In La Paz, Bolivia there is road called Yungas Road that is regarded as the most dangerous in the world. Some of the stats that we had picked up researching about the road was that in 2004, 24 buses / coaches had fallen off the road which is an average of one bus falling off every 2 weeks. Due to the fact that this road had been labelled as being the most dangerous in the world, this automatically meant it was a must do for team Goonies, so off we went to La Paz.

Having only been in La Paz for one day due to our tight schedule, we was on a one day bike tour down the World’s Most Dangerous Road. We booked with a company called Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking as they were highly recommended by the Lonely Planet, but most importantly we decided that it was one part of the trip we cannot skimp on. This is because you would want to use the best equipment available if it increased your chances of staying alive.

On the day of the bike ride the professional tour guides / instructors picked us up from our hostel. Upon arriving at the starting point of the bike ride there was a large sign detailing the number of recorded fatalities so far this year. The sign said there have been 43 fatalities so far this year but this was not the most alarming part. There was another sign underneath the main sign saying another 9 deaths to be added making it 52 fatalities in approximately 9 months. After speaking with our instructor he explained that a bus had fallen off the previous week and they had not had enough time to update the main sign.

After explaining every single piece of clothing that they would be providing and how to put them on like we have never seen a glove before, we was outside with our £2000+ mountain bikes ready to decide our fates on the road. Before we set off there was a ritual that everyone must do first. It involved using this 100% alcohol where we would splash a little on the ground for mother earth, splash a little on the wheels of our bike to ensure our bikes did not fail and a short swig ourselves for the courage we are going to need to cycle down the World’s Most Dangerous Road.

The cycle began with a downhill tarmac section that was really straight forward, with speeds of up to 70 KMPH being reached easily. Throughout the tarmac section are check points which our instructor said was put in place to make gringos feel more reassured, as the check points are used as a measure to ensure that everyone who had started the road also exited at the other end of the road.

Once the tarmac section was over the real fun started. We had over 20 KM of unpaved downhill dangerous road to cover. But before the fun could start our instructor went through some safety drills / measures that everyone needed to know. The instructor explained to us that the reason there are so many deaths on this road is because most of the drivers on the road are drunk. Therefore, it was important we knew how to handle different situations as we would be sharing the road with other motorised vehicles. The instructor used a whistle and if be blew once, this meant there was on coming traffic so we can proceed with care but we must remain on the left side of the road. If we heard a continuous repeating whistle then it meant that a vehicle is going to over take us and we had to stop on the left side of the road and get off our bikes on the right side.

Getting off the right side of a bike may sound relatively simple and even more easy on the Most Dangerous Road because the cliff edge was always on your left side, if you are starting at the top first. However, there is a famous incident where a French girl got off stupidly on the left side of her bike, took one step backwards and fell off the road to face a terrible death. Therefore, it always pays to listen to your instructors!!!

Despite the reputation and the label in which the road has received, it was relatively easy and not technical. As the road was downhill no pedalling was required and being on top of the range full suspension bikes meant we ate up the roads like a greedy fat kid left alone with a chocolate chip muffin. However, after riding for approximately 30 minutes the weather turned for the worst and started to hammer down with rain. So there we were riding down the World’s Most Dangerous Road on a push bike but the conditions were more slippery, visibility was extremely poor as the rain had caused a lot of mist and also caused the lens on our goggles / sunglasses to steam up. This meant that you could not see anything wearing eye protection, but it was torture not wearing any eye protection as rain droplets would slap your eyeballs as you travelled down the road at 30-40 KMPH. The conditions were so bad that one person from our group dropped out temporarily and used the support vehicle that was following us until the conditions improved.

With us being real men (or stupid) we soldiered on regardless of the conditions and everyone at some point had a hair raising moment going around a corner way too fast that would cause us to skip a heart beat or two. The abysmal weather cleared up after about 40 minutes and the glorious sun was out. We were all soaked to our bones and caped in mud but we just ditched our outer layers and began the final descent.

On the last section the road was a lot flatter which meant that pedalling was required which was hard work on a full suspension bikes as half of the energy you put into pedalling is wasted when the rear shock absorber bounces up and down. By the end of the road everyone was extremely tired but that meant nothing as the most important thing was that everyone made it back in one piece and not a scratch in sight. Also the instructor never had to used his whistle which probably did not matter as his pace was a lot faster than half of the group so they had no chance of hearing his whistle.

