stereotypes are broken and wars averted. Obviously he doesn't think it applies to his little team of scammers.

And of course I find out in hindsight that the scam is operating across the town, with the hotels, restaurants, tour guides, police all taking a cut from what these pick pockets can skim off the tourists. So when I approached his employer for details, got another tour guide to help me ask questions to identify the guy, approached his landlady and even went to the police; Andrew tells me they are all in on it. Peru's south has left a bad taste. I really thought if I was going to be robbed it would be by someone who actually needed the money. Not the system who skims the money off the locals already and is also skimming the money off the tourist. The middle man is doing very well thank you.

So disappointing. But another lesson learned. This one is not so much a lesson but a philosophy - I am NOT going to stop trusting. Stuff them. I am not going to let these loosers make me suspicious of everyone I meet. There are so any kind and helpful people in the world. How dare these guys think their system is going to win. They are no better than terrorists who try and stop people travelling and communicating.

My last day in Arequipa was spent in the police station mostly. Went through all the motions, which at the time I thought were genuine but find out were just a waste of my time. I could have been out seeing the town rather than seeing how they run a police department and putting a comfit picture together with an artist. Such a waste of their time too. How mind blowingly boring to spend your day filing reports you know are going nowhere.

But...I did manage to get to the Santa Catalina Monastery, a 400 yo convent. The most amazing city within a city and the light and photo opportunities were incredible. So artistic. Lots of white, royal blue, terracotta, rich green, red geraniums, dark brown heavy oak doors, black soot on bread ovens, gold embroidery on religious robes, and an impressive collection of religious art - much from the Cusco School. Only 25 nuns still live there, cloistered away. It has been open to the public since the 1970's and offers an insight into how convets were run back in history. The rich ran the place and the poor served them. Even though they were all nuns. So society was reflected within the walls from without. So much for removing yourself from the temptations of the material world...

Christmas...mmm...doesn't really feel like Christmas...
Christmas Eve in Puno, the shops and mercado are trading still at 8pm. I have been warned to stay indoors or at least away from fire crackers this evening as it is quite dangerous. Had a very pleasant evening dining with some of my trail buddies after the tour. The Aussie mum and daughter and a swedish couple who run ski trips to Iran and excursions to Antarctica. We all disappeared to our respective lodging at about 10pm and by 10.30pm the fire crackers started. Slowly at first and to a crescendo by midnight. Christmas Eve seems to be the climax for Peru's Christmas. In fact the quantity and volume of crackers became like rolling thunder, the storm peaked at midnight and then gradually died away with the thunder rolling away as the morning grew.

Incredibly quiet this morning in Puno. Feliz Navidad everyone! Had a sleep in, did some washing in the sink and wandered into town about 12. Only two restaurants open and they were being patronised by the westerners on holidays. All the locals were at home doing the family thing.

Treated myself to an alpaca steak for Christmas lunch and shared the restaurant with about 10 Yanks. Bolted back to the hotel by 2pm for my pick up for an afternoons exploring of one of the mainland archeological sites. Sullistani is another of the sites where progressive cultures have identified the significance of the location. There are three different time periods represented here with temples and burial mounds. Quite low key, and not a lot to see but very interesting to notice the similarities in styles of worship across the ages. The sun and moon, summer and winter soltice all play an important role in these societies cultures.

It was a cold and scuddy afternoon, so different to the last couple of days on the lake. The people of the area didn't seem to notice it was Christmas, they were still tending their crops and livestock. I think that is one of the reasons evenings are so important here. Once the argricultural activities are complete for the day, then there is time for human socialising and enjoyment.

There was quite an interesting discussion over Christmas lunch about 'civilisation' and what does it mean. There was general agreement that civilisation was often defined by imperialist nations as the ability to create and accummulate material wealth. These nations did not equate spiritual wealth with civilisation. And of course that meant that nomadic nations were also considered uncivilised. Of course this myth is busted when you meet people from cultures where material wealth is either not important or unable to be accumulated while living the life their environment dictates.

For those of us who can afford to - Keep travelling - and for those who can't - keep hosting those who can. Only then will we continue to break down the barriers between 'different' peoples.

23-24 December Lake Titicaca and perfect weather
It's hard to believe only a couple of days ago I was being rained on and fogged in on a mountain of 2500m and I am now at 4000m on one of the worlds largest lakes and you could be forgiven for thinking we were on the Meditteranean in the middle of August!....

As I cruised back from Amantani Island on Lake Titicaca on Christmas Eve all you Aussies slept into Christmas Day. We Aussies (well actually Kiwis but there weren't any on the boat) are the first to celebrate Christmas taking into account time differences. And although there were 3 Aussies on board, I was the only one from the east coast so I ran around the boat wishing everyone Felic Navidad (spanish for Merry Christmas). Started a habit for the day and as each nationality's country hit Christmas day they wished everyone else Merry Christmas. There were people from Japan, Korea, Netherlands, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, USA, Sweden, Peru and Oz of course (about 24 in all).

The overnight in a homestay on Amantani and visiting floating islands on this huge sea-like lake was incredible. Very educational and particularly beautiful. The weather was perfect for me - fine and warm at last. We are in the southern hemisphere summer after all!

To get a perspective on how big this fresh water lake is - it is wider than the Gulf of Sinai, you cannot see across it's length north to south, and the snow capped mountains of Bolivia sit on the horizon to the west (A bit like when in Syria you could see the snow capped mountains of Lebanon). It is over 8500km2 (or 3300 miles2) and holds nearly 900 million cubic metres of water. Maybe Bram or Gerry you could convert that to land mass in North Qld and let me know how much it would cover...anyway it's a bloody big lake and all fresh water which they don't use for irrigation. However Bolivia has started selling 'their' water to Chile and Argentina which is like a red rag to a bull to Peru. Peru and Chile are more parochial about each other than Townsville and Cairns, Sydney and Melbourne - in fact it's more like France and England, Germany and Holland.

First point of call was the floating ilsands of Uros. These islands are actually quite close to the Peru mainland (about 40min in a slow boat) and are made of the lake's totora reeds. Where the islands float is about 20m deep and the islands themselves are about 3m thick of reeds constantly being topped up with fresh harvested reeds. By the time the inhabitants leave an island for a fresh built one it will be between 7-10 years old and up to 7m thick of rotting reeds. Only the top 50cm or so is fresh. You can imagine how heavy the island becomes as it gets older, from rotting vegetation and waterlogging. Hence leaving for a fresh built island before the old one sinks. The 'ground' is soft and spongy and slightly damp, with a dry, sweet reed crust. It actually smells quite good - like cut grass - but I'm not sure what it would be like in the wet...

Extended family groups inhabit each island, living very traditional lives, fishing and weaving, farming small subsistance crops like potatoes, chickens and guinea pigs for their own food and barter between islands. They still use barter rather than money as they have very little demand for outside products (read manufactured here). The island we visited had 4 families on it living in reed houses on the reed island. They had chooks (for eggs and meat), a cat (to eat the vermin), guinea pigs (for food not pets), a few small vege patches, a shared kitchen/oven/fire pit, a small live fish trap (basically a hole cut in the island and lined with fishing net, where they kept todays catch fresh). No bathroom or shower rig that I could see. Toileting was down a hole into the lake and any washing was in a bucket with water heated on the open fire. I did see a young girl scrubbing clothes in a bucket...They make their boats out of reeds also and weave and knit all their clothes - lama and alpaca wool is traded from other contenential islands. We made a quick stop at the 'main' island that had a school, shop, public telephone, cafe, and very basic commerical accommodation. There is also a floating school island. But I don't think school is seen as particularly important by these people.

We then cruised for three hours out into the Lake to one of the largest islands (and continental) - Amantani. It is quite mountainous and has been extensively terraced at some point in pre-Inca past. Again, the people live very simple lives based on agricuture and survival in a very small economy. When we arrived on the island we were split into 2's and 3's to go home with our host families. I was put with the other two Aussies (a mother and daughter from Perth) and our host 'Ruth' - pronounced Rut - walked us up the mountain to her home. We nearly died getting up the mountain. At 4000m any incline is pretty hard going and this young girl of 17 was like a mountain goat up the track. Everyone blamed the altitude but I think it is a combination of altitude and lowering fitness...afterall I have been at altitude for over a week now...

Ruth lives with her mum and dad and 5 other siblings (total of 4 girls and 2 boys). She is the youngest at 17 and still at school. One of her sisters has two young children but we didn't meet them. The women never stop spinning or knitting or embroidering. They walk around constantly using their hands to create beautiful craft work, which they wear every day and also sell to visitors. The men are also master embroiderers and must make beautiful pieces for their women to show them how much they are valued. If they sitting down they are either preparing food or weaving. One throw rug takes two weeks of constant work - and I mean dawn til dusk.

They don't have much electricity and it is not wasted on working in the evening. They are up at dawn and go to bed as soon as dinner is finished around 8pm. No bathroom, and an outside toilet (western pan with a drum of water you took a bucket from to 'flush' - I'm sure the flush just went into an open drain that ran down the hill...)

There was one light in their kitchen/eating area and another in our room. The kitchen was about 3m x 6m and had a dirt floor with a table with benches against the far wall for us to eat at; a small low table they sat on the floor at to eat and prep food nearer to the fire; and an open fireplace with space to hang a stew pot and put a griddle over the fire to grill meat and bread. The women cooked but I noticed the youngest son (about 19yo) did all the washing by hand in a bucket out in the garden.

