COLOMBIA

Cali

Arriving in Cali at around 8am, our priority was to get a nice cheap hotel and change some money from Dollars to Pesos and then go and explore a little of this seemingly very large city. Asking the taxi driver to take us to a cheap but nice hotel, he proceeded to take us to Palma Nueva, with pcitures of naked women all over the place, this place seemed to be as Jay noted perhaps a place where men took prostitutes back (it even had a toliet roll box next to the bed for cleaning up!) and it felt pretty scummy and dirty, totally incomparable with the greatness of Casa Olimpia but it was going to have to do for one night before we moved on to Bogota or Medellin. ON walking around for a while, it seemed like an extremely hectic city with so much noise, so many people and so much pollution and close heat that at times it was unbearable! The streets were full of markets and hustle and bustle and the city was just a little bit of a mess and could do with a good clear up! Admidst all the chaos however there were some rather nice buildings to see.

On arrival at the square in our desperate hunt for something edible, there were some nice surrounding important looking buildings as well as a picturesque church on the corner and in the square itself were palms surrounding a statue of whom I'm not sure as we didnt get over to it as we were just too hungry to be looking at historic monuments.

After more walking without success in finding anything half decent looking to eat, we decided upon a greasy looking open air cafe serving deep fried everything and just ended up with some sort of deep fried cheesy dough balls which weren't actually as bad as they looked and did the job of filling us up for a little while at least! Continuing on our tour of the city, we were told San Antonio was worth checking out but proved to be more noisy, polluted, dirty roads although there was a nice dome on a church but nothing more to be impressed by. We headed back and continued over the river where there were a couple of pretty white bridges (although still riddled with litter, dirt and people selling things) and in the distance a very pretty cathedral/church of which style I'd not seen before in South America and almost looked like something out of a fairy tale with it's white colour and numerous spires although not grandiose in size, it was certainly worth a picture or two!

Beyond this was the tallest building on the horizon and by far the tallest building in the city, the Torre de Cali Hotel which we were told we could go up to the terrace at the top to see the city and take photos which we did and it did indeed prove to be worth it with fantastic views across the city which from one side seemed simply to go on and on forever into the horizon!

It was certainly good to get the aerial view in order to get your bearings of where things were around the city. After a little more walking, we found a nice area with restaurants and bars. We stopped in a restaurant and had the baby beef which was fantastic quality and almost as good as Argentean steak! Very tasty indeed although I'm not sure why they insist on putting a fried banana with every dish they serve up, I just can't see the appeal of those things! Apparently this was the place to come out at night for drinks but becuase it was only wednesday it wouldn't be so busy. After lunch we returned to our hotel to rest a while and then headed back to the area and it was pretty dead as we had been told it would so after sharing a beer tower, we headed back to the hotel for an early night with the intention of getting an early bus to Bogota or Medellin.

The next morning we got up around 9am and decided to head to Medellin as that was the next bus. Now on the 8 hour journey and seeing some rather beautiful countryside with argricultural fields and grass with the backdrop of mountains and many palm trees and billowing cumulus clouds. SOmething tells me Medellin is going to be rather hot as we get closer and closer to the Caribbean!

ECUADOR

Quito

After travelling for a good while, getting stamps, changing buses in Huayquillas, getting very bitten by mosquitoes and sharing the 14 hour bus journey with a bunch of loud and somewhat annoying Ecuadrians who wanted to stop every 5 minutes, we finally arrived in Quito. Wow, back in Quito after 10 years was real nostalgia for me, I couldn't wait to explore and see the places I had known last time! Sure enough, it was all still there, No Bar, Papaya Net, Casa Olimpia, Mongos.

Was really amazingto see it all again after so long. I remembered that Casa Olimpia, the hostel we had stayed in last time I was there was a great hostel (more like a hotel than a hostel) at hostel prices too so we went there. It was jus as I remembered it, big comfy beds, tv, fridge and even balcony with great views over the city!

Perfect, was so glad to be back again and arriving on a friday night, it was guranteed that we would be having another great night in No Bar no doubt! After eating breakfast again in the good old Magic Bean where we frequented many times before and wondering around trying to regain my bearings of this great city, I went to find Reina Victoria Pub (the place where we would all meet up to see Caz our gap challenge supervisor) but to my disappointment it was closed and on returning later although it was all exactly the same, the management had changed and Caz and Baz (her Kiwi husband) no longer worked there but it was great just to go back in ther again and look around and think this is where I watched the Tyson Lewis fight, this is where I watched England, Brasil in the world cup back in 2002!

