music and passion were always the fashion...

yeaah bazza knows the score

Oh hello again. I'm writing this from the lobby of the Milhouse hostel, a place I've become very familiar with. It's our last day in Cusco, and tonight we're getting a sleeper bus from here to the city of Puno in the south-east of Peru. The city is very close to Lake Titicaca, which is why we're going there. The lake is a huge beauty on the border of Peru and  Bolivia, and we're hoping to stay on some floating islands for a few nights. Also, it's where Copacabana is, so we can sing Barry Manilow all day (yes, I know the song's about a nightclub but let me have this yeah). Anyway, it's all very exciting, as we are also hoping to go across the border to Bolivia for a few days (which will also help me get some more days for my Peruvian visa). From Lake Titicaca we're going to go onto the 'white city' of Arequipa to have a little wander and maybe another short trek, and then to Nazca to see the famous lines, and then onto Ica for some dune buggying and then back to Lima for our last couple of days together! Then Steph sadly has to leave me, and I get to go to work at a school for 3 months until the fam arrive at Christmas. So a lot is happening!!

Yesterday was fun, we took a day trip to the Sacred Valley and saw some beautiful Incan ruins. We started the tour in Pisac, where we saw a silver making demonstration and walked round the Pisac markets (where Steph and I gave in and both bought some lovely rings - she got a symbolic three tiered one, with a condor, puma and snake on (all iconic Peruvian animals), and I got a swirl one, which is the symbol of the Pachamama (the Peruvian Mother Nature)). So we spent all our money and that was fun. We also had empanadas for lunch which were seriously delicious - like a kind of South American pie.  We then went on to walk around some ruins outside of Cusco, had some lunch, and then visited a traditional Peruvian family who showed us how they dye wool and how they make things like blankets and ponchos. They also gave us some tea, which warmed us up a lot. We also met a cool Texan guy who was very interesting to talk to and shares Steph's love for climbing things. A very touristy day really, but had to be done. I'm trying to upload some pics at the moment but my crappy laptop has given up for a bit and all the photos are on my phone, and take a painstakingly long time to upload. So it's just Bazza M for now I'm afraid.

Anyway, our bus is at 10pm tonight so we've got a few hours to kill in Cusco (which we're filling up by sitting in the bar in the hostel to protect ourselves from the rain). So it's cheap beers and nachos all round (just joking mum you know I don't drink lol). So yeah, we have two weeks until Steph leaves and are planning to do as much as possible in between now and then really! I don't really have much more to say, just that my cold is refusing to leave, but then I guess that's all part of the experience of travelling.

I'll keep y'all (Texan influence) updated when I get to Puno, or Copacabana or wherever I end up.

Hasta luego, S xx

 I'll leave you with this picture...

Sums up Cusco and how sad I am taking pictures of myself