Eating and drinking my way around the Sacred Valley...

We have less than one month people, one month. HOME in one month. This time next month I'll be arriving back in blighty. O n e m o n t h.

Don't know if you can tell but I'm a little bit excited to come home. Don't get me wrong, I love Peru so much, and I know I'll be sad to leave, but I'm very much ready to come home now & start summer.

Okay, so, where have I been since my last post. Right now I'm sat in a cafe (surprise surprise), with some coca tea, trying to plan my last month/summer things. Well, anyway, my last post was pretty much a month ago, just after my adventures in the jungle! Since then I've finished my essay (thank the Gods), and gone on a

Pisac Market

few little side trips with my Ollanta bestie (that's you Holly).  Nearly 3 weeks ago we went to the town of Pisac, which is about an hour away. There's this big artisan market there which has everything, and as soon as we arrived we didn't want to leave. We also did some horseriding. First time I've ever been on a horse, which was an intersting experience. Scary, but fun. And beautiful scenery. The hostel was also beautiful and the town itself is really lovely. It's in the middle of some mountains, and is surrounded by ruins, like Ollanta. So we stayed there for the weekend, ate some delicious food, bought some presents from the market, and then got lost on the way home. Because really, what is a weekend in Peru without getting lost somewhere along the way? We tried to take a bus back to Ollanta, ended up in a town halfway there, and then got another bus, which we realised halfway through the journey was actually going back to Pisac. Fun for everyone. Don't worry though, we did eventually make it back home, albeit tired and hungry. So that was the first time we got lost.

Cusco Adventures

Since then we've walked around Cusco numerous times trying to find a hostel/restaurant/hospital. We've been to Cusco on mini-excursions twice since my last post. The first time we wanted to go to the flea market (we do love our markets), which was amazing, had everything and was huge. So we arrived in Cusco, with a hostel in mind to stay at for the weekend. However, apparently, it didn't exist, because nothing is ever where you want it to be in Cusco. We then walked for around an hour looking for another one that wasn't ridiculously out of our price range (and bear in mind here, Cusco is very hilly. And is full of steep steps). We found a lovely one eventually though, so stayed there and then pretty much ate our way through the next couple of days. On the Saturday we sat in a cafe for approximately 4 hours, because we are typical white girls who needed our coffee and wifi fix. It was a lot of fun, anyway.

The second time we got lost in Cusco wasn't as fun, however. It was yesterday. Holly needed a yellow fever shot (because we're going to the jungle, but that's for later), and that involved trying to find somewhere that had a yellow fever shot. And that involved getting taxis to every corner of Cusco, pretty much being sent on a wild goose chase. 'No, you need to go here...' 'We're closed' 'Go to this place then come back' were just a few of the phrases we were familiar with by the end of our little ordeal. We ended up in a sketchy looking hospital, an industrial estate in the arse-end of nowhere, 2 pharmacies and then a very expensive private clinic. But on the bright side, at least now I know what the Spanish is for 'yellow fever' 'immunisation' and 'help us please we don't want to walk round Cusco anymore'. (The last one's a joke, I knew how to say that from the day I set foot in the city). I do love Cusco though, its beautiful and there's so much to do and see there. It also rains a lot, so it's pretty much like being at home. With more mountains, and steps. And less British people. And more loud American/Chinese/British/Japanese tourists. But I love it!

I also had a lovely brunch with some girls last Sunday - which involved spending literally all day in the restaurant, eating and drinking champange. What else could you want from a Sunday? Here's a little picture to sum it up.

So, other exciting things. I'm off to Bolivia (again) tomorrow, for about 5 days. Me & 2 friends (including the American) are going to the lake for some relaxing and some more hiking, which I'm looking forward to. Also, Bolivia is so cheap, so that's a plus for everyone.  We might visit Puno (in Peru) as well for a bit, but we'll have to see where the next couple days take us. After that, we're off to the Amazon for a week (even more excitement!!) to see some animals and take some boat rides and hopefully not get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Then, after a week in the ol' rainforest, I have ONE WEEK LEFT to go back to Cusco and Lima, to pick up the rest of my belongings, and then I'm flying home. I'M SO EXCITED TO COME HOME (if you hadn't noticed...).

So really, this post was just to tell you all what I'm planning to do with the rest of my time here, and how excited I am to be back in the UK! I'll make another one of these before I'm home, probably when I'm in Cusco/Lima, to update you all about my Bolivia/Amazon adventures, and then I'll be home to see all your pretty faces again! This was also a lazy post because I'm tired (when am I not, really). But just thought I should update you.

Okay, that's quite enough writing for one day.

See ya in a bit,
Hasta luego, S x