At the end of the bike ride we stopped off at a monkey sanctuary which is funded by the company. Here we got to clean ourselves up and have a nice buffet lunch. The company also provided us with a lift back to our hostel which coincidentally was via the World’s Most Dangerous Road, which in theory was the most dangerous part of our trip as we was not in control of our own fates and most importantly, almost all deaths on the roads happen in a motorised vehicle.

The Final Verdict:
Extremely good fun that is suitable for a beginning but no way near as dangerous as the title may suggest.

Due to the strikes on the only road from Cusco to Puno we had to get a flight from Cusco to La Paz costing around 98 US$. This meant that we would have to miss the opportunity to visit the floating islands on Lake Tititaka.

Day 1

After a 55 minute flight the group arrived safely in La Paz and got a taxi straight to ‘The Adventure Brew’ hostel. The Adventure Brew hostel consisted of two hostels that was only two blocks apart and we stayed in the newer hostel which was modern, clean and had a trendy bar with a balcony overlooking the city. But the biggest selling point was it had its own micro brewery that made 3 different types of beer that guest’s staying at the hostel could have one free beer each day.

Upon arrival we noticed that the hostel was organising an event to watch some ‘Cholita Wrestling’ which was about to start in under an hours time. So the gang was in a rush as we had to check in, get money out as no one had any Bolivian money and feed ourselves. For food we wanted something quick and easy so we popped into a KFC looking franchise called Chikey Pollo. This was probably one of the worst meals I have ever encountered. The chicken burger was stodgy and chips that were stone cold and looked a week old. But we was seriously running out of time so no time trying to complain in a language we could barely understand so we had to take in on the chin.

Arriving back at the hostel with minutes to spare the organiser says that we have plenty of time and that we had time to have our free beer before we left. Despite rushing for nothing a beer is exactly what the group needed and it’s always the free beers that taste the best.

When we arrived at the Cholita Wrestling venue we was greeted by the strong smell of urine. We was only in the car park and the smell was extremely distinctive, so we could not imagine how bad it would be in the actual toilets. The wrestling itself was brilliant and one of the funniest things we have ever seen. It was like the Mexican wrestling in ‘Nacho Libre’ with Jack Black with all their bright, tacky, skin tight customs. But there was a bonus as well as Cholita wrestling included women fighting where they dressed up in traditional local outfits. The problem was that these women were not exactly easy on the eyes, however I was still engrossed to get a picture with them which I successfully did. However, on returning to my seat the women wrestler I got a picture with man-handled me and landed a smacker right on my lips. Dare I say it, I felt aroused violated and abused.

Day 2

On the second day we had to get up bright and early as we had organised a bike ride on the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Road’ (See later post for full details). After the bike ride we was advised by our tour guide to go to a restaurant / bar called Ram Jam, which was meant to be good and where we would meet him as well. Needless to say the place was completely empty and lacked any atmosphere, though this could be due to the fact that it was Monday. We ended up going back to our hostel and enjoying the beer they had which included a normal lager, a stout and a negro (black / dark beer).

Day 3

On the third day we explored the town and all the markets which La Paz had to offer. There was one market we was particularly interested, which was a witches market that lots of people we met along our travels talked about. In the witches market they had the usual Alpaca wool accessories such as socks, gloves, hats, etc, etc. But the more interesting and weird items included stuffed armadillos, dried frogs and llama fetuses which are apparently used as good luck charms.

During the evening we decided to have a curry as since being on our travels we have yet to experience a proper curry. We went to a place called the ‘Star of India’ which was recommended highly by another hostel. At the curry house the group decided to play it safe so we ordered a few Madras’ and a few Jalfrazies. To our amazement it was probably one of the hottest curries we have ever experienced. I had to eat my curry in stages as I needed to give my mouth time off as the burn from the curry was too much. We all had sweat dripping of our faces and there just wasn’t enough serviettes to mop it up. The curry itself was not particular good as you could not taste any spices as everyone was suffering from sensory overload caused by the heat of the curry.

Next stop Rurrenabaque to see some wild life, Ray Mayes style!!!

Tired and exhausted after the amazing Inca trail we found ourselves back where the adventure started in the ancient Inca city of Cuzco. It was on the return bus journey from Ollantaytambo when we heard from the bus driver that that we were all going to face some travel difficulties getting to Bolivia. The farmers in Peru were not happy! Apparently their governments decided to build a hydro-electric power plant…to provide electricity for foreign lands.

So they decided to mount a protest. Now I haven’t been studying my protest handbook for a while, but I’m pretty sure that barricading a road, throwing rocks at tourist buses, bribing drivers to continue safe passage are not commonplace in Europe. Yet this is what the future held for the Goonies. Sadly all buses out of Cuzco were suspended indefinitely for fear of rock damage!

