Ola from Peru!

Well, we arrived safely in beautiful Peru after a rather gruelling 24 hour journey from Rio-Sao Paulo-Santiago-Lima-Cusco!

Spent all day yesterday in bed suffering from lack of sleep and the altitude sickness which hit us immediately we landed in Cusco. Really strange but you get a dreadful headache, feel really dizzy and it is quite difficult to breathe. Beth being the unfittest person on earth is used to being breathless easily and frankly is enjoying the fact that you need to exert yourself for half the length of time to start burning fat!

We were offered coca leaf tea on arrival to the hotel which helps ease the altitude sickness. Beth was deeply excited envisioning a big steaming mug of coco drink only to be given a mug of hot water with what looked like bay leaves floating around in it. Swallowing our fear of all teas herbal, we consumed and to our surprise was delicous and really refreshing. Of course that is nothing to do with the fact that coca leaves come from the same plant as cocaine...!

Peru truly seems to be the most beatufiul country in the world. Cusco is steeped in Inca history and the buildings surrounding the main square are magnificant colonial architeture - a little like Salvador in Brazil but with less of the manufactured colour. And the people! Such a refreshing change from the self-obsessed Cariocas. The Peruvians are such a smiley, kind and helpful nation and my God, the children are cute. We may do an Angelina Jolie and adopt a Peruvian child!

Our tans are suffering though as it is freezing here. Literally. It has been snowing all morning so it is a good job we have all our snowboarding clothes with us. Feel a little guilty though as the Peruvians just wrap themselves in their colourful blankets.

We are staying in a basic, typically Peruvian hotel called Ninos Hotel and for once the pictures of the hotel are exactly like the reality).It is only $30 for a double with bathroom to ourselves (bliss!) and all their profits are donated to the street children. In fact the owners have adopted over 18 street children so we can feel noble as well as comfortable!

We are starting the Inca trail on Monday so have plenty of time to acclimatise - apparently it takes at least 3 days to do that. Really excited about starting the trek though and seeing Macchu Piccu. We will retun to Cusco on Thursday night and stay in Ninos Hotel until Saturday when we will bus it down to Arequipa for the Colca Canyon. Cannot wait!

We will upload our Inca trail adventures on return (if Beth makes it of course) and in the meantime, love to you all xxx