Cusco - Maté & Maccas

---

I felt like a cardboard cut-out of myself. The only reason I knew I still existed was that I could see myself - albeit in double vision. Whilst I wasn’t feeling nearly as bad as I had been on the train, my mouth was dry and even my skin was flaking. I got up once in the morning to walk up to the balcony and have a water but I only lasted 15 minutes before I needed to go back to bed. Jo and my futbol mate from the hostel kept me in supplies of Manzanilla, Anis & Coca tea (maté) and lemonade throughout the morning.

Buy 1400 I knew that I needed to eat something or I would be in danger of getting sick again. I needed something solid, neutral and tasteless. The 1/4 pounder combo was the perfect answer and I managed to get through half of it.

And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Peru?
They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?
Nah, man, they got the metric system. They wouldn’t know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is.
What do they call it?
They call it a “Cuarto de Libra con Queso.”

I spent the rest of the day and night in bed sipping re-hydration fluids, woken at 2100 by my futbol mate knocking on the door bringing me more hot maté. With the exception of a few taxi drivers, the Peruvians have been amongst the kindest hosts we have had in any of our travel destinations. When I woke up later in the evening I walked upstairs and gave my new buddy my NZ bucket hat.

---