We had to think fast and we teamed up with other Inca trailer’s Ravi and Kirsty and almost booked ourselves on a expensive private charter minibus, which “apparently” took the back roads to avoid the unfolding chaos. We decided to leave the decision a while and booked ourselves into our hostel. Upon consulting the owner he old us the harsh truths of the situation.

Protest started 2 days ago, no sign of ending, there is only one road out towards Bolivia (the lying bus operator) plus cowboy buses will make you bribe your way through each blockade as well as making you prime targets for kidnappings! Luckily we didn’t fall for the bus operators tricks and we decided to sit it out in Cuzco for a few days before making a contingency plan.

It was the next day after a meal out with our Inca trail compatriots we decided to take the plunge and do as 4 others already had, book ourselves onto one of the only planes which left Cuzco for Bolivia. Of course this did mean we sacrificed a visit to Puno and the floating islands upon Lake Titikaka, but we could not afford to stay here forever either.

These days of decision were putting it bluntly, very boring. The town is Cuzco is pretty but also rammed with hoards of tourists heading to Machu Picchu. We did do a few things however… we went shopping for handicrafts and alpaca wool accessories, had more than a few beers while checking out some local Peruvian bands (the second of which were pretty good and sounded like the Killers if they were born in the Andes).

The most fun we had was to come after we had enjoyed our first Curry for 3 months (it was great too!). As we were returning to our hostel we stopped in the main square, the Plaza D’Armas, where firework shenanigans were in full swing. This was so refreshing to see, there was no men in high vis clothing keeping you behind barriers…being honest it was a true free for all. The display consisted of about twenty or so 15 ft structures fashioned out of Bamboo, to which hundreds of Catherine wheels (again made out of bamboo) were attached and set off in a progressive sequences.

Giving the Peruvians credit, the dispay was very impressive given the materials used and the fun everyone was having in the square dancing along to bands and running headlong through the firework sparks was brilliant to be a part of. Although you did have to mind your heads every so often when the “Catherine wheels” flew  from their structure into the gathered crowd. Also some of the bigger fireworks lacked some power and were exploding less that 20 metres from the ground sending greens and reds flying around the plaza to the Peruvians approval.

It was after this night we headed to the airport only to be greeted by nearly every other departing backpacker in Cuzco who like us were out of travel options. As we flew we admired the great lake of Titikaka wondering…what if? what if?

The Lost city of the Incas beckoned, through the thick morning cloud! As we descended from the sun (cloud) gate we caught glimpses of the ruins with the weather ever clearing. It wasn’t until we had returned from getting our Machu Picchu passport stamps s handing over our trusty walking poles that we finally got to see the full scale of the vast Inca treasure trove which lay carved into the wilderness of the Peruvian Andes.

The first sight is awe inspiring. The scale and beauty of the site is hard to describe with the ancient ruins lying in front of the mountain of Wayna Picchu looming high up behind. Here we had a very thorough tour by our amazing guide Aly before being given free roam of the ruins. This was the culmination of days of hiking and it truly was spectacular to behold, something everyone should do!

The bus down was windy and a relief from the walking as we headed to a small pizza place in the (conveniently located) town of Aguas Caliente at the base of Machu Picchu. From here we headed back to Cuzco on the train knowing that we had a fantastic time and had seen some of the best that Pachamama has to offer.

The whole experience was amazing and the group of people who we trekked with were equally great which made for an excellent 4 days of fun, hiking, laughs and natural wonders! Last but not least our local guide Aly whose passion for the history and culture of the Peruvian people plus the nature of his native lands was unrivalled by any other guide on the trail! we were very lucky to have him as our guide and I thank GAP adventures for a great tour!

Btw: Aly is starting a new company which offers trails in and around Cuzco…they are called Mother Earth tours… Book now!! you wont be disappointed!

After a short drive from Ollantaytambo the Goonies arrived at the Kilometer 82 post… the offical starting point of the Inca Trail at Piskakucho where we got a cool passport stamp before crossing the opening rope bridge to start the historic trail.

Our guide, the ever reliable Aly, was very much in touch with nature as frequent stops were made to point out specific flowers (mainly orchids) and fauna of the valley. The valley we were hiking through was spectacular in terms of size and aesthetics. It really gave you a sense of wandering through a scene of one of the Lord of the Rings movies, as you trundle along with your head in the clouds and jaws on the floor. We hiked for about 2/3 hours following the river before turning away from its course towards our first lunch spot.

