Baggot’s on Tour 2025

We decided to do the trek unguided to create a bit more adventure, and to allow us to go at our own pace as it’s a blinkin’ long way, at very high altitude (the highest point 4630 metres). We had no idea how we would all cope, and we wanted to do it at our own pace but saying that, the boys are probably quicker than us and many of the other rather unfit looking characters attempting the trail 😂. What this did mean, is that we would have to carry the backpacks, and with all the chocolate snacks, this was no easy task unless we could find an empty horse 😳😂.  Day 1: Mollepata to Soraypampa  We avoided a really early start from Cusco to the start of the trek by spending a night in a little Peruvian mountain town, Mollepata. Of course this came with the usual hiccup due to a lack of cash, so we all ended up having to share a double bed! Ho-hum, it adds to the memory bank!  From Mollepata, we caught a little collectivo up a long, windy dirt track up to the start of the Salka...

A quick stop in Bogotá before our onward flight to Cusco, Peru. I couldn’t find a cheap hotel so I decided to book a cheaper alternative at  £19 for a little apartment, all mod-cons etc! So we get off the plane, grab an UBER and head off to our apartment. We have initial fears of using UBER in Bogotá as we are not entirely sure of the safety, but from our experience, UBER is a better option as you know how much you should pay without need to get cash out, unlike the yellow cabs. In fact in Panama, we were told not to use them as they were overpriced and could be dangerous, having said that, the one we did take the driver couldn’t have been nicer!! So we get in our UBER, a very friendly Colombian chap who is full of questions about our trip, and we rock-up at our accomodation after just a few minutes. Let’s just say it’s not quite what we were expecting, perhaps what one might describe as ‘the ghetto’. The ‘estate’ had a very shanty town facade, and after fumbling around the sh...

After travelling through Central America with the most basic of conditions in the majority of places, the first sight of Panama with its many huge hotels, skyscrapers and shopping malls (the largest in Central America) was rather daunting. I wasn’t sure if we were ready for this, but thankfully, after leaving the shiny bus station, around the next street corner was the usual Centro America squalor of  filthy streets, drunks and burning rubbish! Equally, around the next street corner, was the UNESCO world heritage old town, Casco Viejo, where we were staying. We stayed in an area called Santa Ana, that sits directly between the local community and the much more upmarket tourist area filled with boutique shops, art galleries, museums, restaurants, cafes, and rooftop bars, a stark contrast between the local area where the locals were scraping just enough money together for a bowl of rice and beans, and perhaps  a little cervesa!   Our few days here were spent ...