Hi guys,
I did promise you a post from Cuzco at least and since I might be leaving tomorrow I'd better get on with it! However I've not been feeling great the last couple of days so it might be a short one.
After I finished writing my last post Pedro thought it would be nice to take me and Mac (the other volunteer) out to the desert before we left. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the Bardenas Reales but it was definitely worth the trip. Although Spain, even Europe doesn't technically have any absolute deserts its one of only a few semi-desert areas in Europe. We drove through and stayed about an hour spotting vultures, checking out rock formations and Mac even did a bit of climbing!
The following day Martin and Pedro took us along to Leurga (spelling uncertain) to a wine festival. We arrived and for 1,50€ you get a glass which you can use to try out all the local wines from a wide variety of bodegas (where they make the wine). The rest of the day was spent chilling out around the hostel and checking we didn't need any last minute stuff before we left.
Monday was mostly spent washing clothes and willing the laundry to dry in time but in the evening Marianne and Sam showed up. They're the new helpers taking over from us so we spent quite some time chatting about what to expect and past travels, as is almost compulsory when you meet another traveller on the road. I also got to Skype the other half for the last time before leaving Spain too which was great.
Tuesday. leaving day. I spent about 6 hours on buses to Barcelona with nothing particularly excitable during the trip - literally the only note I made on it regarded it being warm enough that the woman next to me was snoring louder and louder as the trip progressed.
Tuesday night was spent in the airport, where some guy spent over an hour silently hinting at me to surrender the only visible plug - not likely.
On Wednesday I flew out from Barcelona airport to Miami - approximately a 10 hour flight then trekked through that airport to find my next gate. I got lost somewhere in the middle after some dodgey signing but thanks to a nice member of staff I got back on track - although he did come out with one of the worst 'lines' ever in the process: something about if my eyes came with that shirt or something like that - no idea haha.
Anyway - Miami to Lima was about 6 hours and after watching a Morgan Freeman narrated documentary on the back of the seat in front I decided to get some kip.
I arrived in Lima airport around 10.30 pm local time and after getting a little turned around again (they really should fix these signs) I found the entrance to departures.... where I had to wait until around 3.30am before I could go through.
I grabbed some food from - I'm ashamed to say - a certain well known fast food place but it was then that I started to feel not so great - must have been the food right?
I finally flew into Cuzco around 6am local time which worked brilliantly as the sun was coming up as we flew over the Andes - a very impressive view! I caught a local bus to somewhere near the main plaza then walked up to the hostel - rather out of breath in the end which isn't surprising considering the altitude. As it was so early I actually managed to get an hours kip and still made it to breakfast - yay!
I met a few other folk staying at the hostel including my dorm mates - two girls from England who've just finished uni. We decided to join up and together went on a walking tour around the town. We got to see the Christo Blanco ( like Rio's Christ the Redeemer but way smaller) and got taken into a woven goods shop where we got a little talk about the dyeing process before they tried pressuring us into buying stuff. We also went to see and listen to some local music but I had another 'not well' moment so figured it would be safer to stay outside - guess it wasn't the food.
After everyone else had a taste of Pisco Sours (the local drink) we finished the tour. It wasn't bad and it was free but maybe room from a little improvement...
The three of us then headed to the local market where they have a sort of canteen set up. Although I ended up with plain rice (just in case) it was nice just sitting at benches with the locals in the market. However by this point I was really flagging so we headed back to the hostel and I spent all afternoon in bed with a quick trip to grab food (soup from a little local place and crackers) before bedding down for the night.
I felt a bit better today but still didn't want to push it so I visited the Inca museum which was rather interesting although it was quite funny to see how much pottery they had on display - think there were at least 3 dedicated rooms. They also had a lot on the history of weaving, and mummies...
Next I visited the Natural History museum. It wasn't great but it did have a few interesting specimens. Unfortunately the lady in charge didn't seem to know about the animals then kicked me out after 20so she could close for lunch.
I ate in another little local place which was interesting. You generally go for the 'menu' option here so I ended up with a bowl of green soup with a chunk of potato, followed by chicken, rice and another chunk of potato and for desert son sort of jelly ( I skipped that last bit). Nice enough food and for just over a pound you can't complain. Since then I've just been hanging out at the hostel.
OK, so the next part of the trip will be off to the project in the Amazon. I can't wait b I don't know what internet will be like. Will hopefully be able to blog - if not I'll think up a plan B.
Hopefully speak to you again soon!