The comfort of familiarity

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Having fallen asleep really early last night, I was one of the first people up and downstairs for breakfast this morning. I hadn't been up for breakfast this early before, and I think it might have upset a few people that their breakfast table was now taken up by me. Nonetheless, I tucked into my bread rolls and jam whilst trying to catch up with what had been going on in the world for the last couple of days. I was soon joined by the Australian couple that I had spoken to yesterday at breakfast, and we began chatting about our adventures and what they had thought of Machu Picchu. It was great to get some advise and tips from people who had just done the trip as I still wasn't quite sure what to expect. Having taken as much as I could on board, it was time for me to head off to the gym again. Although it was a really old-school spit-and-sawdust gym, I had enjoyed it so much yesterday that I was keen to fill my time by going again today.

After a great workout, I returned to the hostel to shave and shower before feeding my now ravenous tummy scrambled eggs and ham. It felt so good to be working out again and, as I knew it would, left me in a much more positive frame of mind. Fed and feeling on top of the world again, I headed into town to organise a sleeping bag for my trek. GAP adventures had let me know yesterday that all the kit for my trek was included with the exception of a sleeping bag. Thankfully the Australian couple I had been chatting to had said to try the guy that they used, because not only was he really helpful, he was really nice and made sure that you had everything that you might need for the climb. Following their directions, I was soon outside the Rosly camping hire shop on Purgatorio, just off of Plaza de Armas. I was greeted by Aver, a very well dressed young man, who asked if he could help me with anything. I explained that I was doing the Inca Trail in a couple of days and I had been told he was the man to see about hiring a sleeping bag. Needless to say that although there was a bit of a language barrier, he was visibly flattered and was soon enquiring when I was doing the trek and if I had acclimatised to the altitude. It was refreshing to finally meet someone in amongst the money hungry tourist traps, that seemed to take a genuine interest in what I was doing and obviously had a passion for trekking himself.

We spoke at great length about the different stages of the Inca Trail, and I was quizzed on what equipment I had and what was being provided by the tour company. Eventually we got down to business and began discussing the various types of sleeping bags that I could hire. Aver said that although it was the rainy season, which meant it wasn't as cold at night, it was still a good idea to take something that would keep me warm. I eventually opted for a bag that was good up to minus ten centigrade, as I had plenty of layers i was planning on taking if I got too cold.

Aver seemed really pleased to have someone to practice his English on, and began asking me what I knew about Coldplay and the song 'Fix you'. I thought it a strange request, until he explained that it was a project that he was doing as part of his English qualification. I asked how I could help and Aver began to point out lyrics which he didn't understand or didn't know the meaning of. I began to explain the meaning of the lyrics as best I could and began to wish that point it had a couple of pages outlining emotions, as I gesticulated enthusiastically to a mesmerised Aver. We discussed what everything to do with the song, from what genre I thought Coldplay fell into to what songs or artists he could use as a comparison. I actually managed to surprise myself with how deep and meaningful our conversation got, almost as surprised as I was when I looked at my watch and realised we'd been talking for over half-an-hour. Making my excuses, I told Aver that I'd be back tomorrow to pick up the sleeping bag and pay him the deposit.

I made my way across Plaza de Armas and decided that there was nothing for it, other than to have a hot chocolate, relax and attempt to blog. I had fallen massively behind and wanted to try and catch up before I started the Inca Trail, as I knew I'd be too busy looking around to write anything. There was only one place to go when wanting to become lost in your own thoughts and simply fade into the background...Starbucks. I ordered myself a large hot chocolate and settled into one of the large leather armchairs that are synonymous with the brand, ready to blog. As I sat there, I found it chucklesome the number of tourists that came into Starbucks, even though I had succumb to the comfort of the tourist trap myself. It's one of those brands in which people feel comfortable when in unfamiliar surroundings, and I was no different.

I spent a couple of hours there, trying desperately to get into the mood to write whist sipping on my giant hot chocolate. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get into the flow that I usually had. I soon gave up, blaming writers block and once i had finished my drink decided to return to the hostel to relax for the evening. I had done very little with my day yet again, but I had at least succeeded in spending very little so as to try and get my budget back on track. As I walked back I couldn't help but think that I had spent entirely too long in Cusco, much longer than I had spent anywhere else whilst traveling anyway. It felt like I had done everything there was to do within the city and I wondered how some travellers managed to stay in one place for months on end.

When I returned to the Hospedaje Recoleta, I made myself some dinner before heading up stairs to kill a few braincells in front of the TV. The hostel was quieter tonight than it had been all week, so I pretty much had the place to myself except for someone speaking rather loudly and slowly on the phone outside. From what I could make out, the two American girls who were still at the hostel were having problems with their Inca Trail experience. I couldn't help but feel a little bit smug as I sat chilling out in the TV room, listening to their plight as they clearly hadn't been given the whole truth when booking their trek. Although I knew I had probably paid a lot more than them for my experience, I at least knew that I was going to awesome time once we began the trek in a couple of days time.

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