Me2 - Impressisve alliteration! And thanks to My Hero for helping me where I could not help myself (aka booking Uni accomodation) Thank you all for your lovely comments! I really do think about you often, and frequently with affection. ;-) Well! The last you heard from me was when I was... in Lima? Cusco: I send you hammock vibes - there was a hammock hanging from the rafters in our hostel in Cusco. Lush! Very hot and a couple of people got a bit ill (altitude), but we went out that night for a meal and all was better. (I'm keeping a very detailed diary that you're all more than welcome to read). To me, Cusco is Peru. Cusco, undeniably, has a LOT of charm. There are cobbled streets with dips in the middle for rainwater and sewage, people in traditional dress are everywhere whereas in Lima it was much more Americanised. Only on the way from the airport to our hostel we passed a cocunut stall and a sugar cane stall and a little boy was doing gymnastics at some traffic lights in the middle of the road (random I know). In Cusco the streets are winding and there appears to have been no planning. The pavements are so narrow that walking sideways can sometimes be a bit of a squish and drivers honk their horns at junctions to let anyone else know that they are passing - there's virtually no visibility. Btw if you think Swindonians are bad drivers you should come here. A driver flashing his lights at you (as we discovered in Lima) does not mean "After you kind sir" but rather "Stand aside little b***** cos I'm not stopping!" We spent the day organising ourselves; some booked our Lares Trek (and cos we were so charming they gave us a free chef!), some picked up train tickets for Machu Picchu, some booked accomodation and I went to buy bus tickets. There was a large spider in the bathroom when we got back (which led a certain member of our group to ask "Are there insects in the jungle?" On the way to the airport we had already filled 2 pages of classic quotes. Another being "Do they speak Spanish in Madrid?") The next day was an 8 hour bus ride to Quillabamba which we were supposed to catch at 7.30. At 11 we were off (they decided to a) be late b) change all the tyres c) refuel). We arrived in Quillabamba around 1.30am. It was a long day. We travelled over a 4500m pass and were surrounded by the snowcapped Andes in all their glory. We witnessed a red and gold sunset framed by these mountains and the sky is crystal clear here. The stars... oh, don't get me started on the stars! I'm in the Southern Hemisphere man! WOOT! We came across 2 road blocks. The first was meant to last 3 hrs so we played tag with some of the Peruvian children on the bus for 20 minutes and then we were off again. The second lasted 2 hours. We stopped again later that night because of bus trouble and settled in to spend the night, but it all came through in the end and we were off again after about an hour. Quillabamba to Kiteni. Day 5 We had a relative lie-in this morning and rose around 7. Using a more reliable bus company we left at 10 for Kiteni and a long and dusty bus ride. I reckon it was about 5/6 hours with no delays but the dust that coated us was so thick that when we stopped for lunch we passed the time by drawing pictures in the grit on each others'skin. :) We passed a sugar cane field and cocunut and papaya groves. The snow-capped mountains turned into vegetation drenched mountains. We were dropped at the door of our hostel on time and the first thing our contact did was take us for a swim in the river. It was glorious. I was the first in and waded in fully clothed and washed everything. Ah.... the sight of skin and not dust! I had forgotten what colour I was. :) The hostel I found mildly creepy. There was a case of stuffed insects/trantulas, a stuffed sloth, stuffed toucans, baby armadillos, monkeys, a deer head... A leopard and deer skin made up two chairs and lemur (I like to move it, move it), monkey and sloths skins hung from the wall. All were fairly old, but that was just the entrance way. A team member wrote a sign saying "Death is nigh" and put it in the toucan's mouth as a goodbye present, for we soon left for.... THE JUNGLE!!!! The Amazon! Pongo de Mainique (or as the locals write: Maynique) We clambered into a very small boat that rocked like nothing I've ever been on before, but was strangely comforting. We stopped on our way at an orange grove and picked and ate our own juicy juicy oranges, and tasted the cocoa plant. Our campsite was a small sandy bank and we soon set up and organised ourselves, but collapsed early. Pongo de Mainique is a beautiful gorge lined with slick rock and waterfalls. We've been told to keep an eye out for caiman... Day 7 and at 8.30 we were off to have a trek through the jungle. We didn't see much wildlife (other than LOTS of ants) but we did see what I think was a pineapple? and a poisonous toad. It was only a couple of hours because the heat of the day was fast approaching. We clambered out of the jungle and our guide knocked some cocunuts down from a tree which we drank from and then ate. hmmm... yum... It was very sweet - more like warm watered honey than anything. Delicious and refreshing. We want them in England. One of our guides hung a pink flower from one ear like an earring and we exchanged many grins after calling him a "linda chica"; a pretty girl. All of our 7 guides (minus 1) are family and have been guiding/navigating the river for 25 years (I've been told). As soon as we got back to camp we got changed and they took us down river a bit and after a 10 minute walk we came upon what is known as 'The Blue Lagoon' where we swam with the fishes in water an unnatural shade of blue - like there'd been a food colouring leak or something. That evening we saw a HUMONGOUS spider by our tent. Literally bigger that my outstretched hand. We hid in the tent and experienced our first full on jungle storm. I'll spare you all the finer (cruder) points of my travels (aka toilet arrangements) but if you are truly interested send the words "jungle fun" in an e-mail and I'll be more than happy to oblige. Or you can read my diary. :) I seem to have gained a reputation. Someone rubbed their foot on their sandals so we gaffa taped it up. If bags don't close, we gaffa tape them up. I also always seem to be the first one to propose this solution and every now and again someone looks up and queries "Where's our gaffa tape girl?" Baggins, you've created a monster. Day 8 Pongo (snort) to Kiteni On the boat trip back we saw some otters and what is known by the locals as "the stupid bird" which literally sits on a rock and stares at the water all day. Bor-ing! On our return we were delighted to go food shopping and discover strawberry jam of the same brand as the tuna from earlier. Oh, the jokes... We were taking an overnight bus to Quillabmba so while we waited outside (it was an hour late) myself and four others started playing with the local children. This isn't a very big place - a village maybe? and within minutes in the road outside the hostel there were 30, 40 children and us all playing the hokey kokey, ringaringaroses, tag, hide and seek, various clapping games, head shoulders knees and toes and anything else we could think of. I taught one local to swing dance much to the amusement of others (I thought of you Ben). Day 9 Kiteni-Ollantaytambo. We arrived this morning at the hostel around 4am, got some kip and were up again at 6am readying to go. Only at 6.30 the taxi didn't come. It turned out that our bus had not been booked after all so currently we're waiting for the later bus (as 13.00) and now I need to go for lunch will be soon! We're having some laundry done and I'm able to write to you all on these impossibly slow computers so all is not lost. Actually I'm quite grateful. I miss you all terribly.. sob sob sob. Love you all. But I'm not impressed with your ability to pick up hints. Dear oh dear! Potatoes. Rearrange the letters. It turns into... abracadabra! Money! Such a glorious word. Well, toodle-oo my fine friends and family. I expect lots of posts. It is easier for me to check my message board than my e-mail though (cough J cough cough) cos the connection available to me here is so poor. Until next time. Miss me lots. :D Love, MOI! mwah x mwah x mwah