Peru

Floating islands
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We crossed the border to Puno in Peru, a town on the edge of Lake Titicaca. We went on a tour to see the Uros - a group of artificial islands made of reeds. We got off to have a closer look at one of the islands, where we were met by the island leader. He explained to us that ten families lived on that particular island, in homes also made of reeds. Once an island is created, it lasts about 100 years. Fishing used to be the main source of income for the people on these islands, but now tourism is their main source of income. There are schools on a few of the islands, which cater for children on all of the islands. In total, there are 42 islands with a few hundred people living on them.

Cusco and Machu Picchu
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When we arrived in Cusco we weren't affected by the altitude sickness that a lot of people suffer from as we had become accustomed to the height in La Paz
As Fionn had been to Machu Picchu before we decided to go our separate ways for a few days - so Fionn got stuck into the computer to do some work and I hit for the hills to go on the Inca jungle trail. There were about ten people in my group, mostly Spanish and French speaking. Day one consisted of some downhill biking...the best kind of biking in my opinion! Day two was a toughie, hiking and climbing - very difficult but very rewarding when we reached the hot springs at the end. Day three we enjoyed some zip lining in the morning - I would really recommend this to adrenaline junkies, it was brilliant. In the afternoon we did some more hiking. Day four was amazing - we reached Machu Picchu. I can't describe the feeling you get when you walk around such an amazing place - hopefully the pictures will do it some justice.

Huanchaco
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We both felt like we had spent enough time in the cool air of the high altitude so we headed down from the Andes to the Peruvian coast! Huanchaco is a beach town about eight hours from the city of Lima. It was quite busy in Huanchaco as there was a surfing competition taking place. We rented chairs and an umbrella and sat on the beach for a few days.

Mancora
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We wanted to make our way as close to the Ecuadorian border as possible but having not received our complete fix of the beach air we stopped off in Mancora for a few days. Mancora is about 8 hours north of Huanchaco, and was more developed although it only had umbrellas on the beach - no chairs. The water was fantastic, nice and clean with great waves!