Cusco - "The Belly Button of the World"

Cusco; what a breath of fresh air. The type of air that makes your heart beat ten times faster and won't allow you to take more than 3 steps without needing a little sit down! After a 22 hour bus journey, however, we were relieved to stretch our puffed up limbs and powered on happy that the sun was shining, the sky was blue and there wasn't a car horn to be heard.

Shiny Happy Weary Travelers

Originally Peru's main city, Cusco is known affectionately as the 'Belly Button of the World' as it was the centre of the ancient Inca empire. Nestled in the Andes at 3400m altitude it is a place steeped in history. It's charm instantly sinks into your soul and eases your mind so that soon you are taking life at the same pace as the locals who populate the plazas to sit, content to simply watch the world go by.

Cusco's central plaza with 'The Main Man' chilling on the distant hilltop

Being the nifty thrifty travellers that we are, we decided to check out the free walking tour that gathers each day in one of Cusco's picturesque plazas. I wasn't expecting much and had no doubt it'd be one of those tourist trap tours where you're forced into local shops and stared at until you whip out your wallet in exchange for some monstrosity of a souvenir. To my surprise and delight, the absolute opposite occurred. Michael, our half-pint Peruvian guide, rounded us up in a ball of enthusiasm. To get us going he asked us all to open our lungs and let the whole town hear us roar ... Special merits went to Ledge for this, you can always rely on her to belt out a gooden!

Ledge gets excited for our freebie walking tour

Energised and ready for anything, we skipped off around the town taking advantage of the many freebies that came our way. These included Chicha; a drink made from purple corn, Causa Rellena; a peruvian layered potato dish (Seb, it's a bit like quiche - you'd have scoffed the lot!), the most amazing chocolate treats ever and a whole load of Pisco Sours :) Pisco comes from Peru by the way, not Chile like most people believe (we were told to spread the word on that one!) All of this was weaved into a rambling walking tour of old cobbled streets, winding alleys and irregular terracotta tiled houses that are stacked up the hills to meet the mountains standing majestic above us. This town truly is a beautiful place.

The rolling roof tops of Cusco

Ledge checks out the Pisco making process

Ledge and I were eager to try a mountain trek and to visit one of the world's wonders; Machu Picchu. We set about town haggling our little hearts out and settled on the 5 day 4 night 80k Salkantay Trek. We were given a list of things we would need to prepare for the freezing cold conditions, increased altitude and prolonged hiking ... Up until this point I hadn't really given it serious thought but now was wondering what the heck I'd gotten myself into!! That night was spent racing around the farmacias and local markets. Ledge sensibly invested in a toasty warm Peruvian jacket whilst less sensibly we also bought ridiculous boogly-eyed knitted hats to keep ourselves warm as well as smiling during those dark times when we may have just lost our sense of humours!

We went home to pack up our essentials to the strict 5k backpack limit (no easy task!) and tried to enjoy the last comfortable shut eye we would have for nearly a week. The bus would pick us up at 4:30am the next morning :/

Ledge the Peruvian Pixie

Sexy Mountain Chic

Lost in Lima

Ledge and I had booked ourselves into a cute little hostel in the district of Barraca, the more bohemian area of Lima right by the sea. We had the luxury of a dorm room all to ourselves so after a quiet night's sleep I felt surprisingly good and excited to explore the capital city. We set off on foot along the sea front in the direction on Mirafloras and soon got lost!! A little trek along the main highway to a chorus of cars beeping and truck horns blasting soon sent us heading for the hills. We soon found our way with the help of some local directions and Leanne's Spanish skills which have been an invaluable. Its a struggle to get by here with just basic language as there is so little English spoken or understood. I have set myself the challenge of learning a set of Spanish words and key phrases everyday with the help of Teacher Ledge. So far I'm slowly but clumsily fumbling my way through :)

A handy little phrase for my time in Lima was, 'Cajate la puta boca!'; thanks Binks for this little nugget of knowledge ;) Being a fair skinned blondie seems to invite every vehicle on the road to honk or flash their lights whilst the average man on the street will opt for a traditional 'Ola señorita' or shout 'Oh my God Lady' 3 inches from your face ... Muy molesto!

After a day of this, Leanne and I made like a local and caught the city bus back to Barraca. The buses are feckin crazy; packed up like a rush hour tube carriage with a death-wish conductor hanging out the open side as the driver plays a game of destruction derby with the screaming traffic. Awesome Fun! :D To keep costs down we (actually Ledge!) cooked us up a feast in our slightly dodgy hostel kitchen and we headed out into the night to hunt down some Pisco Sours. I have definitely lucked out having a dulcet toned, bilingual masterchef as my travelling companion :) Back of the net!

