Cathyyyyyy

so from numerous drunken nights out and goodbyes in Sucre we caught a high quality bus (ahem!) to Santa Cruz- not the epicentre of the universe it must be said! we arrived saturday afternoon- enough time to wander around town, discover there was NOTHING to do so we headed off to the cinema to watch an english film- never have i been more happy to watch harry potter- escape the spanish! then for sushi- however sushi is never my first choice- especially not when the menu is in spanish, and nobody has any idea whats what- so i end up ordering raw meat- carpaccio! eeeuuurgghhh! yuk yuk yuk! sunday there was even less to do in santa cruz, although we also managed to spy a 3 toed sloth, which hung around in the trees in the ... read more

Back from the Inka Trail....everyone pretty tired, and the hotel somewhat resembling a hospital!1 We decided that we quite wanted to see the ruins around the city (but a stiff 30min-1hr uphill walk away) but couldnt be bothered to walk....so we hired horses & a guide for the morning and headed out around Cuzco, the scenery was beautiful, definitely worth seeing....the horse part however was somewhat interesting...I guess horseriding is something I fancy myself as naturally able to do, but I actually haven´t been on a horse since I was 10, and the horse i rode (for all of 10weeks maybe) called Honey, got pregnant, and I haven´t been near a horse since...despite my aunts attempts!! So yes, on this ere horse, called Abela or something, white, pretty and "gentle" apparantly....however the guide didn´t happen ... read more

Arriving into Lima from a luxury night bus, Ana, Phil, Jill & I (buses are great places for meeting gringos....everyone just chats away in English regardless of the locals looks!) headed off to a HI hostel...which considering they are supposed to be fantastic and of a much higher standard, to be honest, im not at all convinced!! We headed out to the market after showers and some OC watching....where much restraint had to be exercised....however I did manage to pass off my fake 100soles bill to a market dude for a poncho...so really the poncho was free because I´d already written off that 100 bill!! Hehe!! Cooked dinner that night...so cheap, and had a very early one...buses aren´t that comfortable after all!!! Friday Phil & Ana pushed off early, but Jill & I checked into ... read more

So up early to head off into the wilderness and the unknown on Saturday, on one hideously uncomfortable 10hr bus journey on what can only be described as mud tracks...argh.....Hannah also took the window seat cos she gets travel sick, which meant whereas usually I can lean against the window and sleep the entire way, I was rather uncomfortable on our bumpy bumpy bus...Nevermind, I had my music! Had copius supplies of ritz biscuits, oreo wannabees and juice....not exactly the healthiest diet, but its all the corner shops seem to offer when it comes to travel food...no M&S sandwiches here... Into Coca finally at 5pm and to our hostel. Coca, however, is not the friendliest of places and we felt very out of place....it´s an industrial oil town, which has very much the air of ... read more

New girls arrived on the Monday this week, Manon from France-Quebec, and Janice from California in the US, both very lovely and I spent a few days telling them what was good to do and getting jealous of the fact they had it all to come! Tuesday saw more classes, with one of the clever kids, Danny, managing to break his pen, such that the nip flipped off and hit me on the forehead, now this would have been okay, unfortunately I managed to rub ink all over my face, and it just wouldn´t go! The kids found this highly amusing and I felt like a tit! Nevermind....Met up with some of the I to I recruits in the evening, but once more, most of them were heading off to the jungle and or the ... read more