Blogs from Cusco, Cusco, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 48

Unfotunatly I once again have little time. I{m at an internet cafe which doesn^t fit that name at all and dinner with my homestay family is in 10 mins. However, I thoght I would write briefly about my life here in this place called Cusco Peru. It is very fast paced and there are people everywhere. The city is huge but I am starting to figure it out. I take a combi to class in the city at 8 30 and then go home for lunch at 12 30 and back to class from 3 to 5. People litteraly hang out of the combis becasue they are so full... Machu Pichu left me speakless and was more than I could have ever imagined (pictures to come). We hiked not only around Machu Pichu itself but also ... read more

After La Paz, I booked a bus to Puno in Bolivia. Most people stop off at Copacabana on Lake Titicaca, which is on the way to Puno but I was a bit anxious about making up some time after my delayed trip to Rurrenabaque. The border crossing didn´t daunt me - I´ve got quite a few under my belt now, and mostly they are just tedious: lots of queueing, fill out forms and then queue again. What could go wrong? Well, at the Bolivia exit point, I soon found out: there was no entry stamp for Bolivia in my passport. I was a bit surprised as had spent three hours at the border crossing when entering Bolivia. I had handed over my passport several times, checked that everything was in order and had filled out some ... read more

It seems like there have been three parts to this trip. First part: bikes. Second: buses and hiking. So here we are, in the final part, which has quite its own feel as well. A brief summary: A few days were spent in Punta Arenas to plan for the next part. Mark was recovering from strep throat and we both were tired. We researched lots of options, but came up with this as the best. We decided to go our own ways for a bit, Mark heading back to AK and I wanted to continue on, at least to see Peru and the north of Chile. No worries, Szabinski relationship still lives on. However, I could not leave the continent without seeing Cusco and its area while he was tired of not being able to communicate, ... read more

Needless to say that while we worked hard volunteering we also had the opportunity to play hard! This involved a ´vacation´to Ica, paragliding, and lots of nights out! We also did lots of chilling out watching dvds in the house, reading, playing cards, talking a lot,.... Cooking was also a favourite pastime! We had wonderful roast dinners cooked by Gerry followed by my cheesecake or scones or Julia´s devine brownies! Ours Mums would be proud! Thankfully there was a gym around the corner where I went to spinning and aerobics to work off all the food! Of course we didn´t stay in all the time. We had numerous nights out in Cusco which was about 10km from Larapa where the volunteer house was. Nights out generally involved our favourite restaurant Los Perros, Cusquena the local beer, ... read more

Hello again! A 7hr bus ride and we've arrived in Cusco! An afternoon of boring logistics was in order and after booking bus tickets and spending an hour changing a flight (long winded or what!) we trapsed around trying to find somewhere to stay - the only trouble being that all we wanted was a cr**py standard room, and everywhere here is just too nice! Dan - So we're sitting there on the bus, and a small lady huffs and puffs up the stairs carrying a huge package on her back, she slams it on the side and shouts something out that I dont understand, but I smell food, and it gets my attention. I wonder what she is selling, but within seconds she wields a Meat cleaver and starts hacking at the carcus and soon ... read more