Day 14: Sucre to Potosi

Mood: Sleepy
Music: REM - Automatic for the People

After signing off last night I went to a bar for dinner and ended up there until the early hours chatting to the son of a Scottish member of the House of Lords. Obviously a little drinking may have taken place. Mostly pints of a local beer at about £1.50 a pint. Nice.

Today I woke up with a sore head and have remained in such a state all day. This morning I had a 2 and a half hour drive from Sucre to Potosi. The road takes you up through the high hills and along lovely winding riverbeds (mostly dry). The area is home to many snow covered peaks and Potosi itself is 4100m above sea level.

This afternoon I went for a meal with my guide (adding llama to the list of meats I've eaten) and then went to the Mint museum. Rolf is pictured looked at a set of coins from the 1800s. Sadly some of the other things we were going to be looking at were shut as it's a Saturday. Tomorrow I get to go see the mines before going onwards to the salt flats

That'll do for now :)

Day 13: To Sucre

Mood: Happy
Music: REM - Around the world

Well, that was a turn up for the books! After all I'd written about going to the football, the first thing that the Ozzy couple I was meeting said was "I don't supposed you fancy going to see a soccer game tonight?" The rest, as they say, was history.

It turns out that the Chilean away team were staying in the same hotel as the couple and they'd been talking with the team manager in the lobby earlier in the day. We ate quickly and headed up to the ground a good hour and a bit before kick off. Walking around we plumped with seats in the general seating area, costing a whopping £4 each (plus £1 for a Bolivar scarf and another quid for a drink, some crisps and some popcorn). The hard core fans were singing and bouncing away to our right from before we got into the ground, which was well over and hour before kick off. They kept it up through out the whole game and as the Bolivar players entered the pitch they started a massive firework display, all being let off from in the stands.

The game itself wasn't the best for the local fans as Espanola went 1-0 up with their first chance of the game. Despite having the lion share of the play, most of the Bolivar shots weren't on target and those that were were easily dealt with by the opposition keeper. They did hit the post a couple of times but to most of the Stadium's despair the game ended 1-0, with Bolivar not reaching the group stages of the South American competition.

We filed out with the rest of the crowd and went our separate ways back to our respective hotels. I did get another photo of Jumpy and Rolf together at the game. It'll appear somewhere before too long I'm sure.

Today I had a transfer to the airport for my short flight to Sucre. I'm staying in a colonial mansion just away from the main square. The room is lovely and the place itself is stunning. This afternoon I went on a short city tour, taking in a local museum, the original seat of government for Bolivia and a local convent, it is the roof of this from which many of today's photos are taken.

I'm now out to look for some food and also to locate the place my guide said would contain many of the English speaking tourists around these parts.

Until again.

Day 12: La Paz City

Mood: Relaxed
Music: Deadmau5 - For lack of a better name

Today started with a city tour of La Paz. This began with a stroll through the witch doctor area of the city, just along from my hotel. Here they sell herbs and sweets and representations of things that are meant to be burnt and the ashes scattered on fields for good luck and to ensure good crops etc.

We then drove down out of town to Moon Valley. This is a very weird area where the clay is washed away in odd patterns leaving stalagmite type formations. Rolf is pictured looking out over these. After that we went up to the main square where I saw from distance (over a small hoard of news cameras) the vice president give an interview from the president's office building. Next stop was the remaining pocket of colonial houses left in the city. Many of these were torn down during civil unrest over a century ago but a small number still remain.

Last stop on the city tour was a viewpoint overlooking the city. This was on the opposite side of the city from where I was able to take the photos yesterday.

Twice during the city tour I ran into Brett and Tracey Grant (the owners of Jumpy) next to whom I'd sat on the train from Cuco to Puno. I also saw them in passing yesterday as they were arriving on Sun Island as I was leaving. We have arranged to go for dinner this evening and I'll be leaving to meet up with them shortly.

