Hello once again.

Now from the response Tom got from my family for his last ´hilarious´blog (inflation of the head here) I should give all blogging responsibilties over to him. But this time it´s my turn so hopefully i can challenge his record!

As you can see we are now in Cusco, which i think we are both agreed on is our favourite city stop so far. It is a buzzing little place, absolutely jam packed with fully donned Alpaca jumper wearing, flip flop sporting (even though it is freezing) Western backpackers. Who, i must add Tom has been very quick to join in with - recent purchases include a very lovely green woolly jumper emblazoned with llamas! You might laugh at this but you would have cried had you seen the LIME green one he had originally gone for which fortunately i was able to persuade him out of. But here goes the day to day run down...

Day 9

We boarded a very early flight from Arequipa this morning which was actually quite enjoyable as it flew over the Andes and Lake Titicaca, a stop of ours later on the tour. Landing early we arrived at our hotel by 9 am. Unfortunately, alhough Cusco may be our favourite city this is our least favourite hotel due to the fact we are sure it is colder in here than it is outside! Although, it may have been overly dramatic to try and squeeze in one sleeping bag as well as having all the covers and blankets leading to a worrying moment of panic when i thought we were stuck that way for the night. But, back to the city. Mirko our guide gave us a quick orientation walk around the centre and sent us off for the day. Luckily before he left us he led us to Jack´s cafe which turned out to be the kind of eatery that might just save a hungry travellers life. It is safe to say i couldnt contain my excitement when they served up probably the best english breakfast i have ever had outside of home/farrowby farm. You could say this made my day much to Tom´s amusement! We then spent the rest of the day wandering around this beautiful city, noticing the obvious Spanish influence in the pretty balconies and picturesque alleyways and churches in a city that originated as the heart of the Inca empire. We spent some time in the Inca musuem but filled most of the day browsing what must be the hundreds of souvenir type stalls all piled with woolly hats, jumpers, scarves, gloves etc in every colour of the rainbow. We restrained our shopping most of the time but couldnt resist haggling for a few things. Especially when a pair of gloves costs the equivalent of 1.50! In the evening Mirko took us to a really yummy australian place. We are definitely seeing the best , cheap food Peru has to offer with him as our guide. On the way home, we stopped off to observe a salsa lesson as I had been hankering to do some dancing since getting here. The idea is that both of us, yes BOTH will go along to actually join in tonight (being day 10). Tom actually volunteered :)

Day 10

Today has been relatively similar to the previous day as it is so enjoyable just wandering around the city. We did visit one of Cusco´s most famous churches Santa Dominca, most famous as it is the previous site of a great gold covered Inca temple. This was interesting and as Tom would say (seeing as we are taking to quoting each other) ¨well that´s the culture bit done´¨. Im joing of course. Tonight as i previously mentioned salsa is on th cards and maybe a sampling of the nightlife which according to Mirko is the best in Peru - he went out alone last night and we havent yet seen him today - so it must be!

Right that´s it for now. Tomorrow is our last day in Cusco for now, although we shall be returning for one night after completing the Lares Trek (similar to the Inca trail) and visited Macchu Pichu from Sunday through to Wednesday. Hopefully lots to report back on then. Unless we dont make it through the reported minus 10 degrees it reaches at nightime on the trek!

Sarah