Good last night in Quito, the group went for a meal in the hotel, have swapped emails and hoping to catch up with some of the guys who live in the UK or when the rest either visit the UK, or when I visit the US or Canada. Only downside of the meal was in Ecuador they cannot serve drink on a Sunday, so Jane, Grant, Neil and I went to the boys room to order beer on room service and toast the trip! Had some interesting conversations about road rage and getting arrested!! Obviously, neither are applicable to me.........

Flight was good, well quick, which is a benefit! Bought a Spanish phrase book at the airport, decided I'm going to attempt to speak the language where I can. Interestingly, did you know the words alligator, chocolate and bonanza are all taken from Spanish? Everyday's a school day!! Drive to our hotel gave us our first taste of Peru. Lima is home to 9 million people, split into 24 districts of varying classes. Our hotel was in Miraflores, one of the more commercial and affluent areas. Going up in the world, well for one night anyway!! Once we had checked in, took a walk to the beach to look around. A few blocks walk opens up to gardens which line the pathways leading to the top of the cliffs. From here we had a spectacular view of the ocean and the bay. Lots of people were paragliding from the cliffs which looked good fun, but the price was $150 for 10 minutes, that'll be a no then!!! Took a walk to the central shopping area, Kennedy park, past a huge statue of a couple kissing. Not sure if I liked it or not (probably not helped by the fact that people seem to be using the wall surrounding it as a toilet, so there was an overwhelming smell of pee!!!)

Now, Kennedy Park, busy touristy shopping area, lined with cafes and restaurants, BUT, one defining feature which sets it apart from any other park I have ever been to..........CATS. At first we only noticed a couple under a bench and one on a woman's lap. Then the more you look, the more you see, they are everywhere, all colours, all sizes, in trees, on benches, under benches, eating leaves.....apparently this is the only place in Peru you will find this amount of wild cats (I would actually say not just Peru, but anywhere). The locals come to feed them, and are really nice to them. Obviously, I was in fluffy mewington heaven, my new favourite place!! Had lunch at a local cafe, really nice meal, on paying the bill discovered that they have their own currency in Peru (once again, well prepared!!), luckily they took dollars, but obviously that meant the paragliding was actually about £30 not £90 as first thought, doh!!!

Early evening we got to meet the rest of the group and our guide Julio. As per Nepal, another female dominated group, with a mix of nationalities, UK, Norway, US and Canada. Looking forward to getting to know everyone. Julio gave us our briefing, funny guy, think we are going to have fun. At one point he assured us he was going to give us 24% of his attention (he actually meant he was available 24/7, but funny anyway). Most of us walked back to Kennedy Park for dinner (and another opportunity to see the cats). Walked past ALOT of backpacker bars and hostels, seems to be a central area for the great unwashed. Dinner started with a local drink, Pisco sour, alcoholic content 42%, which comes in a big shot glass, so you can't down it but almost seems a shame not to!!! Tasted great, bit like a mojito, so looking forward to a few more of them!!! Quick walk back to hotel, ready for the start of our adventure......