On the last day of the tour, the guide asked us which town disappointed us, most people replied Santiago,  Chile's capital city, which we agreed with for several reasons.
We started with the usual tour of the town visiting the town square and a local church. both were very utilitarian and we were surprised to see  open confession booths along one of the walls. Not much privacy at all. The guide told us that many people called in either on their way to work or after!
Our next trip was going up in a cable car to see the Virgin Mary at Cerro San Christobal Hill with an interesting view over the city. A quite impressive sculpture but a lot of hanging around.

During our free time in the city, we decided to visit the art gallery. This proved to be a good choice as the artwork proved interesting with a wide range of work on show and we spent a pleasant couple of hours there.

The rest of the town proved to be a little unsettling in some areas. There were several homeless who just seemed to sleep all day. We tended to eat in the hotel, which although of a good standard, the area outside at night wasn't as impressive and talking to people who ventured out later at night the whole atmosphere became quite intimidating in the area.

On the following day we took a coach trip to a winery and then on to the seaside town of Valparaiso  where we saw the famous Reloj de Flores in Vina Del Mar; a flower clock which was designed for the 1962 FIFA World Cup when Chile was the host country. 

​After a nice group lunch together, we moved on to walk around a small part of the town that had been taken over by street artists, as part of an initiative to attract people to the area. This proved to be an interesting walk appreciating the talent and imagination on show.

,An interesting day but I think a few others, like us would have preferred a little more leisure time as the trip so far had been so hectic.

Our next stop was to see  the 'Ollantaytambo ruins, a massive Inca fortress with large stone terraces on a hillside. Major sites within the complex include the huge Sun Temple and the Princess Baths fountain. The village's old town is an Inca-era grid of cobblestoned streets'
The stepped landscape no longer had crops on it but was still impressive. Many members of the group decided to climb to the top to see the view, but Sue and I explored the grounds around the site. In the far hill the granary storehouses, built such a long time ago, seemed almost inaccessible. 

Leaving the ruins, we went into the town to wait for the coach. Fortunately, we were entertained by local children practicing for a coming festival, although it meant the coach had difficult parking.

Leaving on our coach for Cusco, we stopped after a while for a last view of the sacred valley. 
​Arriving in Cusco, our guide showed us around the town, where we enjoyed the views of this pretty town.

Walking around, we were warned about the effects of being at this altitude, and to take everything easy. This was alright in the day but the lack of oxygen really hit me in the evening, so it was an early night, after another interesting day.

Today was the day we had been waiting for as we were going to Machu Picchu, the first reason for going on this adventure.
The day started with catching the train to Aguas Calientes, where we made a new friend. From here we would get the bus up to the ancient site. An interesting little town and we even met a resident from Peru as we sat having a snack on a bench.
​After a walk around the town and panicking a little when we saw the queue for the buses, we sat down with the group for a meal. Coming out of the restaurant, we arrived at our allotted time and were pleased to see that the queue wasn't too bad. We were soon on our way.

Arriving at the site, we were met by our local guide and stood at first in awe of the landscape in front of us. The idea that all this had been constructed on top of this mountain was incredible, and the fact that all the lower hillside contained further structures that were still overgrown certainly made you think. Also impressive was the way the large stone blocks that made up the structures fitted so perfectly together. 

We spent a few hours exploring the site with the guide explaining about its history. Without being there it is impossible to explain the awe that visitors feel, and we left feeling that all the long journey to get here had been worthwhile.
​Our special guest that Sue had brought certainly enjoyed the visit as well.

 Another long day with an early start and flight to Cuzco ready to start the next leg of our journey.
Our first visit was to Sacsayhuaman or as the guide described it Sexy Woman, where we saw the remains of a large Inca fortress. This proved to be a short stop before we continued onwards.
The large stones fitting together were very impressive but reading about this huge site later, it seemed a shame that we only saw a limited amount of the area.

The next part of our journey was to the Sacred Valley, stopping on the way at a viewpoint overlooking the valley. Not knowing what to expect, we were surprised that it was mainly farmland, but thinking about it we could see why it was special. Here was an ideal farming area protected all around by the mountains, an ideal place for people to settle. The Incas thought that this valley was blessed by the gods and looking at the amount of produce cultivated still in the area, it still was!

Our stay here was also to be our starting point for the first major visit of our tour!

Full of trepidation and with a big dose of excitement, we set off to Heathrow to get our flights to Lima. After roughly 28 hours, we finally arrived tired and hungry as Latam Airlines mainly only offered cheese dishes for the meal options, and we survived on snacks for subsidence. We stayed in Miraflores for two nights before starting off on our adventure around the continent. 
Our first walk was down to the sea,  where we found a nice park with sculptures and a kind of Goudi inspired type of seating area with murals on the benches. Returning the next day, we admired the surfers riding the waves and took note of the various sculptures around the area.
The other highlight near the hotel was the John F Kennedy park where local artists sold their artwork. and more sculptures. It was also the home to a colony of cats with a range of interesting houses for them.

In the afternoon we set off for a tour of the city centre. Unfortunately, it was a religious day and the traffic was backed up, meaning we took over an hour to reach the centre. Having caught a glimpse of the procession in the distance we finally managed to get off the coach to visit the impressive Cathedral and see the Palace .

​

Our final visit was to Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo where we first entered this historic library and then we travelled to the national museum where we viewed hundreds of pots collected from local sites and a display of gold headdresses and jewelry from the past.

A fascinating afternoon although very tiring due to the delay getting into and back from the centre with the congested traffic. Once back in our room I did get a chance to capture a few images of fellow travellers to work on later in the holiday.