Day 8

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We left the jungle mid morning to catch our flight to Cusco, the most historical city in Peru. This day was not a very exciting one for me as when getting off the boat after the 2hr boat ride I spotted a monkey that was being very playful. I slowly walked over to it to capture a shot... And didn't see the half a metre drop as I was focusing on the monkey! Such a Katie thing to do and you can understand where I get my reputation for being clumsy. Unfortunately the fall badly sprained my ankle... I don't usually swear and I was cursing trying to hold back tears. For some reason I then responded hysterically and began laughing, maybe because the monkey shot straight over to me and was tilting his head from side to side looking me in the eye probably wondering what was wrong. Not long after the pain was gone and I thought I would be fine. I also felt fine walking around. Many felt sick already due to the altitude as Cusco sits at 3,200m high. Dad was suffering badly from the headaches and struggling to acclimatise even while taking diamox but I was okay and only took half a diamox pill once and wont take anymore. Ollie our tour guide who was born and raised in Cusco showed us around the cobblestone streets and took us to the Coca shop where we tried proper powdered coca tea and raw cacao chocolates with coca and maca in them. At this stage I felt fine walking around. Ollie explained that coca products have gained a bad reputation due to cocaine, however it does not give any similar effect to cocaine as cocaine goes through a complex chemical process and is highly processed and refined. Also, chewing on coca leaves is common among the people of the Inca highlands to prevent altitude sickness. Anyway, we soon went to dinner and tried alpaca...I don't recommend it! It is a very tough meat and you can barely cut it with a knife and it is flavourless. Luckily dad ordered and not me, I only had a taste. We are yet to try guinea pig though. It was during dinner when I got up to go to the bathroom that I realised just how bad my ankle was. Back at the hostel I sat through the Inca trail briefing while Lindsay (who is luckily a chiropractic doctor) took a look at my injury. It was when I stood up that I burst into tears.. Not so much because I couldn't put any weight on it but because I realised then that I wouldn't be doing the Inca Trail.

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