Hola, mis amigos, here's another instalment of my Peruvian adventure in southern Peru. As I write this I am in La Paz, Bolivia, and the headache I have is directly due to the altitude. When in doubt, blame it on the altitude! It was amazing to arrive in the afternoon yesterday and see the city spread before us in to the crater in which it has grown. So many buildings and so packed in, the mountain of Illimani towering beyond the rim and the slowing more narrow and car clogged streets as we descended into to the melee. Today has been most relaxing, with five letters at the poste restante (muchos graçias Robyn & Peter, Jan, Anne and John Dillon, Mum and Dad), money changed, the new Harry Potter movie to look forward to and lots of interesting things in the streets to see and potentially buy. After this we head to Potosi and the silver mine, to Sucre and its colonial splendour, and then across the salt and mud flats of the Atacama before crossing into Chile for Christmas in San Pedro de Atacama.

So, between Lima and now, we have been travelling pretty well. South of Lima we visited the area near Paracas called the Ballestras Islands (or ´Poor man's Galapagos´). Lots of sea lions, gannets, guanu, and cormorants. There were a few penguins, and a carving into the coast line that has the same time date as the Nazca lines that was very impressive. A good mornings´ outing! Next we camped for a couple of nights near some Inca ruins in Puerta Inca, the original port for Cusco. It is hundreds of miles from the Inca capital and had the most consistently strong pounding waves that I have ever heard. There I felt the earth move…yes, it was an earthquake, about 4 on the Richter scale (as we found out the next day) and the cause of the landslide that delayed our departure by a few hours. Quite exciting really but nice to know that no-one was hurt.

On to Arequipa and the colonial beauty that is being preserved there, along with the mummies found on the peaks of surrounding mountains that date from Inca times and show researchers more about the Inca´s, their life, religion and death. ´Juanita´ is the most famous mummy and it was quite macabre to stand and look at this young girl who died so long ago and which the frozen mountain top has preserved so well. The Santa Catalina Convent was another highlight. I simply could not stop taking photos as around every corner was another lovely vista. It is still a working convent for the enclosed order that has been there since the 1600s. From Arequipa, we crossed the pampas to get to Colca canyon, passing llama, alpaca and vicuña camelids on the way. After a night camped on the rim of the canyon, we waited patiently for the condors to bless up with their presence. One eventually came in response to a badly played rendition of ´El Condor Pasa´, and we all have the photos to prove we have seen one. It was truly magnificent and worth the wait as the one condor that rose on the thermal currents was a real showman and he swooped and glided right at and around us before vanishing into the far blue yonder.

Cusco was the next city of note and there everyone took the chance to relax and roam. I had even more time than most as I had decided not to risk my ankle on the Camino Inca, in order to see Machu Picchu. So an extra couple of days in Cusco, and then the train to Aguas Calientes. Machu Picchu may be further enhanced by having hiked towards it for three days but I still thought that it was magic and did not want to leave even after eight hours. The trip back to Cusco was prolonged due to a landslide, but this was Peru so getting stressed about it was a little pointless. And yes, drinks at the CrossKeys were had! Puno was a bit of a non-event and the boat trip to see the Uros Islands a glorified shopping trip, but Lake Titicaca was in her best garb and looked beautiful. So, here I am in La Paz and have received another letter and am headed back to the hotel to relax after a heavy day shopping and sightseeing. We did not get to see Harry Potter yesterday as it was completely dubbed in Spanish. That‘s life!

Thanks Jacqui and keep us posted! If anyone would like to contact Jacqui, her e-mail is: jacquitrotter@yahoo.com

What have you seen on your travels? Drop a line to the Beetle! the Beetle