Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art with its roots originating in Angola and the Congo, that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music, and is usually referred to as a game. Although there are few official history records, it is known that Capoeira was created nearly 500 years ago in Brazil by African slaves (mainly […]
Read MoreStunningly beautiful medieval Krakow was the site of my friends Hugo and Patrycja’s wedding. Krakow actually dates back to the 7th century. It has a beautiful square with the church of the Virgin Mary (Koscoil Mariacki) towering over it and the Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture surround the square. Wawel Royal Castle dominates the landscape […]
Read MoreHeld in the shadow of Sacsayhuaman an amazing Inca fortress with massive walls made of smooth stone and miraculously surviving the centuries for all to see the wonder of the Inca.Inti Raymi is the most important festival in all of Peru. With colorful costumes, lavish banquets, festive music, an elaborate reenactment of ancient […]
Read MoreRomantic Paraty (pronounced Parachee) with its narrow cobbled street and colonial houses with pretty gardens , fishermen’s adobe cottages and horse drawn carts is picturesque. With a background of jungle mountains many artists have come here and stayed and now have art galleries, many chefs have arrived and opened restaurants or cafes and the lack […]
Read MoreCorpus Cristi I fell in love with Cusco in 1990 on a tour to Machu Picchu and vowed to come back and spend more time there. I finally made my wish come true ten years later. Plaza de Armas is a beautiful square surrounded by its towering Cathedral, the imposing Jesuit church Compania de Jesus, […]
Read MoreSir Francis Drake is a pirate! Our famous hero sacked Cartagena and was paid approximately US$200 million in today’s money to give the city back ( Bad boy). This is a fantastic city, hot and humid. On our first night we watched as the dancers twirled and they swirled and danced hot salsa with bare […]
Read MoreCusco was a great fun place as well as a very interesting place. I spent three months there and really enjoyed my time and the friends that I made. During the week I worked in Juan Pablo Orphanage and helped to teach the children there and at weekends I joined with friends and trekked around […]
Read MoreI found Lima a city of contrasts. Founded by Fransisco Pizzaro Lima has a historic centre with wonderful churches, cloisters and monasteries but it is also a very modern city with high rise condos, casinos and hotels. The food is both modern and traditional with gastronomical dishes such as ceviche and cuy (guinea pig). […]
Read More16th Century Santa Catalina monastery was the highlight of my visit to Arequipa. This walled monastery is almost a city in it’s own right and takes up a whole block of Arequipa city. It has been operated by Dominican nuns for almost 400 years. You can stroll through this enormous monastery’s streets peeking into its […]
Read MoreWaking up to the sound of the waterfall beside us, and washing in the clear cold water surrounded by mountains, beautiful blue and green lakes, valleys and snow capped peaks, thatched cottages, brightly coloured villagers, streams falling down the rocks, llamas and no else in sight the four days three nights Lares valley trek is […]
Read MoreIt is very weird to arrive in a town (Agua Calientes) which has a railway track running through it. You have to step over the rails to get from one side to the other. It is very reminiscent of the old wild west towns and as we found out this place is rip off city […]
Read MoreI loved my work with the Orphanage and I really loved the children who were very affectionate and give you lots of kisses and cuddles when you arrived and sneezed all over you (Hence my recent cold!!). Initially I helped the Mamas who each have about six to eight children to look after. The orphanage […]
Read MoreSalineras de Maras seems a typical Peruvian village but for the fact that almost everyone works in the salt terraces nearby harvesting salt using the ancient pre-Incan methods of producing salt. We hiked down a canyon through mountain valleys off the beaten track to Salineras village where people still wear traditional clothes. Qoripujio has […]
Read MoreThe narrow winding Rio Urumbamba valley known as the Sacred Valley runs from East to West from Pisac to Ollantaytambo with the snow capped Andes in the background. It was a key place of settlement for the Inca with its verdant valleys, agreeable climate and fertile ground While Salinas near Maras provides you with the […]
Read MoreWe had intended to spend the weekend in Andahuaylillias which is my favourite church in all of Peru. It is heavily decorated with painted murals but I like the three crosses outside the church which throw their shadow on the church. It is a tiny village to have such an amazing church but was once […]
Read MorePisac has a great Sunday market when villagers come down from the Andes to barter and sell their wares and to catch up with the gossip. Despite the many tourists this market has its own charm as it is a traditional market. It is very colourful with the traditional Peruvian weaving and handicrafts on display […]
Read MoreOllantaytambo is one of my favourite villages in the Sacred Valley. It is an old Inca site and the walls and the streets of the village are Inca. Many people come here from outlying villages and so it is very normal for people to be wearing the red Ponchos and hats of the Quechua […]
Read MoreWe ran the Paro (strike) from Arequipa to Chivay by ignoring it and got to Puno on a Sunday night. The bus avoided the strike by pulling all the curtains and taking the rough back roads to Puno. It was full of hairpin bends and we were in a convoy of at least six […]
Read MoreTrujillo and Huanchaco This has got to be one of my favourite trips. I have just had some wonderful days in a small fishing village (Huanchaco) near Trujillo in the north of Peru. The people were lovely and everyone spoke to me. One woman even opened up her shop for me as I needed to […]
Read MoreWe had a one day window in the middle of a series of strikes and road blocks and decided to high tail it to Puno which is on Lake Titicaca. I was so ill I hardly knew where we were going but you could see all the stones at the side of the road […]
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Photography, Travelling, Dancing,..
