Peru surprised us in many ways, as we had very little background information on the history and culture of this South American country before visiting there. Peru had so much to offer, that after spending two weeks there as part of a GAP tour, we decided to remain another two weeks to be able to see places that we had missed. Our first stop was to the Lake Titicaca area, where we were treated to a wonderful homestay with some villages on Amantani Island. After visiting the Uros people and their floating reed islands, we hopped over to Cuzco to prepare for the Inca Trail (with a very successful Companion Flag adoption at Ollantaytambo in between). Hiking the Inca Trail was a great experience, as expected, and Machu Picchu deserves its reputation for being one of the most fascinating archeological sites on the planet. The two days we spent in the rainforest around the Tambopata river was not enough; we wished we could have remained there for a week. More Peru pictures to come soon!

Lake Titicaca and the town of Puno

The city of Cuzco, as seen from Saksayhuaman