So many memories! I told the guys about Mongos buffet, all you can eat, just fill your bowl with whatever you want cooked, we headed ther to eat and it tasted just as good as last time! I was just reliving everything I had done before and was loving it! As night began to creep up on us, the city bgan to bus with music, lights and people and I was so excited about going out! We were slap bang in the heart of the busiest street and the music was booming from every bar! Fabian the player that he is wasted no time in chatting the girls up, he is a bit of a hunk (a guy likened him to Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in the day!) and he speaks good SPanish so there was no problem for him pulling the ladies! I think he mustve had about 10 numbers by the end of night! The most hilarious thing was that before we went out he said "oh i just realised something, its my 21st birhday today" I was like whaaat! How could you just remember that so that was even more reason to celebrate! I told him if you tell them in No Bar and prove it with ID, I guarantee we'll get champagne which indeed we did and he got her number too!

Having such a good drink fuelled night wrote off the next day pretty much and it didnt help it woulndt stop raining so most of it was spent in bed although I did get out and take some nice pics of the cathdral and some nice areas I remembered from before. THey had redeveloped an area called Mariscol (or gringolandia) which I was very impressed with, lots of nice bars, restaurants, cafes and a nice moving sculpture of a bird in the centre. I especially liked the bar called Chelsea for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately I had missed the game against Liverpool which we cruised to a 2-0 victory so I was happy and I saw all the highlights, looks like we played very well! After more partying and unfortunately not as much sightseeing as I would have liked, it was time to leave. We didn't do the city tour which I was gutted about and for the
second time in Ecuador I was missing out on the Galapagos islands which in itself a crime but I just dont have the time or the money so 3rd time lucky for sure! We were in a rush to get to Colombia, everyone had good things to say about the place that I met who had been there despite warnings of dangers it's much safer now apparently and I'm looking forward to it! Unfortunately Ecuador was just a flying visit really but I still hold a place in my heart for the place as I have so many fond memories from being here last time but now it's time to leave and head North. Will be sad passing by Guallupe and Fundacion Golodrinas where I spent months working but we don't really havet ime to stop. Ibarra (a city in the north of Ecuador) is our first stop where I went many times before so that'll bring fond memories too! Just a shame I don't
have more time and money to stay longer but Bogota is calling!

Mancora

Mancora

After a fantastic coach journey (my best yet so well done Cruz del Sur), including beds, leg room, good meals, movies and even bingo, we arrived in Mancora. Arriving in Mancora was a real blast from the past, I had been here nearly a decade ago and not much had changed! Perhaps a few more gringos and busier beaches with marquees,tables and chairs etc but other than that very little! 

The new hostel, Loki had been built (right next to the Sol y Mar hostel where I had styed last time) and that was where we were staying. This was a very nice hostel (a beautiful gleaming white builing facing the sea with balconies and a large swimming pool and bar). I just couldnt wait to get my trunks on and get down to the beach! THe new guys we were travelling with turned out to be legnedary guys and we all got on like brothers so it was so nice to be in their company! After a couple of days of relaxation, sun bathing, sun, sea, sand, 

swimming, drinking, playing beach football and going to a rather fun full moon party (although not on the damn beach) but good all the same, it was time we left this paradise and contiuned heading North.

 Since time for Jay and I were short on time and I had seen the majority of Ecuador already last time I travelled to Ecuador, we decided just to head straight to the capital, Qutio. I just couldn't wait to get back to good old Ecuador and back to good old Quito, one of my favourite cities in the world! Unfortunately Will couldn't come with us as he was heading to see someone else in Peru first so it was just Jay, Fabian and myself. Wohoo, back to good old Ecuador, I can't wait! :)

Lima

Lima

On arrival in Lima, we hadnt booked a hostal so a nice taxi driver who spoke good English and was very friendly took us to a hotel in Miraflores. Unfortunately there was no sun and it was rather misty (one of Dad's motives of coming here was also to go swimming in the Pacific) but the beaches weren't great and neither the weather!

This didn't perturb Dad and after a delicious meal of Octopus and Seabass (although it gave me a funny tummy afterwards) Dad was insistant that we went to the beach. During lunch, the nice owner of the place invited us to see him playing in his band with his brother which we accepted. After lunch, we walked around Miraflores.