The food was very plain and simple but prepared well and tasty. It was completely vegetarian but I think this was more to protect our western digestions that how they normally eat. They had a great native plant remeniscent of mint/menthol/sage which they used in fresh sprigs in boiling water for tea which was terrific. Must get into fresh herbs rather than tea bags at home. The results are 1000s of times better.

We watched a local soccer game the afternoon we arrived. A couple of the young Japanese men from our group joined in and said later they really struggled to keep up as they were so out of breath. They play on concrete pitches a sort of cross between Futsol and outdoor soccer. Mainly I think for practical reasons - if the ball went out it ran down hill fast and had to be fetched. So the rules encouraged the ball to remain in play!...The local men were not that keen to have our group join the game. They made the visitors wait about 40min til they had finished their game before they would start a 'friendly'. The players though were all sorts - older blokes in the 40's down to young teenagers of about 14. Their ball skills were terrific. I wonder if any European scouts ever get to Amantani....

A huge thunderstorm tracked across the lake in the evening, clearing the evening and bringing more beautiful weather on day two.

Visiting this island was a good way to support the local people directly. So many of the artisans earn very little for their beautiful work. The middle men take all the profit. But here you don't pay much to stay but you buy things direct from them while you are on the island - cutting out the middle man. We had a traditional dance for a couple of hours tonight and all the visitors bought soft drinks for the local ladies who taught us to dance. So the locals got the treat and the money went into their economy. And we were all given hand knitted beanies to 'borrow' while we were there (yes it was cold at night) and we were encouraged to buy them. The money went straight to the knitter (your host). I bought my beanie instead of leaving a tip.

It seems to work quite well.

A beautiful dawn, clear and fresh and QUIET. So quiet. Quieter than the Australian bush. No wildlife to wake you up as the environment is very farmed. And the most glorious view of the Bolivian alps from our window. Not a spec of polution this morning, the air is clear, cold and fresh; the mountains are white with a tinge of pink like almond paste. And a fine blue key line along the edge that meets the sky. The sun is up very early and by 7am looks like 11am. Is it altitude...still not sure...

Off in our boat, chugging through the still waters towards Taquile. This island is very similar to Amantani and we do a walk around the island, enjoying the peace, the views of the lake and the 'soul' of the island. This is where I kept being reminded of all the photos I've seen of the Greek Islands in the meditteranean - except instead of cyprus pines there are Eucalyptus. A very popular tree as it grows fast and is good hard wood for building and cooking. As I walked along the track I noticed one of the local houses had a curtain made of an Australian flag. Most unexpected and made me feel homesick for a few minutes as I absorbed the red, white and blue against the green of the gum trees and blue of the 'ocean'. A thought flittered across my mind - when are we going to make our flag just the blue and white southern cross?...

It was a long trip back across the lake this afternoon. The 3 hours seemed an eternity as the anticlimax of going back to Puno became reality. The wind got up and it was cold out there at altitude on the open water.

Funny little place Puno...very poor and dirty sitting on the shores of this beautiful lake.

Bugger, bum, and bastard....
I'm a bloody fool; let my guard down and lost my phone and camera to confidence robbers. I say confidence robbers because they don't just steal your stuff, they steal your confidence. In hindsight I made a couple of poor choices based on my trusting nature and my belief in the core goodness of human nature and wasnt concentrating enough. Probably had a got a bit lazy on the security if truth be told. Had had such a good run and had let my guard down. Another lesson learned.

I have been on the road nearly 5 months, in countries as poor as Peru, and of all political and religious persuasions; have been so aware of being careful and less trusting, and I let my guard down this close to home... Gave my trust to a person obviously not deserving of it.

The big baddie is that I didnt just loose the camera but both my memory chips. So 5mths of photos are all gone...lesson learned - dont carry full memory chips with the camera... Have had a little cry and feel very sad. Surprised myself in that I havent felt angry, just so disappointed and sad - to both loose my record of my memories and that someone valued my trust so little.

But I'm ready to go home too. I think part of the lack of concentration is I'm tired and travelling is NOT a holiday, it's more like a job. I think I was ready for home after Turkey and I miss the boys terribly. That said, I would not not visit Peru. It is a fantastic country, with many beautiful places, contrasts and life-learning experiences. And most of the people are great. If fact the odds of getting as far as I have around the world without loosing anything to crime were pretty low. I've done pretty well; and hey I've still got the memories, I've got my blogg to jog those memories, and I'm fit and healthy. Could have been a lot worse...

It is sad that trust is not a behaviour you can exercise easily in Peru. You have to look at everyone a second and third time - even the taxi drivers, policemen, hotel reception, everyone. There is nowhere that is 100% safe to relax (other than your family's home - and even then they can't trust their own security doorman or driver).

I know no country is better than another, they are just different but I think I prefer the combination of values and lifestyle I enjoy in regional Australia. And I am happy to pay for the priviledge. It might be cheap to live in Peru when you have money, but I'd rather pay for the freedom and safety I enjoy. And I must admit if I was to live in Peru I would feel guilty every day, seeing the grinding poverty and being unable to make a difference. The 'haves' become innoculated against the plight of the 'have nots', otherwise you would never make it up the street to carry out your daily life. And I find ignoring people in need exhausting.

4 December Hairless dogs, mud bricks and ancient civilisations...
Memories fading a bit...time is passing and so much to remember...
I joined a local Englishman for a day's archeological exploration. Michael has lived in Peru for 20+ years and is married to a local lady. He still has his accent...There were 5 westerners with him today of which 4 of us were Aussies. A mother and daughter from Byron Bay area and (you're not going to believe it) a teacher from Redlynch primary school! Bloody small world!

We visited ancient city of Chan Chan and the Temple of the Sun, both of which are extensive pre-Inca sites. My strongest memories are of the feeling that without a guide I would have been bored stupid...not such a good thought. These civilisations were built in mud brick, much as all building has been until the present day...unfortunately time and weather have erroded the remnants of the civilisations. The site management and archeologists have tried to protect and restore the remains as best they can but it means much of the sites are 'rebuilt' and very little of the original remains. What does is incredibly interesting if you know what you are looking at. Which luckily Micheal did...As different rulers and cultures took over the area, the same key sights remained the sacred spots. And each successive society built over the top of, or in front of the one before. You can see this, rather like when I visited the English cathederals, when parts of the city are washed away and reveal the early building hidden behind or below. Interestingly the colourful decoration, that is intensly geometric has survived in parts, covered by mud brick curtains of later dynasties.

There was one particularly beautiful relief that was highly original and abstract. It did not follow the 'rules' of the rest of the complex's decoration, was not geometric, repetitive, and contained colours not found elsewhere. This was refreshing and significant to me. These societies did not have written word so their decoration and reliefs were not just for 'looks' but to communicate the important stories of the culture.

Each of the sites was protected by one or two native Peruvian dogs. These are medium sized dogs, completely hairless. At first glance you think they are just mangy mongrels but on closer look, they have healthy pink/black skin and are not malnourished. In fact they are seen as sacred to the protection of the sites. Reminded me of a cross between ET and Yoda...

Driving to and from the sites through the less picturesque parts of Trujillo I gt a good insight into how the locals survive. They grow crops ranging from rice, to wheat, corn, potatoes and sugar cane. Chillis, pawpaw, lucerne/alphalfa, peas and whatever else they can sell. There is an irrigation canal system they draw water from and flood irrigate the crop rows. All the paddocks and houses and yards are at least 1m below canal and road level as each farmer/landholder harvests mud from his land and gradually lowers the land level. The mud is made into bricks for housing, fences, sheds, selling...This has interesting conscequences for water tables, flooding during ElNino years, soil health, etc. They do rotate crops however and seem to finish a five year cycle with a nitrogen rich crop

Consider...to enter a house or shop you step down from the street level into the doorway and ground floor. How to clean the floor?...there are no back doors, plumbing, vacuum cleaners, etc. And often the animals like chooks and pigs are inside too.

Billboards throughout peru are the walls of buildings. It seems only political candidates have the money or permission to paint the walls and you see everywhere painted in white and red, banners and proclaimations for particular candidates wanting votes. The other thing I notice in Lima is that the 'freeways' are below main street level and the raised grass verges are leased to companies who maintain them and use garden beds and creative mowing to advertise their products. Clever way of the government getting someone else to take responsibility for keeping the road sides clean and pretty. This is particularly popular with universities, banks and phone companies.

3 December 2006 Sunday in Trujillo, beautiful weather, great company and interesting & tasty activities
One of those lovely Sundays when families spend time together, enjoying each other's company. And of course I'm in Paola's home town so she and Andrew are doing the "VFR sightseeing tour". Showing me the best sights and activities...

I spent a very pleasant hour wandering into town from my hotel enjoying the sights and soaking up the atmosphere. Beautiful day - sunny but not too hot, with a cool breeze. Everyone seems to agree - with plenty of people out and about; socialising; going to church; chatting on street corners; out enjoying the day.

Investigated the 'Americana Hotel', an old colonial hotel with two large courtyards inside an ornate facade. Very tired and run down but oozing charm. A&P tell me it's up for sale - a cool 3/4 million US$ - and you'd need another $US250 to make a dint in the wear and tear. So expat 'rahj' - could be in Singapore or India...