Ledge lives up to her name and cooks us tea on a super dodgy stove

In a mad spontaneous moment, Ledge and I decided the next day to sack off the cloudy skies of Lima and try to bustle our way onto a same-day coach to Cusco. A quick dash to the out-of-town bus station and we were soon back in Lima searching for a hostel to stay another night! Everything was booked out so we would have to wait until 2pm the next day to embark on our 21 hour road trip up the Andes to reach the dizzy city of Cusco, 3400m above sea level.

Determined not to waste the day we headed out on another city bus in the direction of the Museo de Arte, asking the crazy conductor to let us know when to get off. He ushered us out of the bus a few blocks down and we set off in search of some culture. Out of nowhere, a local guy in Clark Kent style glasses came running towards us shouting at us to 'Wait up!'. This was Ricardo; a Peruvian Superhero! He explained that the bus driver had turfed us off the bus early to free up the seats for more paying customers, he had seen what had happened and came to our rescue worried that we'd be wondering lost and confused in the wrong part of town. He found us the right bus stop, waited with us until the bus arrived, paid for our fare and apologised for the way his people had treated us. Ricardo told us to take care and was gone as quickly as he'd appeared leaving us forever grateful!

Crazy City Buses

The following day we headed out to the bus station once more to catch our coach to Cusco. An epic journey driving through the night with no stops for longed for leg stretches, this was serious travelling! The VIP bus was actually loads more luxurious than my plane from Madrid so no complaints there. We awoke to amazing views of the Andes and blazing sunshine. A few ear popping hours later we finally arrived in the Inca 'belly button of the world', Cusco City.

Ledge being attacked by alien art

Never ending treasures, an antique shop in Lima

A dog made out of towels ... ??!

City Graphite

Epic Roadtrip

The view we woke up to

Trains, Planes and Peruvian Taxis

4am, 27th September ... and so it begins. My very sleepy bezzy friend Sarah offers up an extra big hug and tells me to stay safe. This is the last of what has been a week packed full of heartbreaking goodbyes, but I've done it. I've quit my life for 4 whole months and all I have to worry about now is the bag on my back and where my next adventure will take me. I feel 10 times lighter :)

I've had 2hrs broken sleep but I'm fully alert and ready for anything. I check in without a hitch and head to Security Control, confidently whipping off my belt, removing my shoes and grabbing a tray. I bundle everything in and turn towards the beeping doorway just in time to catch a glimpse of my passport being launched skywards as the security handler flips my rucksack gives it a shove. Slow-mo scenes ensue; I watch as my passport lands on the rollers, bounces, spins and elegantly slides between the gaps onto the machine's conveyer belt below to be whisked away at lightening speed into the belly of the beast. O.M.Fing.G! I haven't even made it out of the UK yet and already it's all over. I won't be getting very far with a chewed up passport now will I?! 20mins of watching a lot of security men in tight trousers crawl about on their hands and knees whilst I breathe deeply and try not to cry and its recovered unscathed. Big Sigh of Relief!

After a flight to Madrid and 1.5hrs of hanging about, tiredness is setting in and I can't wait to get on my connecting flight to Lima. I rummage in my bag for that free Daily Telegraph I got with my bottle of water and flick through. I land on page 10 and there it is ... a photo of my sister Helen picking cider apples from an National Trust orchard in Devon. On a journey that will fling me far far away from my motherland is an image of home. A warm feeling wells up inside me like a hug from my big sis herself. I rip out the article and tuck it in the back of my book as a little remedy for when I next feel in need of another one.

Boarding the final flight I look forward to settling in; a few movies, a nice comfy seat, a slug of medicinal wine and a good snooze is all I need. But alas, the plane is a relic from the 1970s. Burnt out ashtrays are inset along every nicotine stained arm rest and the only source of entertainment is a tiny beige monitor suspended above the heads of the passengers 1734 rows in front of me. My seat is full of lumpy springs but it's on the end so at least that's good .... actually it's less good. Cue elbow and face getting knocked, smacked and trolley carted for the full 12hr flight. Around 8hrs in I suffer a serious attack of cabin fever but this is quickly cured by the torrential turbulence that causes the nuns a few rows in front to clasp their hands and cross their hearts.

Zero Zzzs later and I've landed on solid Lima ground :D Shuffling through arrivals I spot Ledge, bright eyed and rosy cheeked sporting a beaming beautiful smile. Her welcoming healing hug instantly melts away the last 20hrs of treacherous traveling. None of that matters now; we're here, we made it ... The Ledge and Treb's adventure has finally begun!

We found Leanne´s Peruvian Twin!