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Hello everyone!
So, a quick summary of the trip so far (in case we don´t make it back from the Inca trail).
We spent the first 2 nights in Miraflores, a nice suburb of Lima, where we visited the pre-Incan ruins of Huaca Pucllana (dating back to 400ad). We soon headed down the coast to get away from the city smog - which can still burn!- and find some sunshine!
We went to Paracas, a tiny little place 4 hours south of Lima. The coaches are amazingly comfortable but are likely to be the biggest drain of our pennies out here. Paracas is basically a coastal town on the desert. Very surreal after the busy city and it looks like an oasis.
From here, we headed to Isla Ballestas AKA "poor man´s Galapagos", which was only a short boat ride away. We saw sea lions, pelicans, vultures and, best of all, penguins en masse in their natural environment. It was really lovely to watch the sea lions swimming out by the boat and playing with each other. We took about 200 photos in half an hour!
The rest of the time in Paracas was spent chilling in the 29 degree sunshine! Phil has acquired a taste for a local traditional drink, called Pisco Sour, of which he has enjoyed quite a few! We´ve been getting lots of fresh fruit (and peas for Phil) from grocers for munching in the sun.
From Paracas, we headed to Cusco, which entailed 17 hours of bus journey. Thankfully, they are really flash coaches but this is still a long time to be sat down. We met some Aussies who we´ve hung out with today. We had lunch in the plaza and are going for a few drinks tonight as this place has a nice vibe about it and lots of people doing similar trips to us. The hostel we are staying in has lots of hammocks and grass so we are likely to be spending some time out there with a book or the ipod this afternoon or tomorrow. The hostel is really lovely and cheap too but happens to be up a rather steep hill. This proved quite a struggle this morning with our backpacks and at the shock altitude of 11300 feet (3444 metres). We nearly collapsed! So are beginning to realise the challenge we may face on the Inca trail.
We set off for the trail on Saturday morning at 6am. We then have 3 nights/4days of very early starts and hardcore trekking to reach Machu Picchu. The scenery on the coach was absolutely stunning so we´re sure it will be worth it, providing the cloud holds off. On the way we could see snowcaps and rivers and beautiful mountains all around so are excited about the challenge, if a little daunted.
We will upload some pictures once we are back from the trek.
Hope you are all well and that the snow blizzards are easing for you!! (We are starting to get brown already!!)
Lots of love,
Ali and Phil
xxxx
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