What a journey, after many many many hours of flying, transfers, stop overs and bus rides we have finally arrived at Huaraz. And wow what an eye opener this village is. First of all I have never been to a third world country like this before and to see all those people living with no electricity, heat or power it makes me really appreciate what we have. I just want to help them all but unfortunately there is no chance of that. It makes me upset but it is their way of life.

Our hotel is quite cute up on the hill with fantastic views from our bedroom window of snow capped peaks wherever you look. I have never seen a view like it and it is so amazing to look up at those mountains everyday. It took a while to get used to the lack of oxygen in the air and just climbing up a flight of stairs had me puffing!!! But after a few days of roaming the streets and shopping at the wonderful markets (they were fantastic and I have already filled a bag of pressies,well most for me anyway).

We climbed our first mountain yesterday Churrup which I found a real challenge, its not as easy as just climbing a few rocks and walking up a path, every step is a killer and struggling with altitude sickness made every step of the way an abslute effort both mentally and physically. The rewards at the end are worth it though and the views are absolutely amazing. I know that this whole journey is going to be a huge challenge but one that I will push through never the less and learn quite a few things along the way.

I´m looking forward to the challenges to be faced along the rest of the journey!!!