Monday 6th of June 6am we boarded the train to Agua Calientes , the gateway to Machu Picchu. There are no roads , so you have to arrive by train or on foot. The Inca Trail ( or trial ) is a 4-day hike & the way many choose to appreciate Machu Picchu but as it was fully-booked for 3 months we decided to do it the lazy way !

4 hours on the train & then we were herded onto buses for the steep climb to Machu Picchu. This is the most touristy thing we have done in 7 months but even the crowds could not detract from the amazing sight of this lost city of the Incas. It was a beautiful hot sunny day & we spent about 4 hours climbing & exploring this large , impressive , ancient site. The views were incredible , including the classic picture-postcard shot over Machu Picchu with the sacred mountain , Huaynu Picchu , behind. We saw where the Incas had lived , farmed , worked & worshipped over 400 years ago; their temples , ceremonial baths , etc, all with wonderful stonework still intact.

Much of the intrigue of Machu Picchu centres on the fact that no one really knows why it was built or why it was deserted. The Spanish never found it & it lay undiscovered until 1911. It is a fascinating , mysterious place.

Back to Cusco. It was a long day ,but well worth it.

The next day we travelled through the Sacred Valley of the Incas , visiting Pisac , Ollontaytambo & Chichero. A wealth of Inca ruins.

At Pisac there were impressive ruins set high on the mountainside overlooking the Sacred Valley. Many well-preserved temples, ceremonial baths & defence structures still exist. We loved Ollontaytombo with its massive Inca fortress & its hundreds of huge stone steps & terraces climbing up the mountains. As with Machu Picchu it is unknown how the Incas managed to transport & maneouvre the huge blocks to these sites. Before the invention of the wheel. Chinchero is an Andean village built on Incan foundations.

Next day we took a taxi to Sacsayhuaman ( pronounced sexy woman ) & found some horses to take us from that site to 4 others , Qenko , Templo de la Luna , Puca Pucara & Tambo Machay . It was a memorable day , an excellent way to visit the sites . We dismounted at each site & wandered round to investigate & the ride itself took us through some wonderful mountain scenery. Sacsayhuaman was very special , vast & with amazingly intricate stonework.

We ( sadly ) left Cusco the next day & travelled by bus to Arequipa , a beautiful city surrounded by active volcanoes & the worlds 2 deepest canyons , Cotahausi Canyon , 3354m ,& Colca Canyon , 3191m.

Whilst in Arequipa , we visited the Monastery of Santa Catalina , which is a convent occupying 20000sq m . A city within a city. It was built in 1580 & used to house 450 people ( 150 nuns & their servants ) The nuns all came from rich Spanish families & had to pay a dowry to join. They partied & generally lived in the way in which they had been accustomed until1871 when the Pope ordered that things should change. The convent was opened to the public in 1970 & there are now only about 20 nuns living a cloistered life in one corner of the complex. A n interesting place , with high walls surrounding it.

Still in Arequipa , we visited the Museo Santuario Andinos , which houses the frozen body of Juanita , the Incan girl sacrificed to the gods over 500 years ago on the summit of Mt. Ampato.Her body was discovered in 1995. She was thought to be about 13 years old. Her body having been shrouded in ice at 6300m , is wonderfully preserved , flesh & internal organs still intact. More than 20 other child sacrifices have been discovered at the top of various Andean mountains. Fascinating. It was weird to stand next to the body of someone who had been alive over 500 years ago.

On Saturday we travelled to Chivay , in the Colca Canyon , so that by getting up at 5am Sunday morning we might glimpse some of the 70+ condors which nest in the upper reaches of the Canyon. Well we did more than glimpse them. I think we must have seen all 70 , soaring & swooping right in front of our eyes. They put on a brilliant display for us ! We had previously seen quite a few condors in Patagonia , but always overhead , just black dots, giving no idea of their vast 3m wing-span. These ones were so close you could see their feet, eyes & beaks & clearly see the beautiful markings on their wings. A real treat !

From Arequipa we travelled on to Nazca , as we wanted to see the mysterious Nazca Lines. These are lines & shapes made in the desert surface covering an area of 500 sq km. Over 800 lines, 500 figures & 70 animal & plant drawings , so large that they can only be identified from the air . There is a 90m long monkey & a condor with a 130m wingspan. Nobody really knows who constructed them or why , although there have been many theories , including Von Daniken's ¨Was God an Astronaut ?¨

We booked a flight in a light aircraft the next morning. I spotted the first 2 or 3 & then completely lost interest as nausea swept over me & I was promptly sick !Ady thoroughly enjoyed the trip though & the shapes are very clear & real & convincing .

That same afternoon , we went to look at a Nazca cemetery. There were dozens of complete mummies sat out in the open or in shallow pits , surrounded by hundreds of skulls , bones & pottery. Pieces of human bone & hair are scattered all over the site. All the mummies we saw had been found on the surface of the site , abandoned by the grave-robbers .They are thought to be 1300-1500 years old. Apparently there are more similar sites , nearby. It is so dry here that nothing ever decays.

From Nazca we travelled to Lima & the same day caught a bus to Trujillo. Whilst at breakfast yesterday morning our camera was stolen from a bag in our hotel room. The second camera to be taken in less than 4 weeks.We can't believe we have lost all our photos from Peru, from everywhere I have just written about.
We were more suspicious of hotel rooms when we started travelling but had become more complacent. They had started to feel like safe havens. Obviously not so. The hotel has offered us 3 nights free accomodation. Good of them but it does not compensate for our loss.