In the afternoon I went for a walk up to the Hernando Siles football ground and had a look around. I was hoping they'd have stadium tours but I had no such luck. I sat around for a while watching the preparations being made for a Bolivar game at the ground this evening. Had I not already arranged dinner I would have been very tempted to buy myself a ticket to the game. I then slowly made my way back to the hotel weaving in and out of little side streets as I went.

This is where you now find me.

So long for now. 

Day 11: Sun Island to La Paz

Mood: Sleepy
Music: Various

Today was another early start, this time entirely of my own doing. Following my failure to capture a nice sunset from Sun Island over Lake Titcaca due to the rain clouds to the West, I decided I'd try to get a sun rise instead. Although I was woken several times during the night due to the awesomely heavy rain I still got up and out at just past 6am to attempt to see the sunrise. Sadly for me all I could see in that direction were the same group of rain clouds that had obscured the sunset and delivered such heavy rain overnight. I took a single photo in the low light and headed back to bed for a couple of hours.

After breakfast I walked up the hill a bit to one of the two internet cafes on the island (with 3 and 2 pcs respectively) in order to add yesterday's blog entry, only to find them both broken. Apparently the phone lines to the island weren't working that day so t'interweb was down too.

I spent the morning chatting to the other guests before being ushered down the hill, past the fountain of eternal youth, to the restaurant for lunch. After this we got back onto the hydrofoil and were met by a bus on the south edge of the main lake. This took us to another hotel on the south of the little lake where we saw a small museum of local culture and history. There was also a exhibition of the reed boats built in order to cross the ocean, including a scale replica (albeit 2m shorter) of the one that crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Rolf is pictured in a little one of these reed boats.

We then proceeded through El Alto to the city of La Paz itself. The photos on picasa show the view of La Paz as you enter it. The whole city is in a large geographical bowl.

This evening I went out of my hotel and managed to find myself a replacement lens cap for the one I lost on the train. After that I walked across town in an attempt to find a restaurant that was recommended by the travel company I'm here with. I have to say, I'm liking it here already... A 3 course meal in a nice restaurant with a cocktail and a glass of wine, listening to piano music being played in front of me, came to a whopping £14. The currency seems to be a little weak at the moment!

Time for bed for me. Night all. 

Day 10: Puno to Sun Island (Lake Titicaca)

Mood: Rushed
Music: Various

This morning started with a bit of a shock as the alarm on my phone had failed to go off. I was woken by the phone ringing telling me that someone from the travel company was here to pick me up. I proceeded to rush around in a mad panic, thankfully I'd not unpacked too much and everything was quickly into bags and onto the bus.

We then travelled for a number of miles along the south side of the lake, stopping a couple of times in the small villages on the way to hear about the churches and some other historical buildings, until we reached the Bolivia border. Here we hopped off the bus, got our passports stamped on exiting Peru, walked over the Bolivia side, got out passports stamped and boarded another bus.

This took us down into the town of Copacabana where we visited the domed Basilica della Vergine di Copacabana. After wondering down through the streets from here we got on a hydrofoil and went to Sun Island via Moon Island on lake Titicaca. In the evening I climbed up to the highest point of the island but was let down in terms of a sunset by the rain clouds that were approaching from the west.

I'll leave this here for now. 

Day 9: Cusco to Puno

Mood: I'm over it
Music: Various

Last night saw me take Hilda out for one last meal to say thank you for her company and excellent guiding over the four days prior. I talked through all of the frustrations that I had with the tour during the day and she explained that some people want definitive answers to questions and not vague answers based on the best guesses of experts due to the lack of authoritative sources. She agreed with me that it probably would have been fine with it had it been my introduction to Inca culture and not following 4 days of conversation about the topic. She also asked what I thought of some features inside the Temple of the Sun and at that point I realised I'd not actually been inside. Our guide missed it as he was running late after having to go off to sort whatever it was out. I did ask him about the entrance to it but remember being told we can see it from the outside! That irked me a little more but it's over and done now.

