So far the flights are proving to be very successful parts of the trip. The kids handle them fantastically, where we thought it would be really tough. Manuel, this morning's taxi driver, gets the vote of best yet - he was giving us Spanish lessons on the way to the airport. Seems he needs something else to do with his time, to avoid adding to the 5 kids he already has!

The views over Peru from the plane were sensational - Finn had to be disappointed as they wouldn't let him sit in the emergency exit seat on his own, and we were all surrounded by English speakers (Brits, Americans, Irish, Aussies, you name it!).

Arriving in Cusco we could feel the altitude - the kids seem largely immune (though Siena and Derry get more tired) but Suzanne suffers the most. It's a weird experience, the shortness of breath and how fast you get tired just climbing a few steps - and we're not at our highest yet!

The Hostal Marino is tucked away on a street so narrow that the cars can't pass with pedestrians on both sides - and it's not even one way , you just basically play chicken til one of you has to reverse! The driving in both Ecuador and Peru is something else, makes the Place de la Concorde in Paris seem like kids stuff! They all know the dimensions of their cars precisely, and are prepared to use every available inch around it to squeeze into... regardless of lights, lanes and other road going devices!

We were greeted with mate do coca - leaf tea which is allegedly good for altitude sickness, as well as a host of options for day trips. Went down well with the girls, but Finn was predictable....NO!

We walked about 30 meters for lunch - a bit of a mistake since it was nowhere near as nice as everything else in the town, just a little internet cafe (I'm probably using his unsecured wireless right now!) but at least the opening match of the Euro football was on so Finn got his fix. Siena tried grilled alpaca, and we all had a go, but it was quite strong, so we all had just a little.

Moving into the town, it is very 'touristic' - loads of street sellers, massage offers (I think it's for a massage but I'm not entirely sure!) and every other shop is a restaurant with menus thrust at you as you pass. We paused for pudding (by now our food clocks were all over the place) then found an adventure travel shop which we'd had recommended (thanks to the James'!) where we booked....horse riding! More about that later. By now the sun had gone down and it was getting chilly, so we returned to the hostal (heaters in the room offered at $6 per night, but we toughed it out - no colder than Quito). We walked 60 steps (Derry's) to a cosy sandwich bar for a cool snack, then crashed.

The blankets are amazingly thick here, they restrain you, but even so the night was ruined by some party or other with impressive loudspeakers and less than impressive singers til 2 am - luckily it didn't wake the kids, just us!