The Plasa de Armas is particularly inviting in Trujillo. My impression is it seems to be a town with some class and old money. Very conservative and proud. The Cathedral that A&P were married in dominates the square. All yellow and white on the outside. Rather spanish colonial, as they are, on the inside. A service was being held so just sat quietly at the back. As I don't know much about the Catholics I was a bit lost but plenty of candles, chapels, icons, virgins and bleeding Christs. That's ok - it seems the thing in churches here...a small version of the ornate Catherdal in Lima central.

The square is surrounded by beautiful colonial architecture, generally in very good condition. The spanish influence is very strong here. Large colourful front walls face the street protecting private courtyards behind. The walls have multiple windows with ornate wrought iron grills protecting them. And the upstairs timber verandahs hang out over the street with intricate latice work providing privacy for those watching the public expose´ going on across the square. The huge doors into the courtyards are heavy ironworked timber, many with smaller doors set within them to enable more simple day-to-day entry. I wonder how often the big double doors actually get opened these days, especially in private buildings...The courtyard is a garden compound, often paved with a fountain in the centre surrounded by apartments for living, doing business, etc.

After watching Matthew, Paola and Andrew do two laps of Plasa de Armas in the miniture train (you know the sort that carries sight-seers around) we grabbed a cab and headed out towards Huanchaco and stopped at the Peruvian Dancing Horse Show - Caballo de Paso Peruano.

These horses are bred specially for the work and are useless to be riden in any other way. The Peruvians believe the horses are born only able to move in this 'dancing trot' and they are merely encouraged. Not sure if this is so but certainly they are trained to move this way and don't seem to walk any other way. Had a ride after the show and the horse didn't walk and even when they let Andrew take the reins the horse moved this way.

The show was on a large grass paddock and included two small children dancing in Spanish costume and the horses dancing around them with their riders dressed in a 'Spanish Mexican' style with ponchos. The kids were probably only 6-7yo but did a magnificant job. We watched from a deep shady verandah on the 'hacienda'. A very Spanish scene with Peruvians riding, dancing, serving, etc.

Before we got too settled for the afternoon (drinks in the shade were looking decidedly enticing), Andrew got us moving out to Huanchaco, Trujillos local beach, and considered by the locals as 'the' place to be. Well yes, it was very busy. The tide was in so the black sand beach with great lumps of pumice was only a couple of feet wide. Up against the seawall many handmade reed boats were leaning, with their long pointing bows reaching to the sky. They are quite stubby at the stern end and the locals ride them rather like a surf board but sitting down. Looks like a lot of fun. Don't think my constitution would appreciate swimming here though...Very popular with the locals and not a western style hotel in sight!

Had THE MOST AMAZING seafood this afternoon. Ceviche was invented here and has become a national dish. And while I have now (three weeks later) eaten quite a bit of ceviche, this is definately the BEST. It is a seafood platter of fresh fish pieces (in this case Sole and Sea Bass), octopus, calamari, squid, prawns and the local freshwater crayfish (the only inclusion I found unenticing). The seafood is not cooked but marinated in a chilli and lime. The acid of the marinade 'cooks' the white meats to a 'just pink/white' colour. The crustacians are put in a seive and have boiling water poured over them to get the 'orange look' before being added to the marinade. A very tender but spicy seafood dish. And I must say, although I had nothing alcoholic to drink, the strength of the marinade combined with a hot day, gave me quite a hangover that afternoon and a nanna nap was very welcome...Andrew tells me this is the sign of a good ceviche! If you are feeling strong you can drink the marinade - known as 'tiger juice' which is very strong and fishy. Paola did have a small amount but I didn't need any extra help.

We also tried boned baby goat slow cooked in large cuts with corriander, chilli, olive oil and the local beer. Incredibly tender and flavoursome (and again, in hindsight having tried this dish in several places, this was the pick!). Have bought a Peruvian cook book to give this a go. I'm sure if Marsh's can't supply goat; lamb or yearling beef would be an alternative.

This evening, after our nanna nap, we wandered out for coffee about 7.30pm and had yet another highly caramelised peruvian 'desert'. This is like a lemon merangue pie but instead of lemon it is condensed milk caramel and the merange is more marshmellowy than crisp. With cinnamon on top. Very sweet, very rich and very yummy! Especially with a hot double espresso to wash it down and melt the sugar from your pallete...

And to finish a decadant Sunday of food and family, we moved on from coffee to dinner at 10pm and had fantastic local steaks with fresh veges and a very pleasant spanish cab sav. As I've mentioned before Andrew has been very generous , and this dinner was the first he allowed me to pay for. The surprise was three of us ate for approx 180 soles ($70AUD) and 120 of these was the wine!

HINDSIGHT: Trujillo and Cusco seem to be the most Spanish looking squares so far. Arequipa may prove to be too...



Note to myself - need to do 3 and 4/12 Trujillo to catch up Peru to date.

2 December Off to Trujillo
This is Part 1 of the Trujillo visit that I missed earlier. We actually didn't fly to Trujillo til the evening. But getting used to evening being the busy part of the day now. Got in and got Matthew settled. Paola decided to stay with him so Andrew and I popped next door to a really nice restaurant called the Chelsea (that also has a pumping dance floor later in the night, but we didn't sample this). Now we arrived at 10pm on a Saturday night and I thought we would be at the end of the dinner service, but no, as I have learned through constant repetition (am I slow or what?), we were the beginning of the dinner service; and as our meal progressed the restaurant filled to capacity. Andrew explained the dance floor wouldn't open til at least midnight, maybe 1am. Tried local Trujillo Pilsen beer - pretty good, full strength alcohol as all beer is in Peru, but light to taste - not very 'beerie' - and good with steak. Which of course I ordered. Haven't had a fillet steak for ages and it was tender and perfectly cooked, served with freshly steamed julienne veges. Just what I needed late at night straight before sleep (actually I'm not being silly, it was a light meal compared to much I have been quaffing in Peru).

1 December 2006 Exploring Lima
Got out on my own today to explore Lima city. Andrew and Paola live in Miraflores which is one of the top two suburbs of Lima (the other one is Baranco - more night clubs here) and out of town on the beach. Miraflores is very salubrious (although I'm sure there are bits far less so). Most of the big chain hotels are here. Their unit is one block back from the water on top of the cliffs and there is a view of the ocean from the kitchen windows and the room I am in. We are only one block from the posh shopping complex Larco Mar - a bit like the big 'be seen' places at Noosa. There is also a very nice square with church and gardens in Miraflores central - where the tourists shop and Pizza Alley and the restaurant strip is. Explored this another day but mention it here for ease. I also went for a cliff top walk and watched the paragliders jump off the cliffs and cruise past the diners at Larco Mar.

Matthew and I had great games in the unit chasing the paragliders from window to window as they went past at our 6th floor height.

Paola and Andrew are very protective of me and worry about my safety in Lima. Especially when out alone. While I am very aware Lima is full of seedy elements and I have to be careful; it is no more dangerous than any other developing nation I have visited. In hindsight I can say this is true. Cairo, Istanbul, London and Paris are all dangerous places where you have to be careful and always 100% aware of your surroundings. Plenty of poor who need to make a living of those who have more...

Anyway, I had a great day exploring...

Lima city, there is so much to see and I just went to a few of the many things on offer:

Plaza de Armas, the main square and centre of the old city includes:

The Cathedral, very Catholic -ie. Spanish/French renaissance; opulant, intricate, many shrines -all in gold - either leaf on timber, plate on silver, or the real thing! Also saw the catecombs and their religious artworks gallery. Religious art of this type is just not my thing I have decided. Anyway I'm sure you have that understanding from other entries so won't repeat here.

The Presidential Guard outside his residence. Very resplendant in their royal blue and red uniforms. Hard to get close for a look with security even on the outside of the fence. But managed to snap a pic through the fence on zoom...

Wandered off the Plaza and saw:

A beautiful colonial mansion - fully restored - now the department of finance, with timber latticed verandahs over hanging the street and a beautiful garden courtyard in it's centre.

Museo Del Banco de Reserva - in an old bank. Amazing gold display in the old vault in the basement. Contemporary Peruvian art displays and traditional ceramics including a display of the whistling jugs - they whistle from the air hole when you pour from them.

Plaza San Martin links the main shopping mall to the Plaza de Armas and includes the La Merced Church with a striking facade, intricately carved in timber and stone, opposite a bank of contemporary design. In the square were a mass of money changers, touts and hawkers. Interesting contrast between the churches' peaceful quiet, the bank's wealth and the crush of humanity just outside their doors. It reminded me of that bible story of the money changers trading in the church and one of the disciples turned over the tables and told them they were corrupt even though they were trading under the protection of the church...(have I remembered the story correctly?)

Then left the inner city and went out to the main Peruvian Museum. Incredible place, well presented and so interesting. Gives such a good overview of civilisations in Peru across the millennia. You need this to get everything in order. There has been such a wealth of civilisations rise and fall across a relatively short period of history. The Peruvians don't seem to worry about this rise and fall. They accept it as history and accept their place in the world how as given. There doesn't seem to be resentment about each stronger race or culture overtaking the other.

HINDSIGHT: Even writing now after 3 weeks in Peru, I think this is true. Although guides have explained the Spanish conquest of Peru and how unfair the competition between the well armed Spanish and local Inca and Indians, they don't seem to hold emnity towards the Spanish. FYI - the Spanish had cavalry, supply wagons and guns and the Inca had never seen a horse or oxen, cart or cannon, gun or gun powder - or had any idea of the damage they could inflict. It is refreshing to me to see the conquored peoples actually ruling their own country. Even though they are doing a quaestionable job at it at least they are in charge of their destiny. The normal person doesn't seem to have a hand-out mentality. They just do the best they can with what they've got and don't wait for the government to solve their problems. That is only my naive opinion but...