Today started with a 7:30am transfer to the train station where I boarded the train to Puno. My seat was a rather nice comfortable arm chair that was so wide that the rows in the carriage were only 3 chairs wide with a path between the 2nd and 3rd. I had breakfast and got chatting to the Australian couple who were sat to my right. They were great company for the whole journey and I chatted to the for most of the rest of the day and went for dinner with them this evening.

For large periods Tracey and I were stood on the open back of the train, as shown by Rolf (with his new friend Jumpy), taking photos of the people waving at the train passing or just working their fields or animals along the track. This was some form of drive by photography of the Peruvians in national dress that prevented them from demanding money for having their photo taken (which is one of the reasons that only two photos of people had appeared on Picasa to date).

I did succumb to my first loss of the trip during this as I knocked my lens cap while removing it to see it bounce off the track a few meters behind the train. I've a feeling this might be quite hard to replace for a few days but I've asked Audley if they can get in touch with the hotel I'm staying in in La Paz to get them to track one down for me. I'll let you know how that goes!

The train journey was a little slow wobbly and I've managed to gain a pair of sea legs. These might come in handy tomorrow on the crossing of Lake Titicaca to Sun Island. Other than that it was a very nice ride through gorgeous scenery all the way to Puno. The time seemed to fly past, but I guess that the breakfast I had, the 3 course lunch and then the afternoon tea that they served might have eaten up more time that an aircraft meal would have done.

Time for bed for me. Night all.

Day 8: Cusco

Mood: Frustrated
Music: Air - Moon Safari

After last night's fun and games, today was to be the rest and recuperation day. I had nothing planning until my half day city tour began at almost 2pm and as such had planned to sleep in late and then have a late brunch while having a mosey around the centre of town. This plan was shot down in flames by the pneumatic drills from the building site next door to my hotel from 7am onwards. That and the paper thin curtains that seemed to amplify the light rather then keeping it out. The hotel also didn't have little bottle(s) of water in the bathroom, which is different to each of the other places I've stayed so far. Therefore tired, grumpy and a little hungover I was forced up and out to find some water to quench my thirst, and to brush my teeth with etc.

I made the quite touristy decision to go to the Irish bar for an all day breakfast (as I'd missed my inclusive breakfast due to not realising it finished at 9am and having to do some washing). A proper full Irish breakfast would have really hit the spot but I guess the ingredients are hard to come by in this part of the world. I did have to introduce the barman to orange juice and lemonade although being forced to use Sprite makes for a lesser drink in my opinion.

After eating and watching a bit of the premiere league games on the TV in the bar off the town square I headed back to my room to read a little and relax before the tour.

I have to say that, after 4 days of an interesting, informative and enthusiastic private guide (in the form of the wonderful Hilda Jimenez) today's tour itself fell rather flat. I was one of two people in the English language tour for whom English was their first language and as such there was much confusion over the course of the next several hours. The tour guide was on the phone for long periods of time at the start of the tour and at one point left us to our own devices for 10 minutes or so to go and sort something out.

The main City Cathedral was very impressive. Apparently it's the second largest in the whole of the Americas. Mostly, I feel, as an attempt to impress and convert the native population. Cusco was the former capital of the (surprisingly short lived) Incan empire. No photography is allowed inside following the looting of the church some 15 years ago.

We then walked down to the site of the Temple of the Sun. The Spanish build a church over the main temple itself but several smaller temples have survived in the complex. The main temple is clearly visible as the foundations of the church built over it. Rolf is pictured as an Icon in the Temple of the Stars.

After this we boarded a bus to briefly visit a number of archaeological sites on the outskirts of the city. The first of which was the massive site of Saqsaywaman. Sadly this was mostly used as the building material for the Spanish when building their churches in the city. The group was briefly walked past the site and then ushered back onto the bus without being able to see the full extent of it.

