Little Dune Buggy

Am I in the Sahara desert or Peru?

Made up of three seperate environments - the coastal, tropical desert, the Andes and the rainforest (on the other side of the mountains) Peru is diverse and interesting.

Over the past few days I've travelled from modern city (Lima) to desert town (Pisco) taking in a pisco distillary (friends might be lucky....I bought the magic potion needed to make the famous pisco sour at home) and desert like sand dunes on which I bounced in a dune buggy - flying down the hills with sand in my hair and taking in the oasis in the middle which, if I were in a movie, thirsty and desperate, i would have been delighted to see - in real life it was slimy and dirty.

Now I am in Nazca - famous for the Nazca lines etched into the earth by ancient civilizations. The best way to see the lines is by a small plane - but I'm giving it a miss thanks to stern warnings by the Australian government suggesting that, due to several fatal crashes in recent years including one in October 2010, i may not survive the experience. With life intact I will be content to visit the planaterium tonight and have the lines explained before catching an overnight bus further south to the next adventure.

I'm getting closer and closer to cuzco and the inca trail and i'm getting nervous. I have a cold that I hope will not encourage the worrying altitude sickness i'm warned to expect from tomorrow morning when we reach the hights of the Andes, and my legs are already nervous about the hike up the trail. But I must do it, I can do it - and I'll be pleased when I do.

I'm also getting close to my flight home to the real world with less than three weeks to go and my emotions are mixed. Of course I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends again....especially my baby neice who will be the most spoilt child in the world with all the gifts I have for her (sorry - everyone else has to go without!) but I'm also dreading the end of this trip that I have planned and looked forward to for a year and the post-holiday depression that I'm sure will come with the last day.

I will deal with it the only way I know how....by planning my next adventure.

Till next time...