As the ‘Possies’ arrived we were greeted by our faithful hidden companions on the trail…our Porters. These guys carry all of the equipment for us on the trail leaving us to shoulder a small day pack. Porters are legally allowed to carry a maximum of 30 Kgs on their backs as they race ahead on the trail faster than you can imagine, just so they can have the tent village set up with next meal prepared ready for you. It really is astonishing how fast these guys plough up the trail given how much is on their backs, puts us Gringos to shame! So sitting pretty on our lunch tent we sat down to an amazing peruvian meal of fresh trout given the limitations of being in the middle of nowhere!

Setting off again we had a slightly more strenous second half of the day, with an uphill trek through a small valley to our campground for the night after a swift stop at the worlds smallest Shopping centre…hehe!

Upon arrival we were once again greeted by the trusty troupe of porters clapping us home. I’m not entirely sure if this was driven out of sarcasm or not, not being British I dont think they understood the irony of them (with their huge bags and advanced years) appluading the arrival of the hardly weighed down young gringos nearly 2 hours later! Ironic indeed!

It was here at the first nights camping ground where we were introduced to each porter. Most of them were local farmers who needed the extra cash for their families and the others were young guys making a good living. This was a nice gesture as we got to know a little about each of the 19 porters, putting a story behind the faces of who we would be tipping come the final day.

Dinner was spectacular and before we plodded off to sleep Ally took us spider hunting where we caught glimpes of some small and colourful tarantula’s nesting in the banks behind our tents! The knowledge they were there didn’t make for an easy sleep let me tell you! But sleep we did ready for day 2.

An early rise was needed today for this was the most strenous of the 3 day trail. We had a long and steep climb to overcome as we walked up towards dead womans pass at 3600m, a 1200m elevation change. The path up was pretty steep in parts but the regular stops and snack breaks helped to make this a pleasent climb. Once the Dead Womans pass was conquorerd we sat down for lunch over looking the stunning valley we had just mounted.

As the saying goes, whatever goes up must come down was never more true then today. The other side of the pass was a straight decline which took about an hour to descend. Me not being a big fan of going downhill make slow progress while the rest of the gang flew down at a rapid pace. Arriving at our next campsite early we sat down for tea and biscuits (yipee) before playing a quick game of how many people can play cards in a 2 man tent. The answer was 9! After some Cheat! action we had dinner and settled down for another well earned rest. My rest wasn’t so good however with a roll mat the thickness of a doormat, an Andean Pillow (aka a huge rock under my head) and an uneven camber, (which meant i woke up at the bottom of the tent each time) meant I strangely did not manage to get such a great kip.

Day 3 brought with it some more challenging weathers than the glorious sunshine of the previous 2. Waking in the drizzle and with fog rolling in fast we headed up to see some small inca ruins and temples as we made our way to the top of the first hill of the day. The ruins themselves were weathered and rustic but their locations perched over valleys were stunning. After the first incline of the day we had a stroll through a very different environment, a cloud forest. This place was pretty damp and murky place, but the wonderfully coloured orchids and the enchanting fauna made up for the lack of visibility.

Wet and weary we settled into our lunch spot high in the clouds. A welcome shelter from the rain and some more hearty peruvian nosh was just the ticket as we had finally arrived at a notorious section of the trail. The Gringo Killer steps! A 3 hours of descent down nearly 3000 steps which has seen many an slip and fall in it’s long legendary history. Thankfully today we did not become a gringo killer steps casualty! I for one am very thankful towards my trusty walking pole (Only 5 Soles) which saved me on more than one occasion on the slippy stone walkways.

I not being greatly trusting of my surroundings, dececended the steps slower than my counterpart Goonies. It was about 2 hours in when a encouraging message written in the mud from our guide was spotted by the trailside. Smiling we continued around the next few corners where we spyed some more scrawlings on the floor. This time the reaction ws part disgust, part disbelief and altogether hilarious! There on the floor was this

“Mike Shat Here”

Apparently he just could not hold it in any longer and used mother nature as his wc, poor guy (Poor mother nature)! Another hour past and we arrived at our final resting place. Here was practically luxury given the last few days of washing in a bowl of hot water and waking up to the porters sticking hot cups of Coca tea through the tent door at 5am. There was a bar with BEER!! and hot showers, food to buy. Things we took for granted before heading into the middle of nowhere. The last Inca ruins which we saw here on the trail itself were the most impressive. a large argricultural stepped area with a small village laying at it’s heart. The views over the valley below and the mountains all around was nothing short of sensational!

Dinner again was awesome and we organised our tips before settled down for our nights rest for we had a very very very early start. For some reason we thought we would be firsst to hit the gate to the ancient city of machu piccu. this however meant we had to rise at 3! OUCH!

