I am sitting here in a cafe, very annoyed, as I had just written this blog (an hour to do it) and the system deleted it! So, let me chill a little and try to redo it again....only it will be much briefer this time, which is probably a good thing!

We are currently in Cusco in Peru, an established stopover on the Gringo trail for all who wish to see Machu Picchu.

Cusco is 3200 meters above sea level and built on a bloody great hill, with the place we are staying somewhere near to the top of that hill. So, you work for every yard and the old lungs get a constant work out.

It was my birthday yesterday and in the tradition I instituted 20 years ago, I managed to take the day off work once again! :-) We spent the day checking out Cusco...an impressive place and easy to see why it has UNESCO World Heritage status (imagine the planning permission you need to do anything here!). Anyway, Cuzco was the capital of the Inca Empire, until the arrival of the Spaniards.

Inca walls and buildings (1530´s to the 1620´s I think) are everywhere. Right next to where we are staying is a massive Inca wall, which is one side of the road, made of blocks of stone each weighing 3 tons plus and perfectly nuzzled against the next, with no gaps and no mortar. The other side of the road is marked by a Spanish wall, which shows damage from earthquakes and damage from time...the local Indian guides like to point this fact out and rightly so!

Ahhh, I am calmer now and saving this as I go this time!

So, Anni and I went to Machu Picchu two days ago. With an early 6.00am train ride through the sacred valley, dwarfed by mountains that seem impossibly steep, we arrived in Aguas Calientes (Hot Waters) to catch a bus to take us to Machu Picchu........and it rained, and rained and rained! Yep, it was pretty wet once we got there. That said, Machu Picchu was incredible in its complexity and scale, and beyond what either of us had expected, fully earning its status as one of the 7 wonders of the world.

The rain made it difficult to get photos, but hopefully the photos we did get will do some justice to the place. We were offered glimpses opening out to massive vistas of the stone workings, mountains and canyons far below, as the cloud moved across this place. The cloud seemed to wreath everything and only offer you occasional views of the whole complex, long enough for the minds´ eye, but never quite long enough to whip out the camera, wipe the rain from the lens, pick the photo, compose the picture and click that sodding button!

Ho hey, the place was impressive and worked in concert with its natural surroundings of plunging canyons, rising mountains, rain, cloud and mists. The structures and surrounding nature are incredible and worth the effort to see.

Of course, not 30 minutes after we boarded the return train, the skies cleared and I have no doubt that Machu Picchu so far above us was bathed in glorious sunlight drying out after another day of assault by us tourists.

This month is Carnival month across South America. Here in Cusco, right next to where we are staying (San Blas Plaza) they are celebrating the local neighbourhood saint of San Blas. Home made fireworks explode in the air all night long, and bands playing massive trombones and drums play outside our windows.....this has gone on for three nights so far and will continue of the rest of the week. The locals know how to party alright.

Carnival month means water bombs and cans of foam spray. Just 10 minutes after arriving in Cuzco a sweet little girl walked up to me and threw a water bomb right at me. Standing in the street soaked though I was not happy and assumed it was a get the tourist type of thing. I was wrong. For a month, children run riot with water bombs, getting each other (mainly) and parents and gringos soaked with water and foam. It is done in good nature, but you have to be a tad careful with camera and the likes.

So, tomorrow morning we fly out to Lima. The flight promises to be spectacular in scenery and perhaps turbulence as we pass through the highest of the volcanoes and mountains of the Andes. On Friday Anni flies back to the UK (sniff, sob boo hoo) and I will start my final 6 weeks of this foray, heading to Quito and the Galapagos Islands.

Well, we hope you are enjoying these blog as much as we do. Apart from anything else, they provide us the perfect excuse not to email and send postcards...which I am reliably crap at doing anyway.

We trust you are all well in the UK and in NZ...see you soon

David and Anni