Next stop consisted of a brief walk to an Incan water temple and then to a site used in the preparation and mummification of the Incan dead. The tour concluded by being bussed to some shops before being attempted to be sold a DVD of tourist information of the region.

Hopefully I don't sound overly impressed. If so, that was what I was trying to convey. Maybe dinner and a good night sleep will leave me more cheery tomorrow.

Until again. 

Day 7: Machu Picchu, the mountain

Mood: Jublient
Music: Watercolour - Pendulum

Today was another early start, having to be at the bus station by 6:30am in order to catch the bus up to the top of the hill. I met Hilda there and we set of for the peak. The only real thing I recall about that time in the morning was of the sound of over the back of the hotel, As it had been raining all night, the stream diverting water around the hotel was roaring as was the rain as it hit the lush vegetation outside the window.

Once inside the site grounds we were passed by a couple of trekking group coming down onto the site. They were unable to see the site anything other than about 50m in front of themselves as the clouds were sat over the site itself. Personally I would find it heart breaking after 4 days of walking/climbing to get the iconic view as you pass the sun gate, only to see white as you enter the site itself.

This was the reason I was advised not to do the Inca trail itself but to do some trekking in the south of Chile where the weather will be better.

At each point leading away from the main site there is a sign in/out book. This only showed a Japanese couple ten minute ahead of us on the path. At this point it was still raining lightly (although I tried to convince Hilda that this was all actually in her head). It was the kind of rain that will soak you fairly fast if you aren't wearing the right clothes but it was in no way the kind of aggressive tropical rain I'd been expecting (and almost looking forward to seeing).

The path itself was laid by the Incas and climbs from 2400m to 3100m up above the ruins. The whole way up we saw slight breaks in the cloud at points but these were mostly replaced by a complete white out in a few seconds. The natural viewpoints were mainly used a water stops on the way up as a few tens of meters of cloud forest was all you could see. I have various photos of orchids on the way up posted in the same picasa folder as yesterday. At the top we met the other pair that were ahead of us and were soon joined by another pair of Japanese tourists.

For nearly and hour we sat expectantly at the top of the mountain waiting for the cloud to clear enough to let us see down over the site.The valleys on either side were clear but a quite persistent cloud sat right in the middle for a frustratingly long time after giving us slight glimpses of the site. Rolf is picture getting one of these glimpses. Eventually the clouds cleared and we got the view we were after (shown below). The rest of the day was pretty much spent traveling back to Cusco. In the evening Hilda, myself and the two Ozzies went out to a modern restaurant that she recommended. For the second time in the country I had Alpaca steak, but this was a much nicer and thicker cut of meat. Following a hat full of cocktails (with even the Ozzies switching away from their lagers) we called it a night. Hopefully, as previously mentioned, I'm going to meet up with them in Sydney for a half day before I head for Singapore.

As it's early doors the morning after I'll sign off here. I apologise to anyone who saw the first post of this. I was drunk and rather tired and it ended on very much a head - keyboard moment after I lost the first draft of the post after clicking on the photo.

Day 6: Machu Picchu

Mood: Awestruck
Music: Idlewild

As I left off last night I was sat in the bar with  couple of Ozzies chatting about how our days had been. This conversation drifted onwards over several rounds of beers and pisco sours and some wine until it was too late to go out and get any dinner and the bar itself had shut... They are a couple of really nice guys and have offered to take me water skiing when I'm in Sydney next month!

Today itself started early as my innate ability to wake up at 8am sharp when hungover was carried through to this time zone with me being wide awake at 3am! I tried to get back to sleep after that but manage little more than a doze until I had to be up not long after 6am.

At half past 7 Hilda (my local guide) and I boarded the train to the town below Machu Picchu. The train follows the path of the Urubamba river the whole journey. The river at this time of year (rainy season) is swollen and rushing, wild and violent rapids are visible the whole way. After a while the dry farmland gave way to lush cloud forest stretching far into the cloud kissed mountain that define the path of the river.