Being at the gate first means nothing in hindsight. Because people Will run/barge past in an attempt to be the first to the cloud/sun gate (Intipunku) which infact was another 45 minutes down the trail. As soon as the gates opened at 5.30am, dozens of trekkers took flight including mike john and chris at top speed. I took the restrained option and walked for a while before taking off after the dust clouds of the rest of the Goonies.

They had opened quite a substantial lead … however toward the end of the trail i walked (very quickly) passed each of them as they tired. Apparently they got caught up in the competitive moment and started running! Arriving at the sun gate we were thorougly disappointed by the view we had of the lost city of the incas… CLOUD! Oh well, after regaining our breaths and the remainder of the group (Possies were first group up no less) we headeed down to the spectacle of Machu Picchu.

We landed in Cuzco where we were met by minibus and a crazy guy taking our pictures as we walked across the tarmac with our bags. We headed to our hotel, the Hotel Marina where we was introduced to Ally, our guide for the trip.

After our introduction to the group and a brief walkaround Cuzco taking in the sprawling plaza’s and the inca sun temple at Coricancha . We spent the evening carefully packing our duffel bags to be within the 6kg allowed, so not to overload our porters who would be carrying them along the trail.

We left the luxury of the hotel to jump on the mini bus where we met our second tour guide Enrique (kekay) and to head for a our first stop. We arrived in an Andean Mountain town to be greeted by some friendly llama and to see how various goods are woven and to compare the thread used including wool from sheep, llama and alpaca.

One of the group, Nina, got to try her hand at weaving one of the local products after first being dressed up to look like a local. Upon leaving the town Ally told us that G.A.P. help support the village by employing people as porters and by bringing us to see them.

Our next stop was Pisac a peruvian village which is still used today for markets. Whilst there we were given some history of The Temple of the Sun, an example of the Inca brickwork where all the stones are fitted very tightly interlocking with one another and to lean inwards in such a way that no fixing material was required, it is was because of this construction the walls have survived earthquakes in the past. The Temple of the Sun was used by the Incas during solstice which could be observed from key windows in the temple. We also saw all the terraces (steps) in the valley formed by the Incas, they were used for agricultural purposes on flat land instead of on the steep sides of the valley.

After Pisac, we stopped for a view of Sacsayhuaman from a distance to see the size of the area, unfortunately due to the restricted time we had on the tour we didn’t get to go up and close to see the ruins and we head off for our next stop.

After an exhausting morning we stopped at a local spot for a buffet lunch, music to the Goonies ears, we certainly like our buffets however we had to refrain from getting `buffet full` as we had a hike to do later that afternoon.

On the way to the next set of ruins it was decided unanmously to leave walking around the ruins until the next morning leaving us time for the buffet to settle down and to avoid the crowds.

We arrived in Ollantaytambo, a small local town with cobble roads and lots of small local shops. Which Mike later made us of to purchase himself a conservative new hat. Later in the evening our group had to keep with tradition and give ourselves a name, Ally left us with a decision on what our group should be called, after extensive discussions and negotations Pozzie’s seemed like a good choice as we were a mixture of Pomms and Ozzies.

The following day before we left for Kilometre 82 we visited the ruins in Ollantaytambo we missed the day before, it was very wise decision of Ally’s as we were the only ones there that morning which made the views that little bit more spectacular.

From there we left for Kilometer 82, the start of the Inca Trail.

We left Cuenca on a 6 hour bus ride to the border. From there we found a guy who showed us where to walk to cross to border to Peru. We arrive in a place called Huaquillas where a guy in a cab helps us out by driving us to immigration to get our exit stamp for Ecuador and entry stamp for Peru. This guy called Roberto helps us to do everything, which is fortunate as we didn’t have a clue what we needed to do. He took us to Tumbes where we could catch a Bus to Lima. It wasn’t until we arrived in Tumbes that we found the catch in his top quality service. He wanted to charge 80 US  dollars per person for the whole service which is extortionate. He didn’t seem to budge, but we held our ground and got it for 10 dollars per person which wasn’t so bad.So from Tumbes we caught a 18 hour bus with a company called Flores to Lima which had food and films provided as part of the service. It was really good and we slept surprisingly well.

