Cusco, Peru - Jueves 12th Mayo 2005 (check ME out!)

IT is official - I ming. I have not had a proper shower for ever and arrived in Cusco to find that our hostel (the ´Golden Peru´- I shall sue their false advertising for there is indeed nothing ´golden´ about it... except the bedding but that´s another story...) doesnt have hot water. So I cannot shave and have now cultivated a rather impressive full-on ginger beard... To top of this rather unpleasant image last night I gave in to the charms of a street vendor and purchased myself a knitted hat. Sounds OK? Well let me tell you, it´s proper wooley, it´s got ear flaps and some wool to tie under your chin (for those extra-cold nights), it´s grey, white and black.... and it´s got Llamas on it! As you can imagine, I look rather speacial wandering the streets in scraggy pants, ginger face-fluff and a retard hat smelling like four-day old socks. Even the locals are crossing the road to avoid me...

The last couple of days have been fun but manic. Last day in Buenos Aires we just milled around the parks and the centre. I replaced the camera that was stolen by filthy gyspy heathens; felt v smug actually because I got the exact same model and even managed to haggle for a 100 peso (18 pounds) discount in Spanish! They don´t call me Juan Espagñol for nothing... Also, felt extra smug because I used my penknife (sorry ´multi-function tool´) like a real proper traveller. OK so it was only to cut up a pear but you´ve gotta start somewhere... Stayed up all night to catch our flight to Lima, then waited for a good few hours to get a flight to Cusco so arrived absolutely bleedin´ shafted but all well worth it because... Cusco is GORGEOUS. It´s the oldest inhabited city in the Americas and is 3336 metres above sea level. The air is so thin that I can barely walk up a street (which are all at 45 degree angles) without almost passing out. Well, I´m blaming it on the altitude anyway... It´s been completely taken over by tourism but even that can´t spoil the place. It´s beautiful. Just spent today wandering around the tiny cobbled streets stroking Llamas (as you do). Tomorrow we´re doing a bit of training for the Inka Trail and spending the day hiking some ruins outside the city. Then Saturday morning, 5am, we´re of in to them thar hills to spend four days trekking to Macchu Picchu! I am SO excited. We have a pre-trek brief tomorrow at 6pm; the woman said something about gathering some leaves to wipe your bottom (I kid you not) and I didn´t have the heart to tell her I´ve already been to the chemists and bought a packet of wet ones... A bear might shit in the woods but that doesn´t mean I have too...

So, it´s still all systems go. We are going to need some serious R and R after this cos we literally haven´t stopped since we landed in Rio. It´s been physically demanding (remember, this is someone who used to drive to his local Spar...) but also mentally draining as well, adjusting to new climates, geographies, cultures, money every few days. You just get used to a place and then you´re off! Still working on the pictures; they´re all on CD but it´s going to take an hour or so to upload them and at the moment we just ain´t had the time. Appearing soon, I promise.

Take care y´all, hasta luego!

Juan xxxx