The sharp mountain rise high and sharply around us as the valley turns to gorge. Plants cling to the sheer rock faces in all kinds of shapes and sizes. As you might be able to tell, this is the first time I've seen such things as jungle with my own eyes.

On arrival we departed the train and boarded a bus up to the former mountain top village of Machu Picchu. The bus takes many turns back on itself before you are let off to climb the last few meters yourself. By climbing up the hill from here we aquainted ourselves with the view that the trekkers get when entering the site via the sun gate. It is from near here that the classic photo is to be found over the site.

Taking this photo would prove to be more of a challenge than one might expect as keeping tourists out of it as much as possible is really rather challenging at times. The site itself is quite simple breath taking. I was simply dumbstruck, not only by the beauty of the site itself but also of the mountains surrounding it. Hopefully the photos on picasa accurately reflect this.

Following my enlighting tour of the site we came back down the mountain by bus to stop in town for lunch. After that we went to have a look at the gardens of the sister hotel to that I'm staying in. There I took many photos of orchids in their extensive and rather impressive gardens and also spent a long while trying to take photos of hummingbirds feeding in the feeders that have set up. Sadly some species of hummingbird are very agressive and they kept attacking any others each time they came near.

After that I met up again for diner with the Ozzies from last night and had dinner and some more drinks with them and Hilda. We've also arranged to go for a meal in Cusco tomorrow evening which should be good as they make for great company.

My battery is about to die again and I won't see my charger until my afternoon tomorrow so I''ll sign off here!

Day 5: Ollantaytambo

Mood: Glowing (mostly due to sunburn)
Music: Eric Mongrain

Today I went to see the Inca ruins over the village that I'm staying in. The site is very impressive and the weather was quite spectacular. Lovely clear skys. So much for rainy season (I'll just hopes that holds out for the next couple of days in Machu Picchu!) .

The Inca temples have amazing stonework in them, the blocks of stone are cut in almost a 3D jigsaw to ensure that they all interlock correctly. The reason they still exist in such a state is that the were built to withstand the fairly regular seismic activity where as the Spanish colonial buildings were not and so have collapsed over the years. The site itself was never completed as the Spanish got to the empire before they could do so.

In the afternoon we went to the ruins up the other side of the valley. These were store houses and other buildings. It was quite a high climb but gave a great view out over the valley and the famous ruins opposite, as shown by Rolf!

I managed to get a little sun burnt even though I was applying suncream regularly. I'll have to do better if the weather stays like this.

I'll sign off now before the battery runs out. Take care all. Machu Picchu tomorrow!

Day 4: In the steps of the Incas

Mood: Cheery
Music: 100 Chill Out Tunes - various

Today saw another early start, not too bad as I was very early to bed. I had to be out of the hotel by 5:30am to head to the airport for my next onward flight. The destination was Cuzco where I was met by the rep from the local travel company and also the lady who will be my private guide for the next few days while I'm in the area.

On our way to the hotel today we stopped off at two sites of interest, the first was the Moray inca ruins. These were an agricultural site where it is suggested the incas bread and acclimatised planets to the altitude before sending their seeds out to the similarly high areas of the empire. The site is set in a natural bowl and the sides have been stepped in concentric circles. It's very impressive simply due to the scale of the site and the potential uses it may have had.

The second was the natural salt mine in Maras. These have been worked for several centuries and are now kept open mainly as a tourist attraction as salt can be produced my more cheaply elsewhere. The mines are fed by a warm spring which passes through a large underground salt deposit and it then channeled into all of the flat pits, over 3000 of them in total. Photos are on picasa.

Other than that, I went for a walk up the valley from here a couple of miles just to see what I could see. The answer was more mountain and more stepped valleys like the one Rolf is looking at in today's blog photo. It was nice to stretch my legs after a few days of relative inactivity.