Once we arrived in Lima got a cab to a hostel called the Stop and Drop. Once there the cab driver started to say that this place was expensive. We went in and got asked for the prices and proceeded outside to discuss where to stay, when suddenly another guy off the street turns up with a leaflet describing a new cheap place to stay. The cab driver and this other guy were pestering us saying their place is good and cheap. Then suddenly, the hostel owner from the Stop and Drop comes out and argues with the guy off the street and taxi driver for taking away their business. At this point, there was a lot of commotion. All we wanted was somewhere to stay and didn’t really need this hassle at a 8 in the morning having just come off a 18 hour bus journey. It was hectic, but in the end we just went with our original decision and go with the Stop and Drop hostel. Quite frankly, we was glad the hassle was over and that we could get more sleep. We never did a huge amount on the day we arrived apart from sleep and eat and a quick look around Miraflores which was the city where we was staying at just outside Lima city centre.

The next day we had more thorough look around Miraflores. We strolled around the parks, eating ice cream. Miraflores is pretty much the rich area of Lima and consisted of mainly expensive high street stores and restaurants. We moved away from the centre of Miraflores to the beach which was long and full of surfers. Quite a contrast seeing the beach so close to a busy city. The beach was busy and full of people paragliding. After the beach we had time to visit an old ruin called Huaca Pucllana maintained by independent local companies. We thought we would get a taste of the ruins we will be like on the Inca Trail but there was a vast amount of ruins to be seen. It was more like one mound of steps and a few walls. We finished off the day with a very nice chinese buffet. The food here was very nice with to my surprise, a lot of more traditional chinese dishes.

Having taken a look around the local area we were staying, we moved on to see Lima City itself on the following day. The was much more busier that Miraflores. It definitely felt less safer and more dirtier. But there was more interesting sights to see here. We first visited the Presidential Palace where we got to see the changing of the guards which involved lots of guards playing music and marching. It didn’t look too professional and well rehearsed as I thought it would be. It was free so I can’t complain too much. We visited a few of the many cathedrals there. More interestingly, we visited a bull ring, but unfortunately, it was closed so we couldn’t see any shows. We strolled around the rest of the city seeing many statues and monuments before we grabbed a taxi back to Miraflores. The roads in Lima are crazy. We got stuck in a sea of cars which must had involved about 10 lanes of cars when the road was only supposed to have about 4 lanes. All you could hear was honking everywhere. It seems so much more chilled on the roads back home in England.

We got back from the hustle and bustle of Lima City and had the urge to try out Ceviche which is a local dish here that consists of raw fish cooked in lemon juice. There is a well know street in Miraflores called Pizza Alley which is a street that only contains restaurants. We walked down this many times in the last few days and you get constantly nagged by workers of the restaurants to go in their place to eat even though you are not hungry! They try to entice you in with free stuff which influenced our decision to at down this street. We simply walk down the street and try to get as much freebies as we could. In the end, we choose a restaurant that provided a free beer and a pisco sour each. These went down quite well with the Cerviche we ordered.

The last day in Lima, we simply relaxed in the hostel’s lounge area watching DVDs until we moved to a luxurious hotel called the Mariel where we would meet with a GAP representative and group of people who would be travelling with us to the Sacred Valley, along the Inca Trail and to Machu Pichu. I think the day’s relaxing activities was a good call as I think we needed a break from sightseeing and I think we would need to rest our legs for the big hike along the Inca Trail.

All in all, Lima city was a nice place to visit, but for me 3 to 4 days was enough for me. I look forward to leaving the city to move on to something new. So back to nature for us all and we can look forward to camping again on our next adventure on the Inca trail.

In Ecuador and Peru, Guinea Pig or Cuyi in Spanish is not considered a pet but a local delicacy to eat. Regardless of the produce the Goonies will try any local delicacy and our time had come in Cuenca where we had the opportunity to sample some Guinea Pig.

In Cuenca we had the pleasure to meet a Scandinavian couple who had already sampled some guinea pig at a local restaurant. When they got to the restaurant they got to choose the guinea pig they wanted to eat which was still alive. The preparation for the guinea pig took approximately one hour as they had to kill it and drain all the blood before it could be cooked. Once ready the guinea pig is presented warts and all with its head and paws still attached. For presentation this restaurant stuffed a small pepper into the guinea pig’s mouth for decoration. The guinea pig is served with a selection of roasted vegetables and potatoes, however the cost of this full packaged experience was 40 US dollars which is more than a days budget for us.

As we was on a tight budget we had to find a cheaper alternative and found our solution through the advise of our hostel owner in Cuenca. He suggested that we can get cheap guinea pig from the local market so the team immediately ventured to the markets. Here we discovered we could buy a whole guinea pig for 6 US$, ching ching!!! However, when buying from the markets you need to be careful as you want to ensure you are buying a guinea pig and not an overweight rat. The signs to look out for is that the rodent you are about to purchase DOES NOT have a TAIL and that the ears are short and stubby like they have been cut off.

