Our pickup time was between 5:30 and 6, so based on prior experience, we made sure to be ready for 5:30. As with most hotels in Cusco, they offer b…

The day before the Inka Trail. Nerves and last minute stuff. Also, we had to fit in the Germany v Poland world cup match for obvious reasons. …

Cucso, or to use the original Quechua, Qosq’o, translates to “the navel of the world” which is how the Inkas viewed the place. It is an impre…

There are a few options in getting from Puno to Cusco. You can either take the train (which is apparently not always reliable) or you can take the …

Breakfast was a type of fried home made bread (sort of like vetkoek for the South Africans) which we had with jam and mate.   The previous …

Another nice early start to get the pickup to go to the harbour. As always, it seems, we were first to be picked up (this may have something to do …

To get to Puno from Arequipa we used a different bus company this time, Cruz del Sur (Southern Cross). All others in Peru had been done using Ormen…

Another early-ish start set us on the path to Cruz del Condor (condor cross) to see some live condor action. They nest in the area as the cliff are…

Luckily we managed to negotiate a little bit of a later start and after breakfast we headed on for some more uphill. We climbed up through a couple…

Our start was a little earlier than expected. We were told we would be picked up at 5:50, but the guy actually arrived at 5:30. A few minutes of pa…

Today was the day to plan a bit of pain for ourselves. Trekking in Colca Canyon. We chatted to a couple of agencies and settled for one of the more…

We arrived mid morning and went for a bit of a walk around town. Arequipa is one of the largest cities in Peru and is seriously beautiful. It is su…

We had a nice early 7am start to drive through to Nasca for our flight over the lines. A little bit of an unconventional approach – most people g…

Our Ica trip (as for most visitors) is for sand boarding. And so it was.   We had a nice little breakfast sitting under the trees in the ga…

Not a very exciting day, just driving through to Lima and finding our way to the bus. The road is pretty good – this is the same Panamerican high…

We had to get back to Lima to drop off the car and head on down to the Gringo trail (starting at Ica), but with 570km between us and Lima and the o…

Time for a bit of culture for us again today. All day on 2 guided tours of the temples of Chan Chan, Dragon and Sun and Moon.   We started i…

The north is not (as) often visited as the south of Peru. It is a pity as the scenery is really impressive and Trujillo and its neighbouring town o…

Based on yesterday, today should be fun. We were going to drive 360km to Trujillo (pronounced Troo-ghee-yo) of which, the first 80km is on a red ro…

After yesterday’s epic journey, we had a bit of a slow start, but eventually got up and made our way out of town. As Kat and I were both feeling …

It was an early start to get away from Santiago. Out flight was at 6:40 which meant getting up at about 3 to shower, pack and get to the airport. I…

The route north from Lima takes you through some completely surreal scenery. Firstly through an area of town where the “houses” are built on th…

This was the day to walk up the San Christobal hill, where the big status is. There is a cable car up one side and a funicular railway on the other…

Firstly a big Happy Birthday wish to my (Anthony) mom. Was great to chat, even if briefly. This was to be our day of seeing a bit of city life i…

On the recommendation of Marilu, our B&B host, we took the bus (a 326 or 327 takes you there) to the Pueblito Los Dominicos, which is a large craft…

We arrived at the central train station to a full military welcome including brass band, marching �" the full monty. We had managed to book a…

We left at a reasonable hour to get to Temuco, which was to be our next stop on the way to Santiago. Our plan was to have a look and see, based on …

For a little more relaxed day we decided on going to the volcanic caves at the foot of Mt Villarrica. We picked up a map at the tourist information…

A nice early start for the day as we had to be at the tour agency at 7, which allowed us to get our first glimpse of the volcano in the dark. It is…

Chileans seem to have a morbid fascination for driving without their lights on in really crappy conditions. This has now happened all over the plac…

A super-relaxing day, which was the point, was had by all. We started with breakfast (with the other 10 guests at the hotel) and then went to the s…

We left in the morning for a little adventure. The plan was to treat ourselves to a little thermal springs treatment in Puyehue (pronounced Peh-hoo…

A bit of a chill out day (in more than one way) around Castro. The weather has stayed. The odd patch of sun is peeking through though, which has …

We decided that enough was enough in Puerto Varas and headed off up the coast of the lake through the town of Llanquihue (same as the lake) to Frut…

One of the trips that John had suggested included a drive down to the south east, past Puerto Montt, down to one of the more wild areas. So off we …

First day in Puerto Varas had us continuing with our mild colds, so not much activity. Just a little bit of a look around “town”, a few cups of…

For our passage to Chile we decided on the Lakes Crossing route, which is pretty pricey, but we thought it would be more scenic than the bus. &nbs…

Cocodrilos restaurant is a good value spot on the main road which became our “local” while in Bariloche. The staff are friendly and helpful and…

Hotel Premier is located between 2 of the main roads in the centre of Bariloche. As such it is well situated for organising any activities, going o…

We spent the next day relaxing and wandering around San Martin de los Andes. It has much more of an Alpine ski village feel. They are much more org…

This was a day full of mystery and wonder. Firstly, it was a mystery why we though going into very small towns in the off season was a good idea, a…

The caves at Cerro Leone (Lion Hill) don’t appear in any guidebooks we have seen yet, but are worth a trip. They are about 30km north east from B…

Today we decided to go off the beaten track a bit (more) after a morning wake-up coffee in the one of the enormous chocolate shops. We wanted to go…

Even if you have seen other glaciers (like Upsala or Perito Moreno in El Calafate), the black glaciers at Mt Tronador will take your breath away. …

We decided to name our little car Koala Bear. For obvious reasons. For those who are short on logic, it is clearly because it is not Japanese and a…

From having gone to bed so early the previous day, we woke up early and decided to go and watch sunset over the lake. We were a little premature on…

Bariloche, or San Carlos de Bariloche to give its full name, and the surrounding areas are often referred to as Little Switzerland in guidebooks. I…

Once we arrived we caught a taxi into town to try and get a hire car and a place to stay. We quickly reassessed the reasonability of getting a hire…

The Tres Reyes (3 Kings) Hotel in Bariloche is well situated close to the centre of town (about 100m from the main road) and looks out onto Lake Na…

Strange that the bus from El Calafate to Bariloche (which is about 1300km due north) has to go 350km south east before going north up the coast. …

Comodoro (in its shortened form) turned out to be pretty good. The place is quite big and clean. Kat and I, together with David (the Irish guy) lef…

There are a number of trips from El Calafate to the Upsala Glacier (which is the other main glacier after Perito Moreno). The majority of the trips…

The day started early with a 6:45 pick-up from Casa de Grillos. We told Alejandro that we did not need breakfast and that we would be out early, bu…

This was THE DAY to try to organize our trip to Bariloche. There are several options available: ·        Rent …

Mini Trekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier is a must do activity in El Calafate. It is a full day trip. You are collected from your hotel at ab…

So on to our first real adventure of the trip • Mini Trekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier.   We managed to get up at a reasonable hou…

I would classify El Calafate as “interesting”. The town has a wild west frontier town feel, which is quite edgy and has its own charm. If it wa…

The descent in the plane (after about 3 hours flight) into El Calafate is impressive. Mountains, winding rivers, yellow and brown landscape. You ca…

This charming B&B is owned and run by a retired couple, Alejandro and Marta. The place has 4 comfortable rooms which are each decorated individuall…

Walking out of the airport was a pleasure. 18 degrees at 10am and 75 percent humidity. Off with the jerseys and jackets which we had been wearing t…

In true Anthony & Kat style we left a lot of things to the very last minute. Our furniture move was arranged a week before leaving. Travel insu…