Made it

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Hi all, well made it over here in one piece, including my luggage, which was is always a good way to start a holiday. Spent a pretty average night in Santiago. The hotel was very cheap (less than $10) and I guess you get what you pay for - no towel, no toilet paper, no shower rose and I did wonder when the sheets were last washed. The weather was cloudy and a little rainy and so I wasn´t wanting to venture too much further to find a better alternative. Santiago doesn´t have much going for it. It´s pretty poor looking and although I didn´t get a chance to visit any sites, I doubt that there´s much to see but I could be mistaken.

Lima was much nicer, especially since I stayed in a hotel at the other end of the spectrum. I had a cheap hotel picked out but the bus driver talked me into staying at Miraflores and dropped me off at a $80 per night hotel. Nice change though. It´s was called the Colon Hotel and I think Darryn Hinch stays here when he´s in town! You get hassled a bit walking down the streets and the taxis toot their horn at you like you are blind, but other than that the people are pretty good. I think the taxis in Lima rely on the horn, like a bat relies on its sonar, so that they can see through the thick smog.

Miraflores is out near the beach but on top of the cliffs that run along the coast. There´s an ally there where you just get mobbed with offers of menus, free beer and woman, although I think you have to pay for the woman. It´s just a bit much (and all the fuss they make over you is also!). On Wednesday night I ventured down to Barranco which is another trendy area, and had dinner there. It´s meant to be the primera location for night-clubbing in Lima and I either was there too early (9.30) or it´s just quiet on week-nights. I walked into one place and there must have been more than 8 table service chicks lined up along the wall all dressed the same. It that room there wasn´t one customer though so either labour is very cheap or it was going to get a lot busier later on.

The Spanish is coming along ok. It can be tricky though and after a while you die to talk to somebody in English just so you don´t have to struggle with the words. Take for example the word Playa. It either means beach or parking station! Not sure what the connection is there but they love the word so much they also use it for a gambling area. They also have an interesting garbage collection system there. No bins, they just throw their plastic bags on the street and they probably contain the used toilet paper that you can´t put down the toilet!

After Lima it was off to Cusco and jumped in a taxi to Ollantaytambo. Had to make a quick stop at the bathroom before we left though as when I squatted down to pick up my back I could smell something unpleasant. Unfortunately something I'd eaten (no I didn't try the Guinea Pig) hadn't agreed with me the day before and so out came the Immodium! Fortunately it turned out to be the rubbish bin that I was squatting next to!

At Ollantaytambo found a nice hostel, bought a train ticket for Machu Picchu and settled in for a quiet night. MP was great but a little smoggy as the photos show. It must be burning off season. I also did the walk around the peak next to it - Huayna Picchu. After making it right up to the top I was envigorated and made the silly choice of taking the extended route home via the Grande Cavern. Two hours later I struggle back into MP having run out of water an hour before. The high altitude, lack of a decent feed, little water and a jeans on a hot day are not a good combination!

Well after that it was more amazing stone-craftmanship at the various locations such as Ollantaytambo (love that word), Pisac and Cusco. Will be spending a day around Cusco tomorrow and then off to Lake Tita.

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