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Arriving in Cusco and being 3360m above sea level took it’s toll on us. The thumping in my brain was a definite sign I was experiencing at least mild altitude sickness. Susan was also struggling with shortness of breath but apparently it’s quite normal and that is why we need to spend a few days acclimatising. With it’s cobbled streets and traditional squares, Cusco is a lot more quaint and touristy than Lima. We were quick to get sick of people trying to sell us everything from musical instruments to massages. However, I expect the massages are in hot demand from people coming back from Machu Picchu after the 4 day walk though.

This evening we were visited by our guide for the Inca Trail. He talked us through the 4 day trek and started talking about the amount of walking which got Susan scared. I’m quite excited at I have always wanted to do the trek but I am a little worried the lack of basic amenities is going to be a bit tough for Suse.

For dinner we found a Peruvian place where the served roasted cuy (Guinea Pig), a local standard. Not surprising Susan was a little put off by seeing the Guinea Pig staring up at her. It also seem like for the amount of meat my little furry friend offered it was hardly worth cooking him up.

We had an extremely long day yesterday. Starting at 4:30am from Heathrow we didn’t get to Lima until around midnight GMT. Not surprisingly we were a little tired. Being a bit spaced out we were glad not to be driving through the manic roads. Lima seems like a cross between Marrakesh and Bangkok. There were quite rough area’s with shack like buildings and almost every second car was a taxi whizzing past with no regard for road rules.

Today we visited the posher area of Lima called Miraflores. The wind was blowing off the Pacific into the cliff creating perfect conditions for the Para gliders. While having lunch they were looping in front of the windows of our café so I decided I was going to go for a tandem paraglide. Susan was apprehensive to say the least. She eventually managed to talk me out of it mentioning the lack of cover on our travel insurance.

Today is our last full day in the UK. We are both a little sad to be leaving but Susan is also quite worried about packing and the lack of toilets on the Inca Trail.

Saturday we travelled back to London and we visited work friends of mine and Susan’s. After that zipped into the city in time to get one of the last London Eye rides with Debbie. Susan has always wanted to do it. So she managed to get over her fear of heights to slowly glide round the enormous Ferris wheel. After getting the best hot chocolate in London (1882 close to the Shell building), we had our last Chinese in Lester Square.

Sunday was manic. We realised we had way too much stuff to fit into our packs. We also sold our car and fitted in church. So in our last day didn’t really get time to reflect.

For the last few weeks we have been travelling around the country. We managed to clock up 2200 miles and have been saying goodbye to my family before we go back to New Zealand.

Continuing our epic trip we went as far north as we have been in the UK. We stopped at the UK’s most photographed castle and duly took loads of pics. Scotland was still looking very much like New Zealand. I wondered if all the Scot’s who emigrated in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s felt they had been a little duped travelling to the other side of the world for something that looked just like home.
The Isle of Skye was quite sleepy and by now Susan and I had done a bit too much driving around to really enjoy it. We did trek up “Old Man Stor” for a bit of practise though.
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This morning we visited the Falkirk Wheel which was a mildly interesting. They built the Wheel to overcome 11 locks which were needed for canal boats to move between two Scottish canals. It does this by lifting the boat up to the higher level, apparently using such a similar amount of electricity that it takes to boil 8 kettles.
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We later drove to Stirling Castle which is surrounded by a couple of famous patriotic Battles. The Battle of Bannockburn fought by Robert the Bruce in 1413 and the battle of Stirling Bridge with William Wallace. Our Scottish tour guide Melanie seemed to take great delight in pointing our where all the English we slain.
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We spent the afternoon driving though the Scottish Highlands which is very much like the South Island of the New Zealand. It was quiet weird seeing mountains again, winding roads without all the English hedge roads we have been used to. We ended up in a small town called Invermoriston which is next to Loch Ness. It was quite bleak round the Loch. Susan spent some time calling out for Nessie but I guess she was waiting for the wind to die down a little.
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