As we were already in Argentina we figured it was time to tick off one of the items on the ‘wish list’. This was the ‘go to the Falkland Islands and around Cape Horn’ dream that I had had for years.

There is a city within the bustling city of Buenos Aires where real estate costs a fortune. Space is tight but you get to rub shoulders with the rich and famous, with only foot traffic it is quiet and peaceful. The architecture is stunning as buildings are baroque, Gothic or downright whimsical. It sounds like a perfect community with just one wee drawback. You have to die to become a resident.

Originally we planned on taking the Perurail Titikaka train from Puno to Cusco; it takes ten and a half hours and is supposedly one of those train journeys of a lifetime. In fact I was ready to book it, until we saw a YouTube video that someone had taken of their trip, it just looked so darn cheesy and touristy that we decided that US $225 each could be better spent elsewhere.

Considered by some to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Mystic Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Therefore visiting the famous Inca ruins of Machu Pichu has long been on our ‘Travel Wish List’ along with the rest of the world it would seem.

Next stop after Arequipa was Puno. Puno itself has the reputation of being a bit of a dump, however its location on the shores of Lake Titikaka make it the place from which to visit the floating islands of the indigenous tribes that live on these manmade islands.

 Commonly known as ‘The White City’ due to the fact that’s its baroque buildings are built from a white volcanic stone known as sillar, Arequipa was the next stop on our Peru adventure.

The city is framed by mountains and three volcanoes (El Misti, Chachani, & Pichu Pichu) and sits at an elevation of 7,661 feet, making it a perfect spot to acclimate to thinner air before heading off to the much higher Cusco. [continue reading…]