Food, food, glorious food!
The sweet stuff first...I have tried some interesting local junk. Chorro is a donut like batter deep fried as a 6" hollow tube and filled with condensed milk caramel. It is then rolled in sugar. It doesn't taste like a donut though - more like a hot chip filled with caramel. Quite a weird combination but good - especially if just made and still hot. Another biscuit like cake they eat (forgotton the name) is made of layers of sweet biscuit with caramel between each layer. It is about 2" thick, 4" square and you slice into 4-6 pieces. Caramel seems to be a cheap and popular sweet.

At home Paola and Violetta (her home help) have fed me some wonderful food, all of which I forget the names of, but with LOTS of chilli and lime. A great condiment! One of the best is a sauce you serve in generous amounts over slices of boiled potatoes with lettuce on the side. The sauce is made of special yellow chillis, cream, stacks of white and blue cheese, and soda crackers (the equivalent of Saos at home) to thicken it. All this is put in the blender and then served. It must be eaten the day it is made. The more chillis the hotter, of course. Bring it on....

Paola also loves to make Italian and she made the best cream, cheese, bacon and mushroom sauce...and Andrew whipped up a delicious Pad Thai one night. Paola and I went to get fresh seafood and paid an incredible AUD$15/kg for fresh jumbo king prawns.

I can see the kilos piling on.

They also drink some great Spanish wines. Spanish and Oz wines seem to be the vintages of choice although Andrew said he also buys Chillian wine for quaffing. Andrew also likes his Whisky and they drink Pisco - a white brandy - Pisco Sour is the national drink and on every menu.

28-29-30 November 2006 Treated like a princess and out of the grub a butterfly emerged. Well maybe a moth - but whatever I am now is a darn site more comfortable and presentable than three days ago!

The amazing Paola arranged haircut and colour; pedicure, manicure and waxing; and a massage for me. She is such a kind sister-in-law. Think I might adopt her as a real sister. Could do with one of these! We also played dress-ups in her wardrobe - finding some appropriate clothes for me to wear to parties and functions with them. My travel dags are not right for lunch with the Peruvian President...

Went shopping for some dress-up shoes; window shopped; visited a huge craft market with all manner of gifts and souvenirs to give me an idea of the sorts of variety and prices to work with on my travels (benchmarking souvenirs - what a strategy); checked out gold prices and workmanship for comparison too.

Tried to organise an itinerary to get me to the sights of Peru and key places in Chile and Argentina. Re did this several times over the next few days and finally decided to stay in Peru for the whole 5+ weeks. The airfares for the Xmas/New Year period were ridiculous, the wet season seems to effect jungle and Patagonia visits terribly and of course I am very aware my poor language skills slow me down. Anyway, can come back and do Argentina-Patagonia and Chile-Chiloe with Hunter and MacLean (no excuses) and this time concentrate on seeing Peru properly and at a leisurely pace. It is important to put time aside for family too so with such a large and diverse destination and family time the 5 weeks will fly (and yes, it has, I can confirm - writing this down 3 weeks after I had the thoughts - it's Christmas in 3 days!)

HINDSIGHT: As I have travelled I have reconfirmed many times in my mind, I will definately be back in South America to explore Argentina and then Chile with top ups in Peru. And boys listen now - we are learning Spanish when I get home. Forget my silly dreams of French and Arabic. When it comes down to it, our familly speaks Spanish and South America is so easy to get to. It is cheap to travel in - and even more so if you know the language. If we can speak the language the locals can't trick us or inflate prices as much. We can meet more locals and have more fun. And at home we have our own private way of communicating that very few will understand of they over hear. Paola even has a friend coming to Australia to learn English that we could practise our Spanish on if she chooses Cairns as her base. And if they can speak two languages (or more) so can we. We have brains we just need to apply them.

26-27 November 2006 Going back a bit to catch up the gaps
Oh how I must love my little brother...42 hours travelling Istanbul to Lima...mmm...so basically, with time changes, I spent two full 24 hour days getting to Peru. Lesson learned. There are flights direct Istanbul to Lima but for some crazy reason I couldn't get on one...this will be a conversation with the beautiful Tereasa 'guru' travel agent on my return. Never again!

But not to worry I am here, in deepest darkest Lima, Peru - and not a paddington bear to be seen...

22 December 2006 Felic Navidad!
That is espanole for Merry Christmas! Christmas seems to be very slow taking hold in Cusco. So quiet, no evening celebrations in the streets, that I had been expecting. There may be a market tonight as men have been linemarking the square this morning. Quiet day washing, internet, bought some small gifts for the Lake Titicaca family I am staying with - Panadon, a light fruit cake, and rice. And finger puppets in case there are children.

There was an incredible thunder storm at about 2pm today. Been building up all morning. Thick blue-black clouds hanging over the city and horizon and then came the rolling thunder and crash! Down came buckets of tropical rain. But it is less than 10 degrees outside. A weird experience... where does a thunder storm develop when there is no build up of hot air under cold. I suppose it could be 10 degrees at ground level and minus something in the upper atmosphere?...

Visited one of the churches this morning. Another of these pushy gold jobs full of statues, icons, martyrs, gory deaths and sad faces. So over the top. No smiling faces, no happiness, no love. Only punishment and pain. I am having trouble reconciling the opulance of the Catholic system with the dire poverty outside its doors. Last night there were at least 5 whole families sleeping in the main street (obviously come to town for Christmas with family but without money for accommodation) and the church was not providing short term accommodation out of the weather for it's flock. Isn't the Christmas story about there being no room at the inn and the baby jesus being born in a stable. The church has again forgotten it's own parables...It also struck me how the Muslim faith would view this iconistic and alienating representation of Christianity. No wonder it is hard to break down barriers between faiths...off my soap box now.

Been trying hard to use my limited Spanish and learn a few new words. Just learning lists of practical words and trying to remember to put them in where possible. People are so kind and speak whatever English they have. It is a scream cause sometimes the only way for me to remember the word I want is to go through the list in rote til I get to the right one. By then I've forgotten what I started saying. Then I start again, and of course it's no good writing it down cause I can't spell in Spanish either - just phonetically. I feel like I need a plug for my right ear. Everything goes in the left and slips straight out the right. My forgettory is incredible! Oh well, keep on keeping on...

21/12 Rain, rain go away, come again another day...
It is summer solistice, the second most important date in the Inca calendar and where is the sun?...I suppose you can't have a cloud forest without cloud. Hit the mountain at 6.30am in the thick fog and light rain which hung around til 10ish. Got an hour of intermittant sunshine for some photos and the cloud closed in again. Poncho weight rain. Explored anyway, got startled by a Llama galloping past and climbed Wayna Picchu the crag at the back of all the photos of Machu Picchu.

The trail was extemely narrow and steep. Hard work. The views would have been awe inspiring on a clear day. Every so often we got a peak at the river and Inca site below us, and I mean IMMEDIATELY below us - a sheer drop! It took your breath away and motivated you to keep climbing on the off-chance it just might clear for a life-time memory view and if really lucky - photo...The fog was so thick on top it felt like you could step off the mountain onto a solid white mass. Reminded me of the day I topped Mt Snowdon but even thicker - if that is possible. My trail buddies (the US couple from a couple of days earlier, I now know as Fernando and Juliana) wondered aloud how close to God did the Inca high priest need to be?!

Still a very special day. HINDSIGHT: I would Touristadome train window seat up from Cusco afternoon of day 1; overnight Agua Calliente; early bus to MP; stay all day and catch the last bus back (there are at least 4 walks of different parts of MP to do); overnight Agua Calliente Day 2; early backpacker train any seat back to Cusco day 3. But if there is a next time it will be in May (low season, but dry and green) and I want to hike it.

Interesting mix of government and private enterprise. Govt sold the train service to Orient Express $100 US return pp. Also sold buses to site - flash 27 seat Mercedes coaches. But they are running on govt maintained roads. Gravel and mud single lane switch backs. Hate to think what the maintenance schedule is to keep the coaches in service...The govt even tried to sell the MP site til they got caught out.

Saw a a couple get engaged on the mountain. One of the trek groups was doing their goodbye speeches in the background behind me and I noticed a guy get down on one knee and then the girl hugged him and the group started cheering and clapping. I couldn't hear them but it was pretty obvious. Very romantic. How he kept his secret for four days on the trek...he would have been so nervous too...

When I got back to Cusco it was sooo good to have a hot shower and scrub all the mud off and thaw my feet. Not sure I could have had the patience to be wet and muddy for four days on the trail. I probably would have been ready to kill someone by then!

Buddied up with Fredrico (sat together for 4 hours on the train), an El Salvadorian from New York, for dinner. We tried Alpaca at the local Peruvian Chinese restaurant (these are known as Chifa locally). The alpaca was excellent. Tender and beef-like in texture and taste. I imagine a roast Alpaca would be very good. Also Peruvian Chinese is very good. Light and flavoursome. Their chilli soy is FANTASTIC - cut the chilli into a bowl of soy and let steep for a couple of hours. It has a KICK. Actually Chinese here is quite like Oz. Lots of fresh veges and very little battered.