Tomorrow sees me visiting the Inca ruins that sit above this town (Ollantaytambo) potentially by some more exploring of the local area.

Night all :)

Day 3: Uck!

Mood: Excited
Music: Mr Scruff - Big Chill

Today's post is going to be fairly brief as I've got to get this out before I go visit the museum that I couldn't see on Sunday as it was closed.

For the record I spent about 2 hours in a 38C thermal pool last night with just my head and hands poking above the surface so I could read my book as I watched the sun go down, changing the clouds above me from white to yellow to orange to pink. The restaurant was quite nice but I was pretty tired and had an early night. This might have been altitude related but I don't really know.

Today was an early start as I had a 5am wake up call. I had a taxi to take me to the local town square where the local children were doing some kind of traditional dance for the tourists.

We went onwards down the Colca valley past large areas of stepped farmland to the condor cross. We were warned that we might not see anything as the wind was very slight and the condors prefer slightly stronger winds so that they don't need to flap their wings at all.

In the 90 minutes we had looking out for them about 5 came into view for varying lengths of time and not long before we left one came in on a flat glide straight past us. I have a couple of photos here of said bird.

For most of you, who don't get the reference to the blog title... "Uck!" was my sister's first word and was generally used (apparently) to signify any kind of bird, not just ducks.

The rest of the day was spend trecking back to Arequipa. Tomorrow I fly on to Cuzco. I best get to the museum then!

Day 2: To the Colca Valley

Mood: Odd (due to altitude)
Music: Various

Well... I've not done a great deal today other than sit on a bus, more about that later.

After I stopped writing last night I went out to find something to eat. As it was a Sunday, most places that were recommended in the Lonely Planet guide were shut so I plumped with a bar near the town square. I tried two of the local dishes for starter and main, the first is a stuffed pepper, but instead of being a bell pepper this was a spicy pepper, akin to a jalapeno. For main I went with the Guinea Pig marinated in chili and peanut. There was less meat than I was expecting and it was a massive fight to get it off the bone. Those who know me well, know that I'm not a fan of chicken on the bone but hey... when in Rome!

I the proceeded to drink at the bar and chat to the barman for a few hours with the beers slipped down. So much so that when I got back to the hotel it was locked up for the night. I had a couple of seconds of panic and then remembered that the phone number for it was in my phone on the kindle app. A brief phone call later and then some wrapping at the door when the phone was answered got the message across and I was let in to sleep.

This morning I was picked up from my hotel in a mini bus that went around various hotels and hostels in Arequipa picking up 10 or 15 others heading out this way. The road over to where I am now took me to the highest point I've ever been on land (GPS tracker has it at 4939m) and as such we had a stop off to buy coca plant sweets and a bit later to have a mug of coca tea. These are both supposed to ward off the effects of altitude sickness. I have to say that I'm feeling a bit light headed at the moment. Not as much as when you stand up quickly and go dizzy, just the whole time a lesser amount than that.

On the way we passed through a national park and saw llamas, alpacas and vicuna. The latter are like a cross between a deer and a llama. The lope in a very awkward manner. Apparently their fleece makes the softest wool going. The tat bazaars all seem to be pushing the same stuff (hats, ponchos, socks and the like) and the locals seem to be quite good at pressing this on people. I've avoided purchasing anything like that so far. Mostly because I have no space in my luggage to put it.

Lunch today was a buffet of various things, seemly mostly potato based. I did have a couple of pieces of alpaca steak though and that was very nice. I'll chalk that up on the "odd meats that I've eaten" board.

I then got a transfer over to my hotel. The place is set in the Colca canyon itself, has a spa and it's own thermal pools from hot springs. I think I'll go for a dip in one of the 40C pools in a bit, there's a bar there so I think a nice cold beer in the pool, maybe read a bit too to pass the time.

It's a tough life hey! Ta ta for now.

