Hola amigos y amigas!

I decided not to surf but try to spend the day walking around the Miraflores. I have started the day again early at 5:30am with packing the bagpack, shower in hot hot hot water, breakfast and mate de coca to kill the light headache, plus my first anti malaria pill. I have absolutely no idea how I could feel the effect of the altitude at almost sea level but here you go....

The day was hot again and sunny which shouldn't really happen at this time of the year. Lima is apparently second dries capital after Cairo but you couldn't tell that now, in the spring. It was reather pleasant.

The rest of the morning passed largely uneventful, which the right thing before the next part of the trip. I went to the local supermarket and was impressed with the many varieties of corn and potatoes they grow here.

In the early afternoon I collected my bagpack from the hostel and took a taxi to the office Cruz del Sur, a cama bus operator. Cama buses are very well known in the South America and can be quite often a luxury way of travelling: reclining seats, dinners and drinks, good service and on board entertainment. An excellent alternative to an expensive domestic flight. For me it was the best option: I could travel and sleep at the same time :).

All the Cruz del Sur passangers had their passport checked and scanned by a metal detector before boarding and off we went. My own entertainment pack consisted of Spanish notes, nuts and chia and maracuja drink (how cool is that! a chia seeds drink!) The views were changing fast now. Lima's city centre was replaced by the colourful slums, poor suburbs, rich and green suburbs, desert and coast with surfing waves and steep cliffs and finally mountains. The coast was amazing: palm trees, lakes, white render villas and stunning restaurants seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Architecture was stunning, very modern as well. We traveled from Lima to Ica along the coast then turned at 90 degrees and started heading towards Cusco and the mountains.

I was watching the landscape during the day and when it got dark I turned to my Spanish phrase book and watched a couple of films on my own tv screen then reclained the seat, unpacked blanket and a pillow given to us and tried to fall asleep. Once we hit the mountains the bus was on never ending serpentine of the road climbing up and up, rocking from right to left. Then even a trip to the toilet was a challange and you had to use the muscles not to be thrown across the deck.

I was woken up around 1 or 2am by people being violently sick - clear sign we are approaching higher altitude. From looking at a map I think we were driving through area at 4500m a.s.l. You could tell from the sound of plastic carrier bags everytime someone was unwell. I was rather pleased with myself as I was feeling rather normal when some Peruvian people clearly couldn´t handle it. But let´s not get too cocky, it may stuck at anytime. Suddenly I felt my left hand going numb. I took a strap watch off and flexed the fingers. It helped. Then my body started to feel a bit tingly and despite the cold of the night I got so hot I had to strip to a T-shirt. It only lasted less than 5 minutes and I was fine again. For now at least...

Mate de coca, tea from coca leaves popular in Peru and other South American countries, was served in the morning. A bit late I though as it helps to deal with the altitude.

We reached Cusco which is located approximately at 3400m a.s.l. and it is recommended to take it rather easy first day so the body can adjust to the altitude. Even walk up the stairs can make you breathless. Our bus arrived rather delayed and I took a taxi straight from the bus station to the Milhouse hostel where I was going to meet Julianne.