20/12 Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Really early start this morning. 5.30am pickup to join the train to Machu Pichu. Didn't have a window which was disappointing, so no pictures, but still an amazing journey through towering mountain cliffs. The steep sides rise above the train (there were windows in the roof - take note Kurandalander) with broms and lichens clinging to them, defying gravity. White clouds cover the snowy tops like merangue on a pie. The train line climbs in a series of switch backs. Forward then reverse. Then we join the path of the river and we wind along together. Frothy brown and white water belting along as fast as the train. I can't help it, the clickerty clack sends me off to sleep and I have to force myself awake to watch the scenery.

I arrive in Agua Calliente in time for breakfast. A town geared totally to the tourist trade and priced accordingly. Still another 1/2 hour bus ride from Machu Pichu. LOTS of market stalls, restaurants and hotels and not much else. It is too wet and cold to be bothered stripping off in the hot springs that give the town it's name.

The main square is fascinating; surrounded on three sides by towering mountains that seem to grow out of the square. The 4th side is where the Rio Vilcanota swings through town on its way to join the Amazon. The town itself clings to the mountainside, the hotchpotch of building styles and qualities adhering til the next earthquake or mudslide. Like so many developing countries the outside of buildings bely the interiors, but how they manage to remain standing is a mystery.

Met my guide for tomorrow - Anna Cecillia. She is obviously an Indian Peruvian but with very fine features and an aqualine nose. I am really looking forward to having a female guide. Lotso f questions....

19 December Sacred Valley
Joined an english speaking guide today with a mixed group to wander the Sacred Valley together. Got drenched by a rain storm early in the day and actually lost two of our group it was so heavy. We waited for an hour in the rain and they never showed so went without them. And incredibly they chased us down in a taxi.

Before the storm visited a communal bakehouse. In many villages each house doesn't have a wood fired oven - they have a designated day to take their bread and other baking to the bakehouse to be cooked. We taste tested meat and onion filled bread pastry and also cheese and herb filled (can't remember the proper name). Straight out of the oven - hot and spicy. At the same place there was a Cuy farm. Not as good as Paola's friend's by description but interesting to see how they are kept and fed; slaughtered and dressed.

After the complusory market visit we finally got to our first archeological site for the day. A great walk up through the cold wind, all of us using altitude as an excuse for our lack of fitness. The day's catchcry became "I'm not proud; I'm happy to pant". A great view off the top even if not much of the actual built environment remains. The rocks cling to the mountain like an eagles nest and the mist and cloud rolled around below us. The mountains are very green with far peaks sporting snow. Terraced farms spread into the valleys. For historical purposes the local farmers cannot farm in the inca terraces but in some ways this seems a waste of fertile, irrigatable land.

Ollantaytambo rises above the town of the same name. At the bottom of the main, barely paved, street the terraces rise, connecting the town with the ruins. Other ruins look down on the townfrom the other two sides. Old Man's Beard is so rampant on the slopes surrounding the ruins it looks like the shurbs and bromilliads are covered in cobwebs. Anywhere young boys can reach is clean as they harvest the epiphite (not sure what for). A football pitch and bull fighting ring vie for space under the shadow of the ruins on one side; narrow ancient streets climb straight up the slopes with walled courtyards on either side. You can see these are the streets chosen by the tourist painters when they draw the scenes of rural peru with plaited women walking along village streets.

By the time we reached Chinchero it was almost dark. A very atmospheric time with purple storm clouds buiding on the horizon, the white painted adobe flourescent in the early dark and the yellow glow of the street lamps. Against my better judgement I visited the historical catholic church at the site - built with half adobe walss atop Inca foundations. Expecting yet more Spanish rennaissonce architecture and oppulance, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Probably the best and most real church I've visited in Peru. Beautiful early freizes painted on plaster walls, timber beams and roof. Colours softened by time - reds and blues and blacks and creams. The main alter was the only ornate part of the church and it wasn't overly guilded, just quietly so. All of our group agreed how nice it was and we were a mixed bunch.

EG. Myself; 70YO Aussie woman studying spanish; young jewish english volunteer from Arequipa; USA couple (her Singaporian, him afro-american); USA couple (her white, him Peruvian Indian); 2 men from Belgium; Dutch couple (her white, him Peruvian jew)...

18 December Wandered the town today.
4 blocks back into the locals world and away from Gringoland. Sorted my travel plans from now until new year. Cusco very expensive compared to other parts of Peru but if you get back into the locals area it is much better. Had a great 4 course Menu lunch today for 4.50 soles (approx $2AUD) on the main drag it would have cost me 20-30 soles.

Joined a guided district tour this afternoon. Was too lazy (I'm blaming it on altitude) to walk up the hills myself. Bit strange: didn't learn a lot about the area but at least the compulsory market visit taught me the difference between different qualities of alpaca wool and what to look for. Not that I'm in the market in Cairns. Visited 4 sites - Saqsaywaman (or sexy woman in silly english), Qéngo, Pukapukara and Tambomachay. The first was the best. These Incas were clever engineers building huge temples and walls with huge rocks with no iron tools, animal power, pully system or mortar. Very little seems to be known about them. Whether the Spanish didn't write it down before they destroyed everything or the locals lost the ability to pass on the oral history?...

Also visited two Spanish era attractions - the Santa Dominican Convent Qorikancha and Cusco Cathedral. What was most interesting about both was the number and quality of European religious art. All produced by Cusco Indians under instruction by the Spanish . It seems only about 10% of their production stayed in the region. Cusco was the manufacturing point for all the south american religious art. Some is so good it was mistaken, until modern dating analysis became available, as Spanish masters' work.

Tonight went to a Cusco cultural dance theatre. Excellent. About 10 dances from different parts of Cusco area. Very colourful costumes, great story telling through dance and quality performers. One of the best things I've done in Cusco and better quality than I saw in Trujillo (although different dances). It was SO cold walking back I couldn't stop my teeth chattering. Went to 'my' cafe with the open fire and thawed out there with hot chocolate and hot apple pie - what a treat.

HINDSIGHT: What is this? It's Christmas in the southern hemisphere and instead of being hot and wet it is COLD and wet. I can handle being drenched when it's warm but HATE being cold and wet. If that's altitude they can have it! It doesn't get that warm on the coast in Lima or Trujillo either. Only the jungle seems to be hot.

17/12 Crashed asleep in the plane to be woken by the hostee announcing 'seat backs upright, open blinds, etc'. I flipped up the blind in my half asleep state and was immediately startled fully awake by theincredible sight that met me. A huge range of snow covered mountains, soaring peaks, deep valleys and impossibly black ravines. The sun sparled off the snow and made the scene all the more incredible. All I needed was the Snow Queen to appear on one of the slopes and I would have known I was dreaming. Less than two minutes later we were decending over green pastures and red roof tiles into Cusco; nestled comfortably in this Andean range.

Found a taxi and bed and took advantage of the sunshine in the Plaza de Armas. It is only 7am.

The sun seems very high in the sky for the time of day. More like 10am...It is summer but maybe it is an effect of altitude...

Thawed out and watched the world pass by. A very busy Sunday in the Plaza. 100's of hawkers out trying to make up for yesterday's lost trade.

HINDSIGHT: More touts and street hawkers here than anywhere I've been in Peru. And more pushy. Thinking about it; I think Turkey and Egypt were more pushy in the markets but Cusco gets the points for street hawking.

You name, they're selling it and everyones got a story to tell. Had a hilarious time with a coupe of pre-teen girls who convinced me to buy some finger puppets from them. They were obviously learning the trade. They had done the deal and swapped money for goods. Then decided they hadn't done well enough and wanted more (their commission). When trying to wheedle it out of me from a 'trade' point of view they started whinging like kids can. I thought - I'm not giving up my seat in the sun to escape these girls - so I just started whinging back to them in the same tone ad facial expressions. Of course we all broke up laughing. Even the locals thought it was hilarious some gringa was playing their game back at them. They even tried to get me to buy them ice-cream and bananas for them instead of more cash. I agreed on the bananas but the banana lady wanted .8 sole for 2 when the going rate is .5 for two. The girls were incredulous I was such a tough gringa. I think they thought money is easy for us and we don't care that much about price. Anyway it was a good lesson for them, we all had fun and my haggling skills improved.

Being at altitude certainly burns quickly. My hands got burned even though it was quite cold and intermittently sunny. Hat, sunscreen, etal saved the rest of me.

Cusco is a very pretty place with a big fountain and beautiful gardens in the square. The square is surrounded by 2 spanish influence churches (1 a Cathedral) and many two story haciendas with timber verandahs upstairs and columned arches at ground level. There was a military parade of some sort going on with marching and flag raising; a group of Lions giving 100 or so poor kids a Christmas party; couples everywhere - even elderly couples enjoying the sun and entertainment.

Very tired. Took it easy and crashed early.

Funny sight - a dog lifting it's leg on a lit full size Christmas lama in the square (after dark). I had visions of the electricity arcing back to the dog and lighting him up too...

16 December 2006 Forced 'rest day'. All flights to Cusco cancelled due to bad weather in Cusco. Got to have a suburban Sunday with the family. Visited the local 'mall' hangout, Larco Mar, lunch and drinks and play with Matthew. Hunter and MacLean you will be very impressed - Uncle Andrew took Matthew to the local gaming place (like used to be in The Pier) and won 600+ tickets which they had a ball redeeming on all sorts of great crap. The only problem being Uncle Andrew had all the fun playing the games - I'm sure Matthew wouldn't have won all those tickets!

