Head in the clouds

Hello there addicted bloggers!

After honing our trekking skills climbing the Colca Canyon, we embarked on our biggest adventure to date… a 5 day trek (http://www.unitedmice.com/en/tour12.html) to the famous Incan Ruins of Macchu Picchu.

We spent 3 days in the city of Cuzco, whilst Lawra overcame a severe case of altitude sickness (I know I’m such a wimp!!), not helped by several dorm-mates stumbling home from all night raves and proceeding to noisily massage all the plastic bags in Western Europe at 6am. However, after some interrupted rest, and buying the entire Peruvian supply of Oreo cookies, we were ready for our 4am departure for the trek.

The trek is apparently the hardest to Macchu Picchu, taking it´s participants to a finger-freezing 4,550m above sea level (which for all you boffins is roughly half the average cruise altitude of trans-Atlantic flights) passing the snow topped and glacier covered Salkantay mountain and through the humid and apparently bear inhabited jungle on the traditional Inca Trail.

Only much coca leaf tea – a local mild stimulant and natural remedy for altitude sickness (and which, Tariq, doesn´t have the hardcore effect originally anticipated) – and Oreo cookies saw us through the trek, and after overcoming my crippling vertigo, we were able to appreciate the amazing scenery that we passed on the way.

WE MADE IT!

On the final day, we were rudely woken at 3.45am to start the 1.5 hour ascent to the ruins themselves. However, when we got there the views were incredible…

We´re not Photoshopped on, I promise!

We´re off to Lake Titicaca (hee hee) tonight and will probably be out of contact whilst we find our feet in Bolivia… a country prone to randomly closing borders and shutting off bus routes.

Please send us all the gossip and scandal that we´re missing back home.

Love, Lawra & Bendy xxx

2nd is the 1st loser

Hello avid readers! I hope this post finds everyone well.

I am writing to tell you about our first trek in the Colca Canyon. It is the 2nd deepest Canyon in the world (only by 25m though!) at nearly 3,500m above sea level, which is over twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the US. The views were absolutely mind blowing, which successfully distracted me from the certain death drops either side of our path.

We took a 2 day trek which took us down to the bottom of the Canyon to stay in a local village, and a cardiac wrecking 1,000 meter ascent the following day in the blistering sun. Fortunately for us, there was an Oasis at the bottom of the Canyon where we could rest our weary limbs and grab a bite to eat. It was a bit mental that a place this beautiful could exist at the bottom of such a baron landscape.

Special mention goes out to Andy Howarth, who not only taught me how to be a tenacious bastard during the Death Runs on Canine Island, but who also bought me a hiking vest so sophisticated, it turned my sweat into Playstation 3 games. Well done.

We are now in Cusco in desperate need of some rest before our ascent to the Incan ruins of Macchu Picchu. I will send more coherent updates in the next few days once I’ve had more than 2 hours consecutive sleep due to 5am treks and over night bus rides driven by Lewis Hamilton on speed.

Please keep me updated with all of your news!

Take care

Bendy x

Fanny but no Boobies

Firstly… Happy Birthday Laura!! She turned 39 last Saturday, 4 days into our adventure. Well, OK, she´s only 26, and still even looks 16!!

After a few uneventful days settling into Lima – visiting some museums and old Inca ruins – both Laura and I travelled to Pisco wanting to see some Boobies. We even paid to see the Boobies…!! But unfortunately, chance was not on our side. Hang on, wait a minute, not breasts you dirty reader… Peruvian Boobies, the indigenous South American seabird:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_Booby

Unfortunately, our trip to the Ballestas Islands was cancelled due to poor shipping reports, but the tour of the Paracas national park more than made up for it with some amazing scenery, captured excellently with Laura´s new camera.

Sadly, Pisco, the village we stayed in during our visit, had been hit by an earthquake in August last year. Many people perished in the quake and resulting ttsunami, and it made both of us very humble with the optimism that the locals dealt with coming to terms with the disaster and rebuilding their town.

Up to the preset day then… we are now in Arequipa – in the shadow of the great dormant Volcano El Misti – getting some well deserved rest after some hardcore and bonkers night bus driving through the Colca Canyon before we depart on our first proper trek into the Canyon itself.

And as for the Fanny, it´s the best jam I´ve ever tasted!!

Benavides x