Reddy arrives in Peru, travel to Cusco

Hey blog fans

We are in Cusco, a beautiful old city that has more of a town feeling to it. The streets are cobbled, the buildings are old and grand and tomorrow we start a 4 day hike along the ancient Inca Trail to the ruins of Machu Picchu.

Our good friend Craig (Reddy) has arrived and it has been great to catch up with him and all his patter. We have already had a good number of laughs. I thought I had better update the blog today as I´ll know doubt have a lotto write after the Inca Trail.

Sunday March 22nd
The day started well as I got up early to watch Manchester United stuff Liverpool 3-0. United looked comfortable and should have scored more. It was a day of football as after lunch we got a taxi out to Estadio Monumental to watch Universitario de Deportes beat Athletico Minero 2-1. The stadium was pretty impressive, although it looked like office buildings from the outside. The first half was non eventful until Minero scored before half time. 10 minutes into the 2nd half the floodlights and electricity got cut off. This sparked aparty among the home fans with flares and fireworks being fired and a huge sing song. Deportes hit back and should have scored at least 5. At night we went to a cracking Italian restaurant called Mama Lola´s and for once we didn´t have pizza!

Monday March 24th
After breakfast we took a big pile of washing around the corner to a local laundrette and then went for a walk around Miraflores. We confirmed our flights for Wednesday to Cusco and wandered around some markets before lunch. In the afternoon I went to a Western Union office to pay for Boca Juniors v River Plate tickets for when we are in Buenos Aires. At $200 each it is alot of money, but this will be a once in a lifetime experience. Football games don´t get much bigger or more passionate than this one.

At night we found a cracking Sushi restaurant called Magma in Miraflores. It was lovely inside, very cool and the food was just as good.

Tuesday March 25th
We had a lazy day ahead of our friend Craig arriving early evening. We went back to the old town and enjoyed a beer in El Cordano before heading back to Miraflores for a siesta. At night we travelled to the airport and met Reddy. It was great to see him, he is one of our best and funniest friends. We went back to Miraflores and caught upover a few beers and pizza.

Wednesday March 26th
We got up early - 3.15am as our flight from Lima to Cusco was at 5.40am. The flight was a little over an hour and after checking into our hostel. We wandered around the old town for an hour before heading back to the hostel for a 2 hour siesta.

We woke and headed round to the Eco Trek Peru office and met our guide and were briefed on our trek. After that we went to a cracking cafe/bar called Jacks for a slap up brunch. After a walk round town and some shops we went toan Irish bar called Paddy Flaherty´s for a few beers and we watched France beat England 1-0 in a very dull game.

At night we all bought Inca Cola tshirts and some cool hats to keep us warm on the Inca Trail before dinner and a relatively early night at 10.30pm after a long day.

Thursday March 27th
We woke early and had breakfast and a walk round the beautiful old town. We booked bus tickets to Puno for a couple of days after we return to Cusco. We´re booked on a city tour around Cusco and some surrounding sites at 2pm, so we are just about to go for lunch.

Speak to you after the Inca Trail!

Love
Murray and Lynn