This evening we had a 'quiet night at home with a few friends'. What a hoot! Two friends came over at about 9.30pm for dinner and drinks. Deigo and Sarella. They left at 3am after we ate, drank (much Aussie red wine and Pisco - the national white brandy), and danced around on the living room carpet. Got a few good lessons from Deigo and Paola (both VERY good latin dancers). They said I wasn´t too bad for a Gringa!

Only thing was, my airport pickup was 4.40am so sleep was a no show tonight. Some big nights in Peru...

Dance party Peruvian local style
I bumped into one of the guides from the Lodge in Iquitos today and we practised our new languages together for a couple of hours. I think he learned more English, than I did Spanish. But I think that´s my memory. Just not as quick to remember...

Anyway, Ramiro offered to take me to a local dance party, so I accepted. He insisted we had to meet at 7pm, although I kept saying no, 9pm at the earliest. And of course, we're in Peru, the party didn't start til 10pm...actually quite funny cause he is a jungle guy and not very city-savvy. He was less confident crossing streets full of traffic than me...Anyway, the band was Kaliente, a slang spelling of spanish for 'hot'. And they were very good.

It was held in a huge concrete floored lot behind a wall and gate. A bit like we would go to a pavillion at the showgrounds. But instead of being all under cover, one section where the band set up and the bar and toilets were, was covered. The rest was concrete floor but open to the sky. Good idea as much cooler but thankfully it didn't rain...There were tables and stools set up in the uncovered areas, and standing room only under cover. The covered space ended up the dance floor. Interestingly they only sold beer. No water, no spirits, no soft drinks. Luckily Ramiro knew this and we took water in with us. And there was one market-type stall selling kebab squewers. The rest of the food and drink was on sale out in the street.

The band was huge. At least 10 members with instruments and vocals. And three dancing girls. In Oz these women would be considered soft porn. They were dressed like adult club pole dancers and gyrated all night on a side stage. Lots of g-string butt, cleavage and long untied hair thrown around. The latino music was excellent. Their version of rock and roll was terrible (to my ear). But dancing latino all night uses muscles I'm not used to using, so after 3 hours my calf muscles were aching.

Interesting watching 1500 people gyrate. The men were dressed in jeans and t-shirts or buttoned shirts. Mostly sneakers. They all had short hair. The women were in skin tight jeans and tight revealing tops. Plenty of midrift and cleavage. They all had long hair. Generally out - but started being tied back as they got hotter. But what caught my eye was how many were in jeans - 98%. And this is mid December in the tropics... They wore high heels - thong wedges in the main. We think our gyrating is pretty 'samie' and try and put in some latino, twist, etc for variety. Well Latino is no different - they dance the same 10 steps all night, and don't put in any western moves. You get the same number of 'good' dancers, and couples who actually touch while dancing.

There were a huge proportion who stood on the dance floor watching the band. And instead of standing at the back with their beers in hand watching, they stood at the front, in the crowd, or whereever they felt like. It was very safe. No drink spiking, no pick pocketing, no drink stealing. A very fair crowd. Obviously you took care but after all the 'take care' messages - the Peruvians act much better than their reputation.

Got to go now and catch a plane. Will catch up the Lima and Trujillo backlog when possible. See ya!

14-15 December Iquitos. City of intense contrast.
Iquitos is amazing (there's that word again). A huge past wealth from rubber now faded and decaying. Although the wealth of Iquitos is in the past, no-where in Peru is the dycotomy between the haves and the have-nots so obviously demonstrated. Back in the late 1800's and until WW1 the rubber baron's wealth was legendary. There are many lavish buildings across the old town, up to 3 stories tall in Spanish Victorian style with incredible timber interiors of mahogany, cedar, rosewood - doors, stairwells, ceilings, parquetry floors, furniture...clad in intricately hand painted italian ceremic tiles. Each level has it's own themed tiles. All designed for the tropics with interior courtyards, high ceilings, breezeways above the doors and huge french doors out on to balconies. These buildings are now in majority occupied by government departments, with little or no maintenance. The exterior tiles and shutters are cracked and broken, glass is missing, interiors are missing much of their furnishings, single light bulbs swing forlornly from once chanderliered ceilings. Weeds grow in the courtyards.

Along the Malecon, or boulevarde, at some stage, modern money has been spent to pave the footpath, cement the road, make car parks, landscape garden beds. Tying together these colonial buildings with the Amazon sitting quietly, waiting, below. But all this has cracked and died. Walking along at dusk, with the pink sunset colouring the water, and softening the light and heat; half close your eyes and you can almost imagine the past lifestyles and opulant wealth.

Then look down below between the boulevarde and river, culminating about 2km downstream and you see the floating slums of Belen. 70,000 people living in houses floating on the river. Before the water rises each wet season the huts sit in the hot, stinking, poluted mud. A food market flourishes in the seasonal streets between the houses. Concrete and hardwood planks have been laid in the mud to provide some permanence for the inhabitants. The cements cleaned off after each wet, redefining the dry season Belen boundaries.

They sell everything here. And move it all to high water mark as the river rises. It is so big I struggle to fathom where all this mess goes when the river reclaims acres of mudflats. I saw turtle meat (legs with claws attached, necks with heads attached) alongside chickens (alive and portioned), all manner of river fish, pigs . As always lots of fruit and veges of varying qualities. A whole street dedicated to banana trading. A street of chillis, spices and all combinations thereof. A street of tobacco -rough cut and rolled into fat, course cigarettes and cigars. Sold as 1's or in bundles wrapped in newspaper. Smelling the burning tobacco reminded me of a combination of cigar and marajuana. A very strong, unfiltered cigarette.

The houses rise above the market on tall thin stumps waiting for the water to rise. The stumps of these anchored dwellings are at least 2 stories high. When the wet comes, the water washes all the rubbish away and cleanses the mud. And the rest of the housesfloat up to meet the high water level and life goes on at this wet sesaon level.

Families live in one room floating huts with thatched roofs. Mum, dad and at least 5 kids plus grandma or grandad. And a couple of chooks. The river is used for everything. They swim in it to cool off. They wash themselves and their clothes in it. Drink the water and cook with the water. All the animal and human waste goes straight in; as does the rubbish. And yet, they catch commercial quantities of fish here daily and dolphins are often seen...right in all this...

I went for a canoe ride around this floating river city. Which I have heard called the jungle Venice... mmm... hardly my impression. The only saving grace is that it is warm here. But whole new thoughts enter my head. When it is cold you have to find money for clothes; when it is hot you grow whole new tropical diseases and how to keep food fresh?...

13 December. Another big storm last night. Rained most of the night, and this morning the river level is up another few feet. We are able to get our canoe into spots yesterday we would have walked to. And it is the last day guests will be able to get to a particular part of the swamp unitl the water rises high enough to make canoeing in possible. So we took advantage of this access and went looking for a rare and endemic prehistoric bird only found in porcupine palm swamp. When these birds are babies they still have claws on their wing joints so they can climb in and out of the nest. They loose these prehistoric claws when their adult plumage develops. We found the birds and while they are outstanding to look at, their pumage is amazingly good camouflage. Their blue eye feathers look like a piece of forest fruit, their red crown plumage looks like a bromilliad flower and their russet, black and white body colours blend them perfectly with the palm corpse. My new 'birder' friends were over the moon to have seen such a rare bird.

Interesting, that as we slipped around in the river swamp we never saw signs of actual Caymans. Although we we walking on small dry peninsulas in the thick, still-water swamp, often crossing through foot deep water and mud - perfect croc country - Moises said the Caymans won't come near humans. They were not out sunning themselves within spotting distance either. I kept a close watch, being so used to crocs, but there was nothing. This is probably because they are hunted. Small numbers remain and those that survive are wary of humans - even in the reserve.

My day was perfect when we saw a troop of 6 blue and yellow Macaws and 2 sloths - slow moving and very monkey like (and one was actually climbing - they are incredibly slow movers and it is easy to understand why the term sloth is used for a couch potato person). Also huge waterlillies, in flower.

And the only eucalyptus native to the Amazon, which they call a firewood tree. It has the hardest wood of the forest and is prized for making charcoal from and then for cooking bread. It has buttress roots, smooth silver bark and a stringy dark brown outer bark that sheds off as low as high-water mark and protects the tree below this level. The other interesting tree was their capok tree. Now, it has the same yellow flower and green fruit with the cotton like interior. But...it grows to one of the largest trees in the forest. The specimen I took a photo of would be 35m tall with a trunk diameter of at least 3m. Is it just more water and better soil?...

Liz and Paul, the lovely english birder couple and I shared our guide, Moises. He has 29 years guiding experience in the area and specialises in supporting research teams of botanists, orntholoists, biologists, etc. A jungle man born and bred. Many of the villagers work at the Lodge. They take turns at guiding, boat driving, cooking, maintenance, etc. So everyone gets some work and some money. They live very simple lives in thatched huts on high stumps, with few walls, no electricity or plumbing. They are generally BIG families. Manuell, our boat driver is one of 15 kids and at 24 already has 3 1/2 of his own with his 21 yo wife. Another of the staff I spoke to has 10 siblings but at 25 is not married yet. Ramiro spends his free time in Iquitos, out of the jungle, and I get the impression he thinks city women are more his style (probably because they can earn $).

