2013 November ----- Whenever we go to London to visit my son, we like to do a side trip or two. This time, we went to Stonehenge and Bath. We also took in Madame Butterfly at the Coliseum. I had never been to Stonehenge before. We looked into taking the train to Salisbury then simply... Continue Reading →
Bolivia – La Paz
2013 May ----- The next morning we caught a very early bus to take us to La Paz, Bolivia. This bus was not like the nice we had to Puno. This was a standard Greyhound type bus, but instead of the toilet at the back it appeared as though someone decided to take out a... Continue Reading →
Peru – Lake Titicaca – Taquile Island
2013 May ----- The next day we said goodbye to our host families and got back on the boat to go to Taquile Island. As soon as we landed we started up a path and through an arched gateway. Apparently, there are 6 sectors on the island of 2200 inhabitants, each sector is marked with... Continue Reading →
Peru – Lake Titicaca – home stay
2013 May ----- We got back into our boat and headed for our home stay at Karina on a peninsula. We were greeted by our home stay Momma's and taken to our respective homes. 19 year old Matilda had a 3 month old baby, that she carried on her back in the traditional sling. As... Continue Reading →
Peru – Uros
2013 May ----- The next morning we all jumped into the Puno limousines (bicycle tuktuks) and went down to Lake Titicaca (3800 meters above sea level) to catch our boat to Uros, the floating islands. Amazing! There are about 70 islands, made entirely of reeds and roots of reeds. All of the houses are made... Continue Reading →
Peru – Puno
2013 May ----- The next morning we caught a 7 hour bus ride to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest fresh water lake in the world at 4000 meters. We were in one of South America's fantastic buses, with seats more comfortable than an airplane. They have leg rests similar to a... Continue Reading →
Peru – Cuzco again
2013 May ----- We had a free day in Cuzco, to recover from the trek. We were taken to an alpaca shop, where they showed us how to tell the difference between real alpaca products and fake or blended alpaca products. Real alpaca is cool to the touch, almost a wet feeling, and never warms... Continue Reading →
Peru – Machu Picchu
2013 May ----- We checked into our little hotel, then David and I decided to go to the hot springs. What a welcome relief after freezing nights, sweating days, and sore aching feet. Interestingly, one could order beer and cocktails while in one of the 5 hot pools. On the way back from the hot... Continue Reading →
Peru – Quarry Trek
2013 May ----- As I said earlier, we could only put 6 kg into the duffel bag. I opted to simply wear the T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, fleece and rain jacket. In the end this was perfect because we kept peeling layers off then putting them back on throughout the trek. I packed a spare... Continue Reading →
Peru – Ollantaytambo
2013 May ----- We finally arrived in Ollantaytambo and checked into the Munay Tika Hotel. A few of us quickly took off for the Ollantaytambo archeological site. It was a really good warm up for tomorrow's trek. I don't know how many steps there are, but it is enough to make you gasp for air... Continue Reading →