Hi All,

Well we are having a lovely time in Peru so far, Lima is a lovely city, its s much more westerised than I thought it would be, a massive step up from Africa lol! When we first got here we spent a few days in San Isidro in a lovely wee hotel just relaxing as we had planned to do at home but it had not quite happened lol and just getting over our jet lag etc. The hotel was lovely and we had a giant plasma with movie channels so that was good. On the first night we had a couple of beers and were so glad we were here. At home we kind of felt like we couldn’t really be bothered moving again after seeing all our friends and family and having all the comforts of home but once we were here we were so glad as we know we have forever to sit at home when we get back. On the second day we went out to try and find some food and opted for MacDonald’s where we had ‘dos Big Mac Combo’s’ lol. Which brings we to our next problem - nobody speaks English at all, even receptionists in hotels so we just kind of have to guess but I must say our Spanish has come along a lot in the 10 days we have been here, I understand a lot more than I can actually say but also we can order meals and book places to stay quite easily now. At night we went to the hotel restaurant and they don’t have menus which does not exactly make it easy to order in a different language so we just kind of nodded to whatever he said and ended up with fish soup and steak which was yummy! Not a lot happened these days we just relaxed and explored the area. The only thing worth noting was when on the way to dinner one night we were walking past some road works to cross a road and Craig stepped right in a big bit of wet cement and then pulled his flip flop out and splattered cement all over both of us, it was almost as if time stood still as we waited to see if the workies would got mental but all was well and we continued on to dinner, I don’t know how he didn’t see it, and he has the cheek to call me clumsy lol!!

We ended up staying 5 nights there pretty much out of pure laziness and then we moved to the Miraflores district of Lima which is the safest, touristy area and is really lovely, it is all I imagined South America to be like. There is a lovely park in the middle with food stands and full of people smooching, it is surrounded by nice old buildings and is really pretty. We were not however impressed with the hostel considering it was only about £2 cheaper than the gorgeous hotel we had just come from. The toilet was horrible and smelly and you had to straddle the toilet to sit down and the room smelled and the window was actually a door so if you wanted fresh air you had to have the street noise as well. Needless to say we sent quite a lot of time out of our room. We walked all round the area and on the second day found the seafront which is beautiful. There is a lovely cliff top walk along the sea and surrounded by lovely gardens and a cool park Craig and I played in lol! There was lots of nannies out with their kids and maids out walking dogs and beautiful apartment buildings, it felt more like Miami than Lima lol! The next day we walked along to LarcoMar which is a big shopping centre with great views of the coast, we expected to be able to spend a bit of time here but there was not much going on so we just went and got our books and read by the seafront. We were also avoiding our room today as we had managed to block the toilet and it was disgusting in our room lol! Also we have managed to find cheap food finally, all we have been able to find is posh places and fast food which I am so fed up of but now we have found the joys of set menus, where we an have a big bowl of soup and the something like chicken, chips, rice and salad for about £1.20!! Not bad eh?!!

On our walks we had come across a lovely little guest house which was cheaper than the hostel so we moved there on Wednesday. We went out to find the post office as I wanted to send some stuff home as I don’t know what I was thinking when I packed but it is roasting here and my bag is full of jumpers, I even have thermals lol!! Anyway we successfully found it but it was about £60 to send stuff home which is not really worth it. We had a MacDonald’s which we can now order properly lol and then headed back to the hotel. In the hotel we had to close all our windows as there were two guys having sex below us with the windows open which was not the best thing to hear when you are trying to enjoy an afternoon read lol! We went out for dinner and decide to have something different so that we didn’t get fed up of the set menus so we tried a little Middle Eastern place where I had Greek salad and pita with hummus and Craig had chicken, rice and some hummus. Afterwards we went for a stroll in the park and Craig got a desert of like mallow and what tasted like tablet mixture and I tried some and almost instantaneously I had to bolt for the bathroom, we ended up practically running back to the hotel where yet again I have diarrhoea but a lot worse than in Africa. I was ill all night and then went to sleep, I woke at 2am to find Craig was not in bed, he was in the loo with diarrhoea as well so we were up a lot of the night.