12 December Pink River Dolphins...yes, pink. Grey too, but amazing fresh water pink dolphins.

Only found in the Amazon. They have evolved without a dorsal fin so they can navigate shallow , choked water and especially good sonar for the muddy water of the Amazon. They don't breach like grey dolphons; they are much shyer and don't like the noise of the outboard. If you get in the river to swim with them they just disappear. Once the engine was cut, there were quite a lot. Can't count the number of animals just the number of surfaces -water too muddy. It is said they can enchant people into the Amazon to live with them in their underwater world. Like the legend of the mermaids in the Rhine. Great book - searching for Pink Dolphins by Sy Montgomery - found it in a library in Huaraz and discovered our guide Moises helped the author with research and guiding. Will purchase a copy on my return home.

This area is so rich with life, it is hard to describe - a fish jumped into the boat this morning (a sardine, but the biggest sardine I've ever seen - would fill the tin on his own!) when we were out looking for birds this morning before breakfast. No need to go fishing...We saw hundreds of species of birds, all easy to see and quite undisturbed by our presence. Monkeys, bats, fish, dolphines, butterflies of all colours. Cairo may be a seething mass of humanity but the Amazon is a seething mass of biology.

Out forest walking again this afternoon. Saw 4 Pygmy Marmoisettes - tiny monkeys no bigger than my hand - and lots of butterflies - blue, green, brown, white. Some nearly as big as the monkey! Lots of fungii, bromilliads, and other epiphites. And the Amazon is the world's best breeder of mossies. If we have the great Aussie wave for flies, the Amazon has the great Amazon wave for mossies. Even smothered in Rid they covered every surface, rising in swarms from the rotting fruit and mud puddles. Instead of filling your nose and mouth, they target your eyes and ears. That incecent buzzing in your ears is deafening and very frustrating. They even drown out the cicadas. It is only like this in the forest where they breed. At the Lodge and on the river there are very few. It seems there are over 1800 species of birds in Peru some 450 are endemic - no wonder we are seeing so many birds.

I've had a cold shower now and de-sweated myself. Sitting quietly on my verandah over looking the river as the sun goes down. Much cooler now. The crickets and frogs have started their nightly concert. The birds are making their comforting bed-time calls. I can hear a woodpecker tap, tap, tapping (we saw 2 different breeds on our jungle excursions). The current is carrying the silt and flotsom of last night's storm downstream and adding to the logjams and weed islands already clogging the river.

Today I even saw a new banana plant growing out of a fallen one as it floated downstream. Bank errosion is a major occurance here but it is seen as part of the natural cycle. The bank can be 2m high above the current water level, all rich top soil, and it just slides into the river with rain and provides top soil to the farmers further downstream.

My first day in the Amazon ends.
It is pitch black, no stars, no lights; but the night is full of noise. Crickets, frogs, birds, owls, raindrops, leaves dropping, the occassional thunk of a falling branch. A million sounds and none man-made. I´m going to sleep to the sound of rain on the forest leaves and thatched roof. My cabin is plywood to waist height and screened above. A high pitched thatched palm roof with a screen ceiling. A verandah with hammock unscreened. At the height of the wet all the resort stands with its feet in the water (everything is on 3m stumps). There is another 2m of rising water yet to come.

The night air is thick and still and no breeze makes it through the screens. A fan would make a big difference. No pool of sweat but skin damp to touch and it is easier to sleep without clothes. Reminds me of Coconut Beach Resort mid summer. Or Freshie on a hot summer's night when the power goes out and we all end up on the front lawn looking for a cool space.

Monkey hunting. We're going on a Monkey hunt, we're going to see a big one...
Just for the record I am part of a group of 3 visitors (2 English birders and myself) who are sharing our guide Moises - 29 years experience guiding. There are 5 guests in house at the moment (max 40).

We left the lodge by small canoe powered by a small outboard motor on the end of a long pole that has the propeller at the bottom. The boat driver (in the back) lowers the pole into the water to the correct depth for the channel and the flotsam blocking the way. It's rather like powering the canoe with a electric beater...I wondered why we didn't have an electric motor which would have been much quieter for animal spotting, until we reached further upstream where the river, flood plain, lake and swamp, chokes up with grass, water weed (hyacinth), logs, flood debris, etc. We needed the power of the deisel engine to get us through; and needed the help of the guide (in the front) with a paddle to force a channel in more difficult parts. The driver takes direction through hand signals from the guide standing in the front as he has better visibility. The guides paddle is shaped like the spade in a pack of cards. The point of the paddle gets traction on the muddy bottom or in the thick weeds. The flat side is slightly convex to assist viscosity and is used to paddle, push weed islands and logs aside or scooping weed out of the way and from catching on the front of the boat. The river has become a sea of green weed and how he knows the channel is impressive.

The greenery is alive with insects. Grasshoppers, dragonflies, spiders;all shapes, sizes and colours go busily about their business ignoring us. Their colours are almost dizzying. Red, green, blue, gold - nothing is plain here.

A small frog, not much bigger than a thumbnail jumps off the grass into the boat and across to the grass on the other side. These little frogs land on us as often as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Tammy you would be in frog heaven. The croaking goes on insecently. On the river. In the jungle. Daylight and night time.

We beached our canoe and started walking though the jungle. I don't need to explain the density of a tropical jungle or the thickness of the air. Interestingly many of the species here have been introduced to Oz and are pests at home. Water hyacinth, sensitive weed, mimosa, nut grass, morning glory...

We do not walk on prepared or maintained tracks here, just straight through the bush. I stood on a log expecting to use the lift to push up over it and my foot went straight through. It had completely rotted and the shell looked strong and complete. We crossed swamp by tree trunk bridge and water filled my 'wellies' as I sunk deeper in the mud than the height of my 'rubber'.
NOTE TO MYSELF - choose higher sided 'wellies' tomorrow!
I continued to squelsh in search of monkeys. We saw an amazing array of birdlife even 3 of the 5 species of kingfisher found in Peru. Huge birds called Horned Barkers that sound like a cow. It is easy to enjoy bird watching here. You see something new and different every few minutes. Like fishing, it's interesting when you are catching something...

We could hear the monkeys but they kept moving and were making monkeys out of us. Finally success. Titi monkeys, Howler monkeys, Squirel monkeys. All showed themselves. The Howlers were as big as tree kangaroos and the squirel monkeys obviously small like squirels.

The mozzies were insecent but not as bad as expected. The summer storm built as the afternoon passed, thick black clouds banked on the horizon, thicker each time we sighted them in a clearling. The thunder accompanying us on our jungle adventure. The Amazon seems thicker, denser, more intense than our rainforest. Certainly less controlled and more animals to be seen.

We arrived back not 5minutes before the storm broke and it has been raining constantly since. Now 11pm. Tried going Cayman spotting after dinner but too wet. All hiding under the surface. Cayman are not protected so not common.

HINDSIGHT When we were swamp walking later in my stay we crossed prime 'croc swamp' and dry banks between still water and there was not a Cayman to be seen.

I'm in the Amazon, yes that's right, the AMAZON!!!!!
I always thought to see the Rio Amazonia and Amazon jungle you had to go to Brazil. WRONG. The best, least human wrecked parts are in the upper Amazon - Peru. Highly recommend Muyuna Lodge 140km upriver from Iquitos for anyone wanting to see the real Amazon and it´s people and animals.

11 December 2006
The blue of the sky is filtered by the fine white clouds. As they are reflected in the river, its brown water is turned to pink. The cloud is gradually building in thickness, just wisps early this morning on a clear blue sky but now at midday there are fluffy marshmellows, streaks of rice vermicelli and sheets of white tissue all competing for space on the massive expanse of blue.

The river trip started at 2km wide, now guessing, but nearer to 2.5km wide. It´s 25m deep in the channel and has barely started to spread across the flood plain. The wet only really started 3 weeks ago and already there is a steady stream of debris and silt competing for space. Our speedboat captain is very adept at judging the floating logs, vines, and water hyacinth islands for the potential damage they could do our outboard.

Bananas, coconuts, pawpaws, chickens, pigs, are shipped on huge balsawood rafts downstream to Iquitos. They float down on the current at about 8km/hr and once unloaded are broken up and sold for timber and firewood. The men get lifts back upstream on motorised launches and start over again. There are all manner of craft in the river carrying people, crops and animals. Small settlements appear on the banks out of the jungle - surviving on fishing and crops.

Ok guys I´m catching up...
To try and keep track of my muddled entries...I have covered the mountain country of Huaraz, the 2nd half of my Trujillo stay. Still to come - arriving in Peru and settling in in Lima, 1st half of Trujillo, and the Amazonias expedition.

Going to tackle the Amazon now...see next entry...

Exploring Mountains Part 2
Next day the weather didn´t seem much better but you can't choose your weather...so set off on the bus again (the two germans from the day before were there again too). Today we headed south to Catac and then in search of a huge flower spike. Now this is a bromilliad that grows to 2m in diameter and then when fully grown (100yrs old by now) throws a 10m high flower spike with 20,000 flowers. It is considered a living fossil as it is one of the most ancient plants on earth. Well I didn´t see a 10m high spike but I did see some pretty amazing plants of some metres high. There were also natural sparkling mineral springs (so already carbonated) and lots of Lamas. Then as it got colder and we climbed further to altitude I got to hike to a glacier, visit an ice cave, throw snow and get snowed on - all at 5600m. The highest altitude I expect to visit. I only had a 2km round trip from the car park to the glacier and back and it took a good 2 hours. Yes, altitude does effect you!...It was FREEZING. I was wearing thermal pants and top, plus thermal outer and thermal slick, gloves, beanie and hat (to keep the snow out of neck). I stayed warm til my hands and feet got wet (to be expected in the snow) and then it was COLD with a capital C. The Germans and a Polish lady from Canada I had buddied with, were even colder so I didn´t feel so bad.

