Hangovers at the Ballestas.

Despite most of us feeling a bit delicate from the night before we took a boat trip around the Ballestas Islands at Paracas. The wildlife was stunning as the islands were completely covered in all types of birds, including penguins and Zaks' favourite the Peruvian boobies! There were also some pods of sea lions too.

Adventures in Huacachina.

Today was such a fun day! First we went for a drive in the dune buggy, followed by sand-boarding, then we watched the sunset before setting up camp in the middle of the desert. Here we cooked up a massive bbq and drank as much pisco sour until it ran out. Needless to say we were all shit-faced and it was awesome.

Nazca Lines.

The Nazca lines are enormous designs inscribed in the desert by the natives around 700AD. The best way to see them is from the sky so we took a small plane flight. The flight itself was a bit of a rollercoaster and the old man sitting in front of us had to use his sickbag! By the time we got back we were all a bit queazy.

Chauchilla Indian Cemetery.

En route we stopped off at the Chauchilla Indian Cemetery where we saw tombs of the Nazca civilisation that were dug into the ground. Some of the tombs date back to 700AD but because of the dry desert air everything has been preserved really well. It was a very interesting but creepy place to visit.

Colca Canyon.

Today we got up early to go to the Colca Canyon. It is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and if you go there at the right time and are lucky enough then you get to see the giant condors glide through it .... and for once we were! The picture doesn't do it any justice but the buggers just wouldn't sit still for us!

Mi casa su casa.

We went to visit the Inca ruins at Raqchi and stay with a local family for the evening. First we had a traditional lunch, took a walk around the ruins, watched how the locals make their famous pottery and then got dressed up in traditional costume and took part in a native ritual. (we also looked ridiculous!)

Trek. Day 5. Machu Picchu.

After flooding tents, snow storms and mudslides we finally made it to Machu Picchu .... alive! The weather was still really bad which was a bit disappointing but the place itself was still amazing. Our guide took us on a full tour around the ruins and then we took a walk to the Inca Bridge before getting the train back.