At the stall, the guinea pig had a large pole the size of a table leg stuck through its rear end and out of it’s mouth that was used to rotate over a charcoal BBQ. The guinea pig took around 30 minutes to cook and was constantly based with some brown marinade / oil like substance. Again the guinea pig is cooked warts and all with its head and paws still attached, but in this case the insides (offal) of the guinea pig had been extracted out and tied to the outside of the guinea pig to be roasted as well.

Once cooked we rushed the guinea pig back to our hostel so we could eat it while it was still hot. As a kind gesture was gave the owner of the hostel a leg which he was over the moon for. After taking off the offal and head we divided the guinea pig into four pieces so we could all try. My god the guinea pig was absolutely delicious which tasted rather ironically like chicken tight but a lot more moist and tender. The cracking of the skin was like a small slice of heaven and like no other cracking I have experienced before. The skin was extremely thin and crispy with no lumps of fat that could leave you with an oily sick after taste. The head and offal was rejected by the group as it looked rather questionable especially the head. On the head you can still see all the tiny little teeth the guinea pig once owned which is rather off putting when trying to eat it. However, we found out from the Scandinavian couple that the head is considered a treat to Ecuadorians, so we offered the head and offal to the hostel owner who was again over the moon and accepted our kind offering.

Final verdict from all the Goonies is that guinea pig is definitely a must try, however not the most meatiest of rodents. Watch this space as guinea pig will no doubt be served in a Gordon Ramsey restaurant near you.

After having an adrenalin packed adventure in Banôs we headed south to a placed called Cuenca, which is a city full of beautiful churches and cathedrals steeped in history and culture. This is exactly what the group needed as we have been travelling non stop and not had a chance to wind down and take advantage of chill out time the group well deserved.

From Banôs we got a local bus that took approximately 10 hours to get to Cuenca on extremely bumpy unpaved roads and where the bus driver must have learnt how to drive from the Chuck Norris School Of Driving. Overtaking on blind corners or attempting to overtake 4 other bus in one hit is not my idea of fun and especially not in a bus that was older than me and on it’s last legs.

The 10 hours of fear was over and we arrived in Cuenca bus terminal in the evening to be bombarded by many locals offering places to stay. One lady in particular would not leave us alone and even helped us get a taxi thinking that we was going to her hostel. In the end we ended up checking into her hostel, which was a very quirky little place that was owned by someone like Basil Fawlty. The hostel itself looked like a disused apartment block that had been badly finished by a DIY enthusiast. But the owner was extremely helpful and would bend over backwards for us. On the first evening we decided to go to the supermarket around the corner from the hostel to pick up some supplies, but as it was 10 PM it was about to close. The owner from the hostel came out and tried to get it reopened for us but failed, however his good intentions was there.

The family that own the hostel also had a pet rabbit called Pancho. This rabbit was not afraid of anything and would even try muscle / fight against people in order to stay in the warmth as the owner always kept the rabbit outside. The rabbit was also extremely greedy and ate everything in sight providing it has not been contaminated with onion as we found out.

Day 1

On our first day in Cuenca we took a stroll through the local markets in the morning. Cuenca had a wide range of markets but the majority sold fresh fruit and vegetables, raw meats and cooked food. Along the cooked food stalls was a large span of roast pig / hog heads, empanada stalls and fresh juice stall like in a modern trendy shopping mall, but Ecuadorian style. So all the healthy conscious can get their vitamin boost with ease.

In the afternoon we decided to walk along Rio Tomebamba which is the main river that ran through the city. Unfortunately for Kev he did not join us as he was still feeling rough from the dodgy stomach we all got from a burger we had in Banôs. Walking along Calle Larga which is the road parallel to Rio Tomebama you can find all the main shops, bars and restaurants. About ¾ down the road we also passed the Panama Hat museum, which is the famous hat produced in Ecuador.

Day 2

On our last day we visited 9 of the 12 listed churches / cathedrals in Cuenca. During our sight seeing we bumped into a small group of local girls who we thought wanted us to take a picture for them. But instead they wanted to take pictures with us which we thought was very strange. However, this will turn out to be the start of a new craze for us called ‘Photo with a Gringo Phenomenon’. See later post for more details.

As tonight was our last night in Ecuador we wanted to taste guinea pig before we left which is a local delicacy to Ecuador and Peru. After speaking with the hostel owner we discovered that you can get cheap guinea pig from the market we explored the day before. The guinea pig cost us 6 dollars from the market which we brought back to the hostel to eat (See later post for more details of eating guinea pig). Despite being absolutely delicious the guinea pig was tiny and lacked any quantity to justify it being a real meal meaning the group went out for a meal at a local pizzeria. Here we got a stone baked pizza, drink and ice cream for 4 dollars!!

