CUZCO TO MACHU PICCHU (PERU)

In Cuzco Phil couldn't believe his luck when he found a flyer of an Indian restaurant in our hostel. Listening to his moaning for months how much he missed his curries we used the opportunity for a nice meal out but apart from the Indian music in the background there was nothing like the ones at home. The club we went to after was amazing with its lively meat market and drunken gringos dancing on top of a tiny bar. We left there at 5am and struggled with our packing the next day.

On our way to Machu Picchu we stopped at the Sunday market of Pisac where it was fun to haggle down the prices but still: WE DO NOT WANT A DOLL!

To see Machu Picchu we got up at 3am to walk the 2km up to the ruins with hope of seeing the sunrise through the sun gate. Our plan failed when we got stopped by a guard in town not letting us through without a valid ticket and the ticket office didn't open till 5am. Our disappointment soon went realising it was overcast and no one would have seen the rising sun that morning. It cleared up during the day and we had stunning views. Still we think its far to overpriced especially paying 2 pounds for a plastic cup of coke.

LAKE TITIKAKA (BOLIVIA)

A lovely 15km walk along the lake side took us from Copacabana to Yampupata where we hired a boat to take us to the north of Isla de Sol. The site is worshipped as the birthplace of Manco Kapac and Mama Ocllo, the first Incas referring to the legend. We stayed a night in the south of the island where Phil suffered from altitude sickness all night.

To catch an early bus the next morning from Copacabana we had to charter a private expensive boat to take us back and we were furious when we got told there wasn't an early bus because of a national holiday. Trying to get some of our money back because we could have taken quite easily the public ferry was nerve racking and time consuming and when we nearly gave in the agent finally handed over some money.

RURRENABAQUE (BOLIVIA)

The bus trip to Rurrenabaque, the extension of the most dangerous road in the world, was heart killing, especially the moments of reversing towards the cliff to let oncoming traffic pass. An old woman with her alive chicken next to us praying constantly wasn't very reassuring either. We made the trip in a good 20 hours as it can take up to 3 days or of course it can take much shorter if you are unlucky.

We went on a jungle tour which was a bit disappointing but it included the highlight of holding a baby ocelot kept by one of the indigenous communities. One of the girls on our tour got bitten by a giant ant crawling up her trousers. It was the amusement of the day unfortunately not for her.

We were unlucky with the weather on our pampas tour. It was raining constantly and the mosquitoes were all over us. Phil's bed was visited by a poisonous spider but he saw it before he got in there. There were a few alligators hanging around our hut and you could see there orange eyes during the night. We were looking forward to swim with the pink dolphins but instead of seeing them you got freaked out by them trying to bite your toes.

The journey back to La Paz wasn't as dramatic as it all happened over night and Phil got himself dosed up on Diazepam.

LA PAZ (BOLIVIA)

At 3640 metres, La Paz is the highest capital in the world and walking up and down the roads is "breathtaking". We organised a day trip to the nearby sacred indigenous site of Tiahuanaku and spent some time in the very informative coca museum.

We booked our mountain bike tour down the most dangerous road in the world and were advised not to go crazy the night before. Obviously that didn't count for Mr Sloan who got hammered on pints in the English Oliver Pub. He had a hard time starting to cycle at 8am the next morning, luckily it was mostly downhill. Starting high in the Andes, the steep and bumpy La Paz-to-Coroico road plunges down almost 3,600 meters on its spectacular 64-km path to the lush, sub-tropical Yungas and the sleepy town of Coroico. At the end being told an Israeli guy went down the cliffs the day before and died we suddenly realized how dangerous that road really can be.

VALLEGRANDE (BOLIVIA)

Vallegrande is the place where Che Guevara was displayed dead to the public in the launderette of the local hospital and later chucked in a grave with all others killed on the same mission. We took a taxi to the remote area of La Higuera, the place of his last battle. It was a 6h return trip and did cost us all in all 180 Bs (12 Pounds). The scenery up there was amazing and we even spotted condors on the way.

Vallegrande itself was a dump. The only available meals in town were chicken soup or chicken with rice and believe us it sounds nicer than it looked like. We ordered chicken soup containing chicken feet. That was rather appetizing!

SAMAIPATA (BOLIVIA)

We were lucky the Samaipata road was open again but what a journey! Through muddy roads just cleared off from previous landslides and half the concrete road missing at times collapsed down the canyon. We met a German tour operator we got recommended and we didn't regret. He took us in the cloud forest of Amboro National Park and we were lucky to see wild cappuccino monkeys and a grass snake just in front of us perfect for taking photos.

We had a delicious German meal in the "Landhaus" and we also got invited to a private German birthday party. Thanks to the Germans we had a fantastic time in the small Bolivian village of Samaipata.