31/01/2007

up at 4am this morning to head off on the inca trail. got a long and bumpy bus to ollantantambo to get a slap up breakfast, then back on the bus to get started. was actually quite hot and sunny, so had to peel off all my layers. the trail itself is amazing and the sights are unreal. dee was struggling a bit and when we stopped at the lunch stop [which was about 5 hours into the walk] we decided to head back rather than carry on, as the following days are much harder compared to the first day. so we walked back 3.5 hours and got 3 buses and a taxi to get back to the hostel. i'm just uot of the shower and i'm fuppin wrecked. i got sunburnt to bejaysus aswell [not a surprise].

we got to see the largest inca site on the trail and we are going to rejoin the trail group on day 4 to visit machu picchu, so we won't have actually missed that much at the end of the day.

plan on spending the day doing nothing tomorrow, with our newfound free time!

some pics 2

some pics 1

29/01/2007

had a monster breakfast this morning, there was all sorts of bread, croissants, biscuits, and cakes [even one like my ma makes-rainbow cake]. loading myself with sugar and coca to fight the altitude sickness. coca leaves is what you make cocaine from, but they use it in tea here and chew the leaves aswell. i'm drinking the tea and we got coca sweets aswell. tastes a bit mank, but getting used to it more with every cup.

28/01/2007

waking @ 4am is not my thing, it's just not. especially when you wake up to a humid heat. Anyhoo, we got a taxi to the airport, went through the mind-numbingly slow airport ssecurity and immegration checks, adn got on the plane. they must have smelled our pikey-asses, because the plane was half empty and they plonked us at the very back, 4 rows from anyone else!

got dunkin donuts holes in lima airport

when we finally got to cusco, we hopped in a waiting taxi. the drive to our hostel showed us that the outskirts of the city are quite poor but the plaza major in the centre of the town is beautiful. there are 3 main churches in the plaza, and one of them is over 500 years old! it even outlasted an earthquake that ruined the city!

the hostel itself is very rustic with lots of charm. the mediterannean colours and outdoor lounging area really give it a cozy feel. dee has been eaten alive in BA by mosquitos [i only got a few bites], so hopefully cusco will not be as bad. dee is so pissed at the bites that we are closing all the windows in the room despite the heat. it's 22 degrees here today.

finding it a bit hard to breathe here in cusco, and my heart is beating a little faster because of the altitude. we went on a walk down to the plaza, and the way back to the hostel is very steep hills and loads of steps. half way back i started to get a headache and feel naucious, so when i got back to the hostel @ 6pm, i went to bed, and woke @ 8am the next morning.

26/01/2007 part2

forgot to mention the tango show we saw last night. was class. very good show and really got into the tango style. the band were also amazing; the guy on the accordian was about 90 but giving it socks with some weird chords which almost sounded like jazz in parts. would defo recommend this place... cafe tortoni

27/01/2007

we headed over to la boca today on the number 29 bus. it´s a weird place as it has a lot going on in such a small area. it´s a touristy centre where they exploit the interest in tango with many restaurants featuring live music and tango right beside the tables outside where you eat. the buildings are painted very vibrant colours, so the place really comes alive when joined with the bustle of people and music.

boca is also famous for the local football club; boca juniors
we went on a tour of the stadium and museum. the museum is pants unless you are a local and have been folling boca juniors for 90 years, but the stadium was cool. they use a lot of psychological games for the visitors; for example the entrance doors into the stadium for the visiting team is so small that you have to bend down just to get in, where as the boca team entrance is MASSIVE! they also place the visiting team´s locker room below the rowdiest stand {like hill 16} so that they can feel the thumps and cheers from boca fans, and make them exit to the pitch just beside this so they get abused just as they are trying to psyche them selves up!

of course there was also posters all over the shop and talk of maradonna on the tour, as he played for this team back in the day, and is a chairperson now i think. he has his own personal box in the stadium and goes to EVERY GAME! needless to say, he is a god-hero here.

not looking forward to getting up @ 4am to go to the airport tomorrow. we´re heading to cusco tomorrow via lima, and will be expecting some aclimatising to the altitude, etc.

27/01/2007

today we ventured out to the presidents palace to book a tour, but there was some sort of socialist/communist/anarchist/che protest on the streets right beside the palace, and it was also under heavy renovations, so i think it was a sign we weren´t supposed to go there!

we strolled the streets instead and had cornish pasties {they call them enpanadas} with the perfect accompanyment - percy pigs! {donated from gerry}

we stumbled up a restaurant mentioned in the lonely planet called cafe tortonili and hit that sh1t with the churros and coffee. we also bought some tickets in the same place for later that evening for a tango show and dinner.

there´s a film on {with comfy couches} @ 6pm and the bar open also, so we might venture in later...

26/01/2007

what i thought would be a killer flight to south america was not too bad after all. the journey was broken up by a stopoff @ sao paulo, but what really helped was the combo of sleeping tablets, whiskey and wine - knocked me out BIG time.

buenos aires is not too hot but the humidity is a killer. after strolling about on the first day we were wrecked. i vowed to eat steak every night we were in argentina as it has a legendary reputation. my 1st steak experience was in a restaurant called Paradilla al Carbon. well... holy god. it lived up to all expectations! apart from being tasty as hell, it was fuppin HUGE!

fell back to hostel suites obelisco for a well needed kip.

phil's farewell pic for me

see if you can spot who is who...

an ode to dave

to see ELBs slightly stange presentation, click HERE
when i watched it, i thought it looked like an epitaph, and that i was actually dead.

rough dates

not quite accurate, but a good guideline:

24th Jan 2007 Dublin, Ireland
24th Jan 2007 London, United Kingdom
25th Jan 2007 Buenos Aires, Argentina
28th Jan 2007 Lima, Peru
20th Feb 2007 Santiago, Chile
24th Feb 2007 Auckland, New Zealand
30th Mar 2007 Nadi, Northern, Fiji
12th Apr 2007 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
14th May 2007 Cairns, Queensland, Australia
16th May 2007 Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
16th May 2007 Singapore Airport, Singapore
11th Jun 2007 Bankok, Thailand
13th Jun 2007 London, United Kingdom
13th Jun 2007 Dublin, Ireland

a rough idea of our planned trip