South America – We had finally made it! We had watched the documentaries by David Attenborough about the Amazon jungle and wondered how we could do it, but with Ashley my hairdresser telling me all about deals and Black Friday,  somehow the trip stopped being a dream and became reality.

We left Edinburgh on a freezing January morning and landed in Lima in the hot, wet season. The taxi whisked us through the sprawling, rather seedy suburbs to the smart Miraflores district and we slept.

The following morning we met the rest of the group and we were whisked off again to the airport for the flight to Cusco. This is a city in  south-eastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range.

We were advised to breathe deeply when we arrived, as the altitude was quite  extreme, and we would be at 11,200ft or 3,400m.

Our guide, Washington (or Washy) met us looking very slick and handsome with a black sombrero that suited him very well. We all breathed deeply as we struggled up the street to our hotel. It was such a weird feeling to be suddenly breathless and woozy, rather like being on a boat.

We went exploring later with Washy who pointed out a massive Inca stone wall, the stones so tightly fitting that you can’t get a credit card between them. It is still a mystery how they did this, let alone carry them. A bit like the Stonehenge mystery.

Later that night I lay in bed covered in my new rejuvenating snail saliva cream!

I also inhaled a potion that helps mitigate altitude dizziness.

We had no dinner that night – we just shared a packet of chocolate-covered orange rind that we had bought in the chocolate museum. We know how to live it up and sample the miracles of this mighty continent.

There were flasks of coca leaf tea at reception and an oxygen cylinder for ‘just in case’. We needed to build up our red blood cells to carry more oxygen, so for lunch we had sampled one of the famous national dishes of the high mountains, called lomo saltada (fried fillet of beef) washed down with a fluorescent drink called Inca Cola which tasted exactly like ice cream soda.

Neither of us were keen to taste the other national favourite!

Washy showed us round the market (built on a graveyard, and stands next to an old church), and it was a revelation of colour and variety.

Flowers, fruit, meat, alpaca jumpers and jewellery and a strange stall brewing a broth comprised a bulls penis, pancreas, a fish with no teeth from a certain lake and crab. Presumably it was to build up strength and virility. The lady in charge had a very sour face.

Some of the other ladies just had to be photographed, the hat is obviously such an asset to the outfit.

The  following morning we explored the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and stopped off to see Jesus on the cross, called Cristo Blanco, built by a group of Christian Palestinian refugees who came to Cusco in 1945. We glimpsed the mighty stones weighing 350 tons at Saqsaywaman. This site is at 12,142ft. The workers carefully cut the boulders to fit them together tightly without mortar.

Then we called in to see a weaving co-operative and a pottery place. It was all very colourful and I kept getting memories of dying sheep’s wool with children at school in Glenelg, using local mosses and vegetables to get  the various colours.

Here the alpacas and llamas provide the wool, and guinea pigs in cages provide the dinner.

It was all very picturesque with high mountains and sweeping valleys and terraced farming, and delicious food.

We played a frog game that originated from the Inca kings, where you had to aim coins into the frog’s mouth… not so easy, and later we slept in a hotel surrounded by lush gardens.

The next morning we got the train from Ollantaytumbo to Agues Calientes, which is the village at the foot of Maccha Picchu. On the way, Patrick,  one of our group had opted to do a section of the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, so he left the train at the appropriate stop. The four day Inca trail is not for Jessies as they say, quite gruelling, and Patrick said although he did his part in record timing it was not the easiest climb.

Instead we opted for the easier walk of the 12km round trip to the waterfall, following the rail track. It was all very beautiful, with ferns that the locals called foetal ferns and tiny tiger orchids.

The carriages on the trains have the name Hiram Bingham on their sides, the first American to find the lost city of Machu Picchu. They say he is the inspiration for Indiana Jones. Although Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conqueror (or conquistador) of Peru and destroyer of the Incan Empire marauded and plundered the gold and silver of the country, he never found Machu Picchu. That remained hidden until 24 July 24 1911.

To recover that evening, from all the sights and sounds, we drank Pisco sours, which were very nice and not dissimilar to Margueritas. I enjoyed them so much I bought six place mats from the restaurant. Just love the colours (they were new by the way!).

And finally the big day came when we would visit Machu Picchu. We bussed up to the top, remembering not to wear high heels, or take an umbrella or walking poles or drugs or guns, and at around 6.30 in the morning the sky was blue and the sun was just up.

It was picture perfect, and I could not stop clicking… it was just so amazing. Imagine stumbling across that scene and finding it for the first time.

We walked down to the Inca Bridge, which comprised two planks of wood, quite handy if invaders come, as you can just haul them up and you are secure.

We lost Genevieve, as she took a wrong turning, and also lost Anne. Minor dramas really, and Washy was relieved to get his group together for the exit.

I had to smile at the Room of Mirrors. Not quite Versailles. But here these two puddles of water were in direct position in order to reflect the star constellations of Pleiades and another one, and windows had been built in order for the stars to be framed. Quite amazing.

For us, as we approached the exit, suddenly the sky darkened and rain clouds were washing the distant peaks, it was like a Chinese painting. And then the clouds burst and we were soaked getting on to the bus. We were so lucky, unlike the poor people who were about to commence their tour.

We returned to Cusco and John and I revisited the town square and drank coffee looking out at the cathedral framed through a perfect circle of a window.

We also revisited the market, and I noticed that the snail seller had gone! I am so glad we were able to snap up the product in time! I am sure my skin feels all the better for this extra protection, but John refuses to kiss me goodnight!

We were given options on our last day, so John and I opted for a massage and a trip to the Inca Museum, which was just perfect. Not so Kelly, she chose the Rainbow Mountain challenge, and had to be up at 4.30 am  and a long drive, and an arduous climb up to 16,500 ft. She had her cheeks stuffed with coca leaves like a tobacco wad, and was sniffing the ‘altitude potion’ that helps to open the capillaries in the chest to help with breathing. She had sunshine and snow on her climb, and it was totally exhilarating. The rainbow colours were discovered relatively recently when the glaciers melted revealing this amazing mountain. I was just happy to see her photos!

It had all been amazing, but we were ready for the next part of the adventure. We had to fly to Iquitos and there we would join our river boat that would cruise down the Amazon.