ToBeShaw

Arequipa has been all it was supposed to be. Did all the town, main square, cathedral, and monestary the first day, then started hanging out with these two really lovely Aussie guys, a couple of Dutch girls, two chicks from NZ and Kent. We’ve all made really good mates with the staff in the hostel and the two girls and I are likely heading to Bolivia together tomorrow night via Lake Titicaca before landing in La Paz for Xmas.
Had to force myself to remember I’m actually on holiday and have only been here for just over a fortnight. So I’ve been just taking it easy the last few days and enjoying the rest – sunshine, reading, sleeping, watching DVDs and having a bit of fun, before setting off again.
Getting the overnight from here tomorrow to Puno to see the floating islands on the lake, then from there head to Copacabana in Bolivia. Booked into a hostel (same chain as this one, so on good reco) for a week over Xmas as didn’t want to get stuck without a place to stay over the busy period.
From there, I’ll likely try and get a few days in the jungle, but that will depend on the weather as this Kiwi chick told me yesterday, some of the trips that are supposed to be three days can extend to five or six if the weather is bad, so will need to play that by year.
After La Paz I’m thinking of heading down to Sucre/mining country and then into Uyuni for the salt flats.
Taken the pressure off myself as to where I need to be for NY as I realised I was stressing about trying to get too much in to a short space of time, and at the end of the day, NYE tends to be a bit of a let down anyway, so figured I’d have a good time wherever I was.
Off for lunch in a bit then doing admin – bus tickets etc. Until next time! xxxx

Well, I don´t know. You don´t hear anything for over a week and now twice in two days. Jesus. Anyone would think I had time to kill or something… Basically I had to check out at 10am but my bus leaves at 7 tonight. So I´m feeling like a bit of a vagrant. And avoiding Paddy´s Irish Pub, for obvious reasons!

Indeed, today I have wandered around, become a coffee aficionado, posted some postcards, looked at some more church-like things, sat around for a bit more soaking up the first rays of sunshine since I got here, went for lunch, tried sitting in the main square and reading up on some Spanish, but may as well light a beacon above my head screaming Í´m a tourist who doesn´t really understand anything you´re saying! Please come annoy me/rip me off/try and sell me some Peruvian tat!´. So here I am again. In the internet cafe that doubles as a shrine to The Beatles.

Things I have noticed so far: some things are international. Namely, little kids trying their luck with their parents. Peruvian children and babies are cute, but also the most laid back kids in the world! From tiny babies to 4ish they are literally carried around at all angles by their parents like sacks, oblivious and fast asleep. It´s really quite amusing.  

What else… oh, vanity permeates all cultures. When visiting this women´s co-op project the other day, seeing how they shear the sheep, llamas and alpacas, weave the wool, dye it with plant dyes and make all manner of clothing, bags, purses etc, I decided that while I could probably get similar on Camden Market, it felt good to support them. And, far more selfishly, it had been effing freezing the previous night, so I bought a beanie and a pair of hideous socks made from alpaca wool. (Joe, you´d not be happy with me. Not a sequin in sight…) Anyway, having bought these two things from a pretty shrewd Andean lady, I asked if she´d mind if I took a photo. Si Si, de acuerdo, she tells me. But wouldn´t let me go near her until she´d straightened her plaits out and buttoned up her cardigan properly. Very sweet…

Other things that have amused me today… Walked past a bookshop featuring a One Direction window display. Yep. Inside wasn´t much better, pride of place was a Stieg Larsson & Fifty Shades display. Seems awful ´mummy porn´ is as popular in Cusco as Stoke Newington.

Have eaten alpaca (imagine a cross between beef and pork), tried the tinest bit of guinea pig last night off my German neighbour´s plate – didn´t have the balls to order it myself. Arrived, full body, head, teeth, the works. Bit sweet though, which as we all know, sweetness does NOT belong in a meat dish. 

Tried to ignore the fact that he looked rather a lot like Ashton Kutcher as a we went playing pool.  Ahem.