Next stop Lima, with a recovered and revitalised Goonie crew.

After the trauma and altitudes of the Cotopaxi cimb it was a great relief (especially to me) that we decended to lower heights as we headed into Ecuadors very own extreme sports capital, Banos.

After arriving and setting up in our hostel room (which has 2 floors…ooooh!), we headed straight out into the town to book ourselves some high octane activities for the coming days. We did not disappoint! The remainder of the day was spent chilling (Or rather sweltering) in the natural thermal spa’s opposite the virgin waterfalls.

The next day we were up, rejuvinated and ready for some action adventures. They duly arrived as we each jumped onto a Quad bike and raced up the nearby active volcano which over looks the town. All the bikes were pretty slow apart from mine which zipped up the hill in double quick speed. But it was all to end in tears for Mike, who after 20 minutes of riding conspired to snap his accelerator cable! Not a great idea! So he and John retired to the Bike shop. Apart from this, the ride was a whole load of fun especially when myself and Chris decided to do a bit of Off Road Quadding and getting absolutely covered in mud in the process. The views from the road were pretty cool as they flashed by as well.

The new day brought more activities and today was going to be the busiest of the lot! Our day started bright and early dispite the pouring rain as we each saddled up onto our mountain bikes ready for a morning of wet riding downhill through the Avenue of the Cascades. The numerous waterfalls and stunning gorge views were very pretty, if only slightly obscured behind the copious amounts of falling water from the sky! On the ride we took a neat little cable car (very rustically operated with a lorry engine, a cable and a metal basket) over the ravine and got some great views of the river below. Finally coming to an end we hopped into our escort which happened to be filled with 24 travelers on an Intrepid organised tour for the second part of the days fun.

The fun I’m referring to is of course White Water Rafting. These rapids are usually level 3 rated, today due to rain conditions the river was running as a level 4 with some 5 sections thrown in for good measure… those are the shit your pants type ones! The Goonies took up the helm of their raft any powered down the river. That was untill a huge rapid sent all boat crew scattering across the river. The first capsize plunge into the water displayed just how cold the water was and emphasized the fact that we really didnt wish to go in again! Well that was all of us except Mike whole aired the desire to go in again to get the full experiance (words he later regretted uttering!).

Unfortunately some people had already had enough and left for the safety of the vans. By the halfway stage at least half of the group were safe(ish) in the 4 wheeled transport leaving numbers seriously dwindling. This posed a problem as now the boat containing myself Chris and Mike was seriously under manned. Only 4 in a 6 man raft! I have never been quite so tired…arms were aching and legs killing from huge rapid after huge rapid which never ceased to calm. Doing fantastically well we paddled through the trickiest sections of the river only to be scuppered at the final hurdle.

It was about with 5 mins of river left, a very quiet command arrived from our rafting guide to “paddle faster” … within 3 seconds, before we even had a chance to react, I was flung into the air, Chris and Mike were both sent skyrocketing downstream Superman style over the front of the boat! Regathering ourselves this time was tricky. I had a choice, keep the paddle or keep the boat…being a man of common sense I opted for the boat, so I scrambled back into the raft and set about rescuing the scattered crew.

First our ozzy crewmate then Chris who was about 10/20 metres away. Looking up hardly able to see Mike through the raging river about another 50 metres away, we raced headlong after him. Upon approach i could see from the boat was mikes head bobbing up and down and an outstreched arm, so in true hollywood fashion, i grabbed him and brought his safely aboard! Soo tired from this fiasco (and a paddle down, which the kind safety kayaker rescued when he should have been helping mike, hehe) we overshot the finishing post by 200m. Having to carry this huge boat back over slippy rocks was the final (leg punishing) act of this pulse racing day of great fun! The Rafting was ace and the people we met were also v cool. After dinner we finally set about home singing aloud some cheesy power ballad’s as the sun set on this awesome day!

There was no rest on the final day in Banos either. Instead of relaxing from the stressful day just gone we were up early again and headed out for some Canyoning. With a funky name like canyoning i exepected a tad more than just rapelling down some waterfalls. But that is what we did, 6 falls with heights topping at 35m. The only issue was the waiting around getting freezing cold for the whole group to descend. This was a cool thing to do, but was a bit too cold for comfort.

After an exhilerating few days we packed the bags and headed further south totally shattered looking for a well earned rest.