Not too much to add today, but wanted to wish everyone a belated happy 2008...we spent it out in richy richville in Lima...a shopping and eating extravaganza right on the water called Larco Mar. Since we had a 5am flight out of Lima on the first and needed to be at the airport by 330am, we figured that we might as well join the rest of the idiots and stay up all night. We found ourselves a nice cafe to people watch and avoid US prices with the set New Year's menu...pretty crazy after all these five dollar meals to think of spending $65 a head!

Lima was much better than we had expected. The coastline and commercial area in Miraflores was very reminiscent of Santa Monica in Cali. We had many gorgeous sunsets while there...the most touristy/picture perfect of which is at Parque del Amor...we just had to get a giggle from the giant statue of the embracing couple in the background...plus all of the real couples as well!

After a four hour delay in the Lima airport, the two of us, miserably tired, finally ended up here in Cusco. Our seat companion on the flight apparently took a little something to ease his terror of flying and could not be awoken upon arrival...never a dull moment!

We have been doing a whole bunch of sitting around doing a whole bunch of nothing for the last couple of days...it has been raining every day and the number of tourists and peddlers/vendor offering "masages," "fotos," and "Machu Picchu" has become a bit numbing. We did enjoy seeing the city today, as it was the first bit of sun we have seen since we arrive. It is a really beautiful city if you take away all of the people...

We are off to Machu Picchu tomorrow morning on the train. We will spend the night in Aguas Calientes so we can be off at 430am to be up to the top before everyone arrives. After all of the hours of research before arriving here and a full eight hour "workday" while here visiting tour companies, we have decided to go at it alone and spend a little extra instead on the beautiful train ride there and back.