So I´m still not able to upload photos, sadly, as would be here until Christmas. Now it´s off to Arequipa I go…. 

Sorry kids. Been acclimatising. Not just to the altitude either, which, incidentally, has hardly affected me at all, luckily. I didn´t bother with the pills, just stuck to the coca leaves and tea, which seem to have done the trick. Bar a few headaches and the usual shortness of breath, I have to say I felt I did an okay job. But Omar, I´m sorry “It´s pretty easy”. REALLLY?!?!?!?!? Not all as fit as you m´dear!
So, how was it? Well, I was challenged just the right amount. The group I was with was diverse enough, a mix of Germans, Aussies, Irish, Indian, Canadian and two English. Oh, and a few Americans but none of them did the actual trek, just spent the start and finish with us, having taken the train (and subsequently earning themselves the group moniker of Lazy Yanks. Sorry Amy, if you end up reading this! xx)
Yep, nice crowd, the tour company, G Adventures, I cannot praise highly enough. Awesome at every point and while not cheap, very good value for money.
Oh, can I just add in at this point that while I was in Lima for 30 hours, trust me to join a city tour comprising only a LatAm fund manager and his wife, from New York. Seriously. Had his wife not kept giving me evils I probably would have tried to interview him as a startup boutique and sell it to one of your trades. Ah well…
But I digress…Back to the Inca Trail. The walk itself was amazing, had plenty of time to think, and surprised myself at the stuff my brain has been filtering through whilst both walking and sleeping – or not sleeping, as the case may be in freezing cold, p*ssing rainy tents! But I´ll save all that for another blog, maybe.
The view once you step over the top… I think in having seen that picture postcard view a million times over the years, it was a bit like ´great. There it is. Take a few pics, and move on.´ That said, the site itself (I´m embarrassed to admit, I had to ask someone when we first got there, Ís Macchu Picchu the mountain, or the town?´ But felt marginally less ignorant in finding out it is in fact both) far surpassed my expectations. I didn´t realise it was that big, that well preserved, or that diverse. So well worth the trip I would say. Sarah – agreed, but the third day for me was somewhat spoilt by the weather, which just put me into autopilot ´get me to the end as quickly as possible´ mode!
We all arrived back Sat pm, into Cusco, and the lovely German couple on the trek had got engaged when we reached the top, so we´de all agreed to meet for drinks later on to celebrate a) the completion and b) their news. Exhausted, but happy, we all resisted the draw of ´Mythology´or some such name of the Cusco ´disco´(ahem) and had a little shimmy with our tour guides for a few hours. Didn´t quite manage the 24 hour challenge (we´d woken up at 3am to beat the crowds to the sun gate at the top, but fatigue won over the dancefloor!) but had lots of fun.
Now in chill mode, wandered round the arts district this morning, have found an amazing Peruvian artist I plan to contact when I get home to purchase something off her, and now going for a massage. NO, not a happy finish ;o)
Tomorrow off to Arequipa to see some volcanoes and canyons, apparently.
Hasta luego,ç
Besos, Sxxx
PS just tried to add pics – no funciona. Lo Siento.
PPS Forgive me any typos. Still getting to grips with these keyboards!

Ok, so not much more to add. Not of value. But it’s my blog and I’ll have another crack if I want to.
The last 24 hours have been about list-making, list crossings-off, and list-remaking.
Had the delight of waking up alongside my two-year-old nephew Max and have had six-month-old Tobi cuddles all morning.
Fambo just gone out for a bit leaving me to get all my final stuff in the right places and all the ‘do I really need this??’ stuff in the ‘leave at mum’s for her to sort out once I’ve gone’ pile.
On that note, this might be my last home side entry, so I’ll return from warmer climes. Hopefully.
Hasta luego!

Final countdown… few friends to still say goodbye to, a couple of last minute bits to sort out, then an early Xmas dinner with the fambo before I’m off! Flying crack of sparrows – 0555 Saturday from surprisingly sunny Manchester. See you on the other side….