Vancouver, Canada

This west-coast Canadian city has it all: beautiful mountains with world-class skiing, spectacular ocean views, lovely beaches, good diving, delicious and healthy food, extremely friendly people (who are eager to help tourists), rich culture, quaint neighbourhoods and excellent shopping.

After our time in Lima, it was wonderful to smell Vancouver's fresh ocean and mountain air. This is a place where we could live!

What really made our stay a terrific one were our guesthouse hosts at King's Corner. What a wonderful little oasis. We felt right at home and enjoyed Anne's terrific breakfasts and morning conversations. Thank you!

Florida Keys, USA

We arrived in Miami early in the morning. It was merely a stopover enroute to Vancouver.

It was very hot when we arrived - about 30 degrees celsius. On a whim, we decided to rent a car and drive to a more exotic location. Two hours later we were laying on a beach in the lovely Florida Keys. The tasty seafood and the views were worth the drive.

Machu Picchu

Lucky for us the Spaniards failed to discover Machu Picchu during their conquest of South America.

After 5 days and 4 nights of trekking - including early wake-up calls, 8 to 9 hours of walking each day, sleeping in tents, trekking through rain and mud, walking up stairs (so many stairs!) - we arrived in Machu Picchu a little tired. At 6 am, we were walking the last stretch: the endlessly long stairs to the ruins. But the effort was worth it.

Setting your eyes for the first time on the old Inca civilisation is surreal. Machu Picchu, which means 'Old Mountain' in Quechua, the language of the Incas, is unbelievably impressive. The history of the Inca empire and how this place came to be built 500 years ago is a fascinating story.

Cuzco & the 5-day Salkantay Trek

Cuzco is a lovely, quaint city and an ideal setting-off point for treks to Machu Picchu. It's well worth hanging around a few days to enjoy the surrounding mountains, beautiful architecture and friendly people. It also allows you to adjust to the Peruvian altitude (and the headaches that come with being this high) before setting off on the Machu Picchu trek.

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The Salkantay Trek

The 5-day Salkantay Trek is a great alternative to the well-known 4-day Inca Trail. Instead of seeing the Inca ruins, this very scenic trek takes you through majestic mountains (4,600 metres high), Peruvian jungle and remote villages.

The only downside, in our opinion, was the ease of the trek. While Salkantay has moments of difficulty - we still suffered from aching, blistered feet, mosquito-ridden limbs and fatigued bodies - the trek is not extremely physically challenging. Compared to our hike in Colca Canyon, this trek was a walk in the park.

Nevertheless, we would highly recommend Salkantay, especially for those looking for a less touristy way to get to Machu Picchu.

La Paz & Lake Titicaca (Bolivia & Peru)

La Paz, Bolivia

This city, shaped like an enormous bowl, is surrounded by peaks stretching more than 6,000 metres high. La Paz itself is situated at an altitude of 4,000 metres. Its cosy cobble-stoned streets makes it a charming place to spend time.

The city also offers an infinite number of outdoor activities, from death defying mountain biking to ice climbing and mountaineering, and at a relatively cheap cost. We plan to return to La Paz to try the ice climbing on one of its highest peaks.

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Isla del Sol, Bolivia

Lake Titicaca, on both the Bolivian and Peruvian side, offer beautiful islands to explore. The people are wonderfully friendly and the children very lovable!

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Peru: Uros, Amantani & Taquile islands

Arequipa & the 3-day Colca Canyon Trek

Colca Canyon Trek

Tour agencies neglect to tell you what to expect before you sign-up for the difficult Colca Canyon trek. There's probably a good reason: if they did, you might think twice about doing it.

This 3-day trek is no joke. It begins at 3,500 metres and proceeds downward into the valley for 5 to 6 hours. The next morning you walk back up, trekking on the other side of the mountain. After 4 to 5 hours, your reward is a swim in a beautiful, natural oasis. It's then another 4 hours - the hardest part of the trek - straight up to the top.

The trail is rocky and steep and daily temperatures are sweltering. Many trekkers simply can't make it back up. Instead, they end up on the back of a donkey that escorts them to the top of the mountain. This trek is difficult for those (like us) who are not trained trekkers. You should, at the very least, be physically fit before undertaking the trek. We made it - without any donkeys - and it was a superb feeling of accomplishment!

Thanks to the Flying Doctors for the drugs they gave us along the way. :) The most amazing moment was when we arrived close to the top of the mountain and were greeted by 9-year-old Olga and her 7-year-old brother Oliver selling water and chocolate at 3,400 metres high. For locals like them this rough terrain is no big deal, even in their rubber boots.

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Arequipa

Known as "the white city" because of the unique stone used to construct local buildings and churches.

The Santa Catarina Monastery is impressive - in its heyday, it housed 450 nuns. The place is practically a city in a city. Arequipa offers quite a few very good restaurants and is a good base for undertaking the Colca trek.