Goodnight Jon-Boy...!

Our favourite restaurant, Trattoria Adriano.
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Lima to Cusco by coach was actually quite nice.  A total of 22 hours on the sleeper coach, where they show movies, and serve dinner and breakfast.  We arrived in Cusco and after all we had heard about the place, were somewhat confused.  All around us there were shacks...  no signs of bars, or restaurants, or even other gringos (for those of you not up to speed, gringos are travellers).  A short taxi ride to the main square, however, was like entering a completely different universe...! The place is amazing - and I mean gringo heaven!! Bars, pubs (English and Irish), restaurants, clubs, and all at Peruvian prices... (apart from the Guinness, at three quid a pop)!!!

Cusco - Plaza de Armas
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Anyway, after hopping between hostals to find the best one, we finally settled on one practically in the main square, and sorry guys, but I have to admit, it´s more like a hotel... With continental breakfast, and laundry service, you can´t go wrong  ; )

The first morning we woke up in the hostal and thought we´d go to the dining room for breakfast to meet other gringos.  It turns out we´re living with The Waltons...!  Two other couples who are in Peru "for the children".  Talk about making us feel bad... Helping out at orphanages, and schools and taking Peruvian kids on excursions...  Don´t get me wrong, I think it´s fantastic that they´re doing it, but my Cafe con Leche (milk coffee) never tasted so bitter.

Cathedral in Main Square
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With the impending Inca Trail, we decided to take it easy in Cusco, limiting our alcohol consumption, and not doing anything too strenous (believe me we needed the relaxation).  However, the temptation was to great, and one night we decided to check out one of the local clubs.  It was great! Gringos everywhere, and the music was the best we´ve heard since arriving in S.America...! We soon realised though that dancing at 3200 meters above sea level wasn´t as easy as we had hoped, and after ten minutes of wiggling, we were gasping for air.  Needless to say we spent much of the evening sitting on the sofas, tapping our feet to the music, and wondering how on earth we´re going to survive the Inca Trail....

Some random Peruvian kids
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After a few days of relaxing we thought we´d better do something cultural so we booked in for a tour of the Sacred Valley in Cusco, which was pretty interesting, and we got to try Empanadas, which are pastries with different fillings, heated in a clay oven in front of you, they´re delicous! That was the highlight of my day anyway  : )

Speaking of food, we decided to treat ourselves one night and went to a very posh restaurant called Incanto.  The place was amazing, I´m talking it would be posh by London standards.  Anyway, we looked at the menu, and it was quite pricey.  We decided to have steak, and the Alpaca steak medallions looked great, we asked the waiter what type of steak it was, and he said it was very good, so we ordered it - and it was truely divine.  The next day, walking around Cusco, we started to notice clothes shops advertising Baby Alpaca fur scarves.  What had we eaten!?!  After a bit of research, it turns out Alpaca are furry Llamas.  Yaz wasn´t too pleased, but I´m ready for my next dose  :)

A local on the steps of our hostal
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The night before the trail, we met up with the tour operator for a breifing on the next day´s events.  Our group of ten hikers had been reduced to five including Yaz and I, as five people had pulled out.  This left three Irish girls and us...  Forget trekking up a mountain at over 3500 meters above sea level, how would I survive four days with a bunch of girls for company....!?!?

Backpack Staus: Iberia need a list of contents to help them find the bag (?!?)