Happy birthday Alan, hope you´re having a great day! Enjoy the delights of Stayley Vegas tonight! We are enjoying similar weather to you if not similar scenary - it´s raining here! Can´t bloody escape the stuff!

We have made it to Huaraz, despite a bloody uncomfortable bus journey last night - we are still aching! THE JOURNEY Took 10hrs - thankfully it didn´t feel like it cos we were drifting in and out of sleep. It seemed like it would be a really comfy trip to begin with, we were given an in-bus meal just like on a plane! VERY EXCITING! Particularly as it was washed down with INKA Kola, a luminous yellow liquid that is abit like Iron Bru - yum! However, things took a turn for the worse when they decided to put our new found favourite film on - bloody Babel AGAIN! IN SPANISH! GRR! We switched our mp3s up and tried to get some shut eye but the guy behind us snored like a gorilla ALL NIGHT! So we emerged into the morning light of Huaraz at 7am, bleary eyed and aching like mad.

We have found a nice hostel tho - it has carpets! A first on this trip! The room is very spacious and has a nice balconey, not that we can use it - it´s weeing down here! rubbish.

Have booked a hiking tour in the mountains tomorrow going round some of the spectacular lakes and lagoons in this area - hopefully it´ll clear up so we don´t drown. It´s an early start - we meet at 6.30am tomorrow! help!

Anyway, had better go, we need some sleep (and also time to consume the beer we´ve bought! Salut Alan!). Chao amigos