Day 1: Arequipa

Mood: Chilled
Music: Sigur Ross - Takk

The intrepid explorers plunged further into Peru today. Onwards to the country's second city of Arequipa. I think I'm going to have to learn to pack all of my cables and chargers away faster as it seemed to take ages this morning to get everything packed. I think the couple of pisco sours at the bar last night might have had something to do with the slow start however. The airport was a bit chaotic but I managed to make it to the gate in time to get onto the plane.

I do have to say that it's very nice to be met by a English speaking person at each airport and have a private transfer to the hotel. I looked at the 'buses' we passed on our way in, Transit van sized things with about 30 people crammed in standing and sitting in the back and was very glad to have a minibus to myself!

This afternoon saw me tour the Sanata Catalina Monastery which was quite simply stunning in the bright summer daylight. The photos are on picasa here.

I was supposed to be going into several other churches and buildings but as it is Sunday here most things are shut. The hotel is lovely, nice tucked away couryards with rooms leading off them. I'm currently sat in the garden area shown in the photo below. I'll sign off here before I start to ramble. :)

Day 0: Departure and the Pacific

Mood: Sleepy

Music: Various (moment of the day was watching the sun rise listening to Travelling On by Beber and Temara)

Well... I'm in Lima! I've seen the Pacific Ocean! I've been on a long haul flight! I've crossed the equator! I've left Europe!

I'm not quite sure which of these is more special to me at the moment as I'm sat at a bar sipping a free cocktail having been awake for almost 24 hours. 

I'd like to apologise to Phil for letting him down at the first hurdle. My planned photo for each pre-flight beer was shot down at the first hurdle as there is nowhere to buy beer in Terminal 3 at Heathrow prior to 6am and we were boarding at quarter to. I also then proceeded to fail at flight two as Madrid would sell me wine but I couldn't find beer for love nor money.

The day started quite oddly as I had another couple travelling with Audley stood in the check in queue in front of me. They were on their way to Costa Rica and also had to go from Madrid. The first flight was quiet and most people slept/snored the whole way. 

The change at Madrid was fairly painless although it did take an hour to board the plane for no apparent reason. I'd like to thank the Italian guy in the seat next to me for looking as equally confused as me when the Iberia airlines stewardess started saying in Spanish that our luggage should be in the overhead lockers that they'd just closed. He was on his way to Peru to meet a friend he'd kept in touch with when he first went to Peru 20 years ago and was quite nice to natter to in between films.

I'll keep this post brief and end with a pic of the sun setting over the pacific on our approach into the airport in Lima...

Day -1: The last supper

Today started with a much needed lie in I'm pretty certain that I'm not going to get one of those for a while so I made the most of it.

I also dropped into my old barbers in Windsor for a haircut and was recognised by the guy who, up until 13 years ago cut my hair. The oddest thing was that he didn't look a day older than he did when left school.

Tonight I get one last meal with my folks before they take me to the airport at stupid o' clock tomorrow. The flight is at 6:20am so I'll be at the airport just after 4am.

I've also decided that, since this blog is dedicated to Rolf (and those who have been by him over the years), I will attempt to include him in the daily blog photo. This means he's now taken residence in what little space was left in my hand luggage.

I don't know if I'll be able to post daily while I'm away but I will still attempt to write something and post in clumps. We'll have to wait and see. Normal photos will go to my picasa pages when I get that far.

That'll do for now :)

Day -2: Visa Granted

Mood: Relieved
Music: Trip Doubt mix tape & Pendulum

Well... All the packing is done and I've left the Midlands for a while. The Chinese visa was granted and I've got my passport back!

Day -3: Packing

Well... I've now set up a blog so I might as well post something.

Today has been most spent packing my clothes and re-packing my camera bag (to make space for my new 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM L lens).

I'm sure I had less stuff than this when I did the practice pack a couple of months ago. I guess I didn't pack a pile of books and the like then too though.

That's it for post number 1!