By the end of the day my brain was tired and I had developed a thumping headache. All altitude related but overall I think I coped really well. That night I travelled back to Lima on the overnight bus. Slept off the exhaustion, and the headache went of it's own accord as we decended from the mountains.

HINDSIGHT: Fantastic experience this Peru. One day on the coast with the ocean rolling in, the next at high altitude with snow and glaciers, and the next day 35 degrees and 100% humidity in a tropical jungle spotting macaws and cruising the Amazon!!!!!

6-7 December 2006 Exploring mountain country.
Ok, cause I´ve been slack these two days seem to get muddled in my mind but...I took 2 day tours, which seems to be the best way to explore the Cordillera Blanca surrounding Huaraz.

First day I caught a bus with about 8 tourists and 24 high school kids from Lima. I was the only one who spoke no Spanish and the guide was Spanish speaking. It was a fun day. The school group´s supervising teacher was their English teacher and yet she spoke VERY little English. The kids constantly wanted to take photos with me and we had lots of laughs all trying to make each other understood. They were really nice kids. Well behaved, well spoken and respectful. An achievement to get 24 kids to do this on a school trip (this was like their schoolies week but is held the week before school finishes and is arranged through school fundraising. They had been saving for 2 years for the trip and so really wanted to get a lot out of it. It is probably the only trip away from Lima most of them have ever had). The kids all had film cameras, and no-one had walkmans or P2Ps or designer clothes. Their teacher explained although all the kids wanted to go on to university only 4-5 of the group would actually get a place. And these were the lucky ones to have stayed at school to senior.

There were 2 Isrealie girls on the bus, 3 South Americans, 2 Germans and me. Each of the foreiners spoke a little Spanish and if I looked completely lost would give me a quick summery of the important points. But mostly it was about looking out the window at the view so all was fine.

First stop was the town of Carhuaz, traditional mountain town. What I remember most was that the Plasa de Armas was filled with flowering rose bushes, there was a funeral procession through town with a brass band playing Latino music, and a pedestrian got hit by a taxi because she insisted on walking down the middle of the street in the traffic. Got a great photo of two friends sitting on a park bench talking. Young women - one dressed western, one dressed mountain traditional - totally unaware of their differences, and comfortable with their differences.

Then we stopped at old Yungay, where the worst natural disaster of the Andres occured in 1970. The 18,000 people of the town were buried alive in a huge avalanche and mud slide. It was incredibly hot here and as we walked through the park like bushland and visited the memorial we could have been in the south of France (or Spain, I suppose). I felt it was rather a depressing place to include on the itinerary and we seemed to be here for ages. Without understanding the detail of the commentary it is hard to understand if this is like a pilgrimage site for the Peruvians.

Incredibly, the heavy cloud that had hung on the high mountains all morning (and stopped me seeing their snow covered 6000m peaks) decended and turned a stifling hot day into a freezing cold one. As we climbed the mountain pass to Lagunas Llanganuco (pronounced Yanganuco), the weather closed in and the high pass was slippery , gravel and narrow. Bromilliads clung to the rock faces bounding the road - what are tropical epiphites doing here?...The girls in the back seat screamed as we rounded each switch back curve and the back of the bus hung out over the cliff. Luckily we met very little traffic and our bus could use the whole of the one lane road.

The Lake itself is beautiful and heads up toward a glacier and snow capped mountains. Unfortunately the cloud and incecent rain took away a lot of the scenery but it wasn't hard to imagine on a clear day the brilliant clear green/blue lake contrasting with white glittering snow. I took a short walk along the shore to absorb what atmosphere I could and bought a hot cob of corn to warm me as I waited in the drizzle for the bus to return.

We didn´t get back to Huaraz til nearly 8pm (lunch at 4pm - so Peruvian). But I did get to meet and talk to the Isrealies and one of the Peruvians over lunch. We were supposed to meet for a drink that evening in Huaraz but the agreed meeting point seemed very dodgy when I got there in a cab so I just told him to take me back to my warm hostel and had a quite night getting to know two canadian girls volunteering in Peru for three months.

December 5,6,7 Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca
Remeber H is W and LL is Y...now try and pronounce it again...

I think I'm now seeing some of the real Peru. I have been protected and buffered til now. Being looked after so well by Andrew and Paola, living their life, which even for we first worlders is pretty flash. I haven't had to manage on my own with the language, food, transport, etc. They have been incredibly kind, generous and attentive. And it's been lots of fun. In fact - just what I needed. But now I'm seeing Peru how I saw other parts of the world.

I left the bossom of my family at the bus station in Trujillo on the night sleeper bus to Huaraz. Now, this service puts Oz buses to shame. In fact it puts the airlines to shame too. I had a 'bus bed' which is the equivalent of a business class seat in a plane. With full recline, 'inflight' catering, movie, blanket...There are only 3 seats across the bus, two on one side and one on the other. Second class is upstairs on the double decker. Now I tried this too on the return as the sleepers were sold out. And second class is still pretty good. 4 seats across with the aisle in the middle, blanket and 3/4 recline, movie and snack. First class was 50 sols (AUD$20) for a 9 hour journey.

Got into Huaraz at 6am, it was about 10 degrees and stayed that all day. Remember this is SUMMER, but we're in the mountains. The altitude here is 3100m (Cuzco 3300m, Machu Pichu 2500m) so it's pretty high. Spent my arrival day acclimatising. Until you experience altitude I don't think you can understand its very real effects.

I'm not particulary athletic, but I'm also not unfit and certainly would put myself in the above average category for normally active people. I took the altitude tablets I brought with me, tried cocoa tea (disgusting) and ate plenty of limes. Even so the street I had to walk up to my hostel which was no steeper than Simon Street had me breathing heavily. The key seems to be slow the pace, breath deeply and not to eat heavy foods or drink alcohol.

Wandered up to the local trout farm today and inspected trout from finglings to 18" long beauties. Then proceeded to sample the wares with a simple luch of grilled fresh trout with local boiled potatoes (yellow, rather floury and with a soggy outer 1/4 inch - yep that's just how they come I've learned) and salad. But...the trout was so fresh the head, spine and tail just peeled away from the flesh in one easy movement. (The only other place that has been the case was in Selime in Cappacocia Turkey, but that's another story) The little local 'restaurant' at the gate to the farm was run by a tiny old lady who prepared everything fresh. She kept her shop swept and clean. The kitchen was very clean (I checked) but I had to laugh...she had put trout fingerlings in little plastic bags of water and hung them around the servery opening. I'm not sure if they were for display or if she hoped to sell them as souvenirs (at home you would buy one to take home as a pet). But they had died in the tiny bags of water and she had just left them all there sunk in the bottom of the bags...

Walking back down into the town and around the Plasa de Armas (remember I said every town has one of these in its heart), I was struck by the poverty. This is where you realise it is easier to be poor in the warm. I'm sure the people of India and Asia are no less poverty striken but they are warm. These people have to find clothes to keep themselves and their families warm, find heating for their hovels and manage the intense cold while they perform their domestic duties. I watched women washing clothes in the mountain river that flowed through town with bare feet and hands. Air temp 10 degrees, water temp about 5 degrees.

The women are a study. Many wear traditional clothing which is very colourful and seems mismatched. They all wear slip on loafer shoes, with knee high stockings. Then over this they wear leggings of various colours. Then an assortment of colours and textures and fabrics in skirts layered, more and more thickly as they get older (or colder). So in this layering there will be a brodie anglise lace layer, cotton, wool, all different colours and patterns. Then as a top layer there will be something as an outer layer usually in a traditional pattern/weave. Many of the layers are traditional lama or alpaca wool. My guess is the layers rarely come off and more are added as the under ones wear out or it gets colder. They don't wear all these layers on the tops. Just under shirt, blouse, jumper and maybe coat. And then it is all topped off with a high peaked square wool hat with feather decoration. Now the hat makes sense after being snowed on as the brim keeps the snow out of the neck of your clothes and the sun off your face. All these layers make them look fat but they are not. They have skinny legs and normal upper bodies with no fat on their faces.

From what I could gather asking around and observing; the mountain women marry very young - many at 13. They have big families over many years and start to wear traditional dress after they have had children. All the young girls wear western clothes especially jeans. Contaception is available without presciption but costs money so they don't use it. Infant mortality is very high. This seems to be exaserbated by the altitude. Making carrying babies harder, child birth harder and the first two years of life very difficult. Any respiratory problems up here can kill a baby.

It seems Peru has 38% of its population under 18yo.

The other thing that has struck me through out Peru (and the world) is how short the people are. But I have to reassess. The French are not short and the East is not short. Not compared to Peruvians. And Coastal Peruvians are not short compared to mountain people. The women are commonly 4ft6in and the men 5ft4in. I'm sure this has to do with being born and raised at altitude. They are also incredibly worn. The cold and exposure ages them fast. Their skin is leathery and dark, their teeth bad. Women who could not be more than mid thirties look 70. They have babies slung across their backs and the stature of old women.

This shortness probably has influenced the city womens love of 5in heels!