Next day we were both still ill and couldn’t go out so we just stayed in the room all day and I read the whole of the James Patterson book that I borrowed from my Gran and we played cards and napped all day. We had dodgy stomachs and cramps all day but at night decided we had to get something to eat. We went to a nearby café where the guy spoke English which was a nice change and he even made me chicken soup although it was not on the menu. I felt much better after the fresh air and some soup and we went back to the hotel and sorted our bags a bit. Craig was in the loo all night but I only felt a little off and then we went to sleep.

We slept right through so I thought we would be ok the next day but we both had to run to the loo when we woke up. I was beginning to get a bit worried as our tour started the next day and then the next day we are on an 8 hour bus which I knew there was no way I could do plus the Inca Trail is in about a week and my body is no way strong enough for that as we have not really eaten. I decided to call my insurance company as we didn’t want to loose the £1500, they said I needed a note from a doctor so I got out my guidebook and tried to call a medical facility but none of the numbers worked and someone who did answer could not speak English so hung up on me so I called GAP Adventures who our tour was with and she arranged through speaking to me and the receptionist in Spanish that an English speaking doctor would come to the hotel to see me, he was here about 20 minutes later and I told him my symptoms which by now were a bit better on the toilet front but I had really bad cramps in my abdomen. He took my blood pressure and listened all round my stomach and back and he says I have Acute Gastoinrtrocolitis whatever that might be. He gave me a prescription for three different things including some antibiotics to get rid of all the bacteria in my system. Luckily Craig was feeling a lot better today so he went out and got water etc and took our washing to the laundry today (earlier in the week we went o the wrong one and had to pay about £7 for them to do it for us. Also I meant to say in the last blog that when we got to Emma’s doing our washing was amazing when we got home, Emma even let me have an extra cup full of detergent and that was when she smelt my clean clothes that I had already hand washed lol, the small of clean clothes was amazing!) and he also went out to pick up all my prescriptions and get me fruit juice as I am not allowed to eat solids or move anywhere for 24 hours, he is the best fiancé in the world. The doctor also gave me a note saying that I cant travel for at least 48 hours so that means I cant go on the tour but that I can have my money back. It’s a bit disappointing as we probably wont be able to get permits to do the trail now, I am not too bothered as I don’t particularly like walking and we can still see Machu Picchu but we will just have to go on the train but Craig quite wanted to trek it but we are glad in a way as we have saved a bit of money that will mean we don’t have to spend any extra. We were also looking forward to doing our first bus with a tour so we could see how it was done but I’m sure we will manage ourselves. We had to pay the doctor $50 which was ok, he was really nice and the insurance pay for that as well when we claim it when we get home. I am just so glad I was not this ill in Africa as that would have been miserable.

Next day we moved to a room that had a TV which was a waste of money as it didn’t even face the bed and the loo seat had cracks in it which was not very nice getting nipped in the backside every time we went to the oo which is a lot as Craig does not feel well again now. In the afternoon we went to our café again and gt more advice from our new mate Hector lol! I ate two sandwiches and son wished I hadn’t. By night I was bored stupid so we decided to walk along to Laromar and see a movie, we wanted to see Monsters Vs Aliens but it was in Spanish so we saw Milk which is about Harvey Milk who fought for homosexuals in San Fran I the 70’s which was really god, I hadn’t even heard of it. Had to make a bolt home though as felt awful again.

Yesterday we moved back to Collachocha where we first stayed when we got here as it is much cleaner and comfy even if there is not a toilet door lol! We went to the shops but I had to turn back so Craig just went and we had a French stick and fruit.

Today I made it to the supermarket and we got noodles!! It would be nice to have a place with a kitchen as I want to cook, even if I could just make a tin of soup that would be great. Its just getting a bit frustrating as there is nothing wrong with us apart from the loo side of things now and we really want to get out and see Lima but cant. Plus we now have less than 6 weeks to get t Sao Paulo eek!!

So now our plans are to stay here a bit longer and then go in and see Lima as we have still not done it as we planned to do it nearer the end when we had our bearings and then we think we will head to Cuzco and probably get the train to Machu Picchu the carry on as normal into Bolivia.

Hope you are all well at home.

Lots of Love

Eva and Craig xxx