We adopted the hostal's dog, Gringa, and took her for several walks into the mountains and up to the various viewpoints to look out onto the town and the huge volcano that looms over it. We were only partially able to see the volcano though as it was permanently shrouded in mist.

One of the baths we visited is illuminated at night to show the waterfall next to it.

The 21km bike ride consisted of cycling through the surrounding countryside to Rio Verde, the site of the 'Pailon del Diablo', a massive waterfall. We saw several waterfalls on the way. As well as getting used to riding a bike again (Sophie) we had to negotiate two long dark tunnels with lorries and buses passing us. Saw people bungee-jumping of a bridge and also travelling across a gorge by way of a flimsy high speed cable car. On arrival at the Rio Verde we hiked to the biggest waterfall. We got so close to the waterfall we were soaked. We then crawled through a cave so that we could stand directly behind the 'Pailon del Diablo'.

For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Banos

For video - http://www.dailymotion.com/trevallion/video/x65wu6_in-front-of-the-pailon-del-diablo-w_travel and http://www.dailymotion.com/trevallion/video/x65wvv_behind-the-pailon-del-diablo-waterf_travel

written by  billyandsophie on July 13, 2008 from Banos, Ecuador
from the travel blog: South America
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For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Riobamba

written by  billyandsophie on July 11, 2008 from Riobamba, Ecuador
from the travel blog: South America
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Overlooking the small town is a huge statue of Saint Peter made from mosaic tiles, we were particularly impressed by his massive big toes.

For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Alausi

For videos - http://www.dailymotion.com/trevallion/video/x65wrg_crazy-conductor-on-top-of-train-roo_travel

http://www.dailymotion.com/trevallion/video/x65wt5_view-from-top-of-devils-nose-train_travel

written by  billyandsophie on July 9, 2008 from Alausi, Ecuador
from the travel blog: South America
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Billy's horse was unfriendly at first but he soon had her doing as she was told. Mine on the other hand was a little sod and wouldn't go through puddles and kept lagging behind the group to eat grass. Sure enough it wasn't long before he stepped on barbed wire having totally ignored my attempts to stear him clear of it. I had to hold on tight whilst he panicked and bucked, stopping only for a few seconds so I could jump clear of him. Apart from that the ride was really enjoyable as we rode through the Cuencan countryside.

Discovered we have both been carrying around special souvenirs from our travels: two amoebic parasites. Lovely!

For pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Cuenca

written by  billyandsophie on July 7, 2008 from Cuenca, Ecuador
from the travel blog: South America
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Explored the city's churches and plazas but the real highlight was a children´s park which had models of famous buildings and architectural styles from around the world. We are unsure as top why Big Ben was lilac and white but our favourites were the Eiffel Tower with table tennis at it´s base and St Paul´s Basilica complete with three slides. I hurt my bum attempting to try them all out!

For pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Loja

written by  billyandsophie on July 3, 2008 from Loja, Ecuador
from the travel blog: South America
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For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Piura

written by  billyandsophie on July 1, 2008 from Piura, Peru
from the travel blog: South America
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From here we visited two adobe pyramids. Much of the decor has remained intact and depicts the face of the Decapitator - the man responsible for making religious sacrifices. Part of the community's main square can still be seen, as can the chute which took blood from the victim being sacrificed at the top of the pyramid and carried it down to spectators in the square.

At the site were two 'Perros Peruanos', an ancient breed of dog which is totally hairless and has a body temperature of over forty degrees. They are sought after as they are said to sooth arthritic pain. Previously they kept people warm at night in the mountains. It felt like stroking a pig.

For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Trujillo

written by  billyandsophie on June 29, 2008 from Trujillo, Peru
from the travel blog: South America
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We visited Lima Centro by day to see the various squares, government buildings and churches. Tried out various dishes from the restaurants and street stalls of Chinatown. One highlight was a visit to the Catacombs where we saw the underground tombs piled high with skulls and bones from the thousands of people buried there until the 17th century. Our favourite museum was that of the Spanish Inquistion where we learnt about the process of the conviction and punishment of Catholic heritics.

Billy got to watch Germany v Turkey at 'The Estadio', a football themed restaurant which displayed memorabilia from teams around the world, including Forest (you Reds, two European Cups). They even had life size models of Pele, Ronaldinho and Beckham.

For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Lima

written by  billyandsophie on June 23, 2008 from Lima, Peru
from the travel blog: South America
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Various theories exist as to what the figures represent. They are thought to be offerings to the gods made by the pre-Incan Nazca tribe.

For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Nazca

For video - http://www.dailymotion.com/trevallion/video/x5yh12_flying-over-the-Nazca-lines_travel

Also visited the Chauchilla cemetery to see the tombs of mummies. Some tribes distinguished themselves by deforming their skulls whilst others grew dreadlocks down to their feet. These characteristics were still clear to see.

Took a tour of a plant for extracting precious metals. In order to separate the mineral from the mercury added they had to crush and mix the two together by way of standing on a plank on a barrel and swaying from side to side. This takes hours so to eleviate boredom they play loud Salsa music and rock in time to it.

For photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/trevallion74/Nazca

written by  billyandsophie on June 20, 2008 from Nazca, Peru
from the travel blog: South America
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