We´ve now flown from Lima to Cusco up in the mountains and it is COLD! It also rained a little bit today but we´ve had some really hot sun too so all in all not too bad.  To catch our flight from Lima we had to be up at 5.30am which was surprisingly easy.  We were packed and ready to go by 6.30am when our taxi driver Raymond arrived to take us to the airport.  We arrived just after 7.00am and checked in unbelievably quickly and then just had to wait the hour and a half or so until our flight with AeroCondor.

We did however, discover that we had been given a ´falso´ 20 soles note from the night before but we live and learn and won´t be ripped off again.  Fortunately 20sol is about 4 pounds so not too catastrophic.

On our flight we booked ourselves window seats so we could try to see the wonderful mountain views again and we were not disappointed.  The view was absolutely amazing and coming into Cusco Airport surrounded by mountains was something I´ll never forget.

Anyway, the flight was not too long and we arrived mid-morning in Cusco where we were met by the owner of our Hostal.  We took a drive through the centre of Cusco and saw some of the main sites.  Our hostal is ok - not as nice as el Patio but a little cheaper.  It´s currently a bit of a building site as they´re renovating some of the historic courtyard in the middle of the Hostal. It´s pleasant enough though and the room is clean and secure.

This morning we went for a wander around the central streets of Cusco that radiate from the Plaza de Armas (our hostal does have the benefit of being a 5 second walk from the centre!).  We trekked quite high into the city and saw a different side to things when the town became more rundown and rural.  I was feeling pretty bad from the altitude sickness though.  I suppose that comes with being some 12,000 feet above sea level.  I was very short of breath and a bit dizzy.  Kim seemed fine but she seems to be suffering it a bit more now although I seem to have acclimatized.

Later in the afternoon we confirmed our Inca Trail with SASTravel - their office happens to be a 3 second walk from our hostal - (www.SasTravelperu.com) and we were thoroughly impressed with the outfit.  We have a briefing on Wednesday night, the day before we go. 

 SAS have arranged free storage for all our luggage whilst we are on the trek and pretty much everything else that needs arranging.  We decided to spend an extra day in Agua Calientes at the end of the trek as they have a spa there.  We´re then going to take the Vistadome train back down to Cusco the next afternoon.  The train is designed to have spectacular views of the valleys so we´re looking forward to that.

On the paragliding front, we´re not sure whether we´ll do it yet as the weather is a bit inclement. We´re going to talk to EricAdventures later today who said they´ll take both of us for $75 each which is quite a bargain as on their website it is $125 each.  But the weather forecast looks a bit rubbish.

That night we had dinner at a lovely restaurant on the Plaza de Armas called Boheme or something along those lines.  It was very modern and the cuisine was very very good - worthy of a top restaurant in the UK.

We both took to bed quite early and decided to use our sleeping bags as it gets so cold here at night.  I did manage to teach Kim how to have a sleeping bag fight.  It was pretty funny apart from both of us almost passing out/dying from the exertion coupled with the altitude!!!