Miraflores (the coastal, touristy and very modern part of Lima) is a very beautiful place with some lovely parks looking over the sea, the Park of Love in particular being the nicest with a huge statue of a man embracing and kissing a woman and some lovely curvy walls with mosaic tiles with patterns and words drawn and written in tiles all overlooking the sea.

Since Dad was so insitent that he was swimming in the sea I went along with him and to my surprise people were sunbating but noone swimming and to their surprise off stripped Dad white as a sheet and he ran down to the sea everyone looking thinking whats this crazy gringo doing. After getting rolled
onto his ass a few times he had had enough and had satisfied his desire to swim in the pacific. After a little more walking and exploring, we went to the hotel to get ready to see our new friend in his band. THis was a lovely performance of 3 accoustic guitars, a drummer and a keyboard and was true latin music which I was trying to translate the lyrics to Dad but some of it was too hard for me to get. THey even did a fantastic rendition for their last song of Oye Como Va by Santana which was superb. ALl in all a very enjoyable evening!

The next day, Jay and Dean, the guys I had met and travelled with in La Paz contacted me to tell me that they were heading to Lima so after lunch, Dad and I met them and we all decided to go and see central Lima.

For some silly reason we decided to walk it as it didnt look that far on the map and it literally took about 2 hours! THis was good excercise but tiring and after all that, my camera ran out of battery so I couldn't even get snaps. THe main square plaza major was quite beatiful with some lovely colonial buildings and lots of nicely painted yellow buildings with ornate wooden facades and a lovely cathedral and palace.

I was glad we'd made the effort to go there. We decided it was definitely a plan to go back in a taxi and I agreed to meet Jay and Dean later for drinks as Dad had met a Canadian couple who he was going for dinner with.

I headed to Pariwana (the national bird of Peru with red and white feathers hence the red and white flag) and after a couple of drinks there at happy hour, we headed to calle Pizzas (the road with bars, restaurants, pubs etc) where we met some nice girls who took us to the mall on the coast which was a very nice modern area full of bars, pubs, restaurants, clubs (covered over and hidden by a beautiful park so not to spoil the natural scenery or beauty of the coastline). Here we went to a great pub with a live band and after that we went to the club below and had lots of fun dancing and drinking and playing with the hundreds of balloons that the'd throw on everyone!

After another day and night in Lima, it was time to say goodbye to Dad and to Dean who were both off home to UK and Australia respectively and Jay and I agreed to head North to Mancora (where I had been before) to lie on the beach for a while. At the terminal, we met Will and Fabian, an ENglish and Swiss guy respectively. Jay had previously met Will in Cusco and so it was nice to have an extra couple of guys who were all heading in the same direction as us.

PERU

Peru

Cusco and Macchu Piccu

Meeting Dad off the plane was a happy and yet strange occasion for me, it was great to see him again but felt strange that I would be backpacking with my father for the next couple of weeks! It was great to see him when he arrived and lamost didn't seem real that he had come all the way to Peru to see me for a holiday! We headed in a taxi towards our hostel straight through the amazing PLaza de las Armas where the stands not just one but two frankly exquisite religious edifices, one being the grand cathedral and one being a beautiful Spanish style colonial church.

The taxi driver told us he couldnt go any further so we had to walk from the square as the road was blocked (there were wooden beams and planks holding the walls and buildings up after all the flooding and landslides in January). Walking up this hill towards our hostel was a real struggle and Dad was breathless within moments. It was especially hard for him as he had never been at such altitude although for me it was ok as I had come from La Paz but it was still hard work for me! He was obviously going to be jetlagged and needed to acclimatise so after we had a bite to eat he slept and Iwent out to explore a little.

From the main square I had seen a big white statue of Jesus Christ, similar to Christ the Redeemer on top of the hill overlooking the city and had decided to try and get up there so I could get a good view of the city so I headed up the hill behind the hostal and after a little while I arrived at a viewpoint next to a church which provided a splendid view but still wasnt quite high enough. I saw a typically AMerican looking gringo heading towards me with a smile on his face, music in his ears and backpack on his back. He approached and asked if I was ok so I told him I was trying to get up to the Cristo Blanco. He was a nice friendly guy telling me he was a tour guide for Americans there and that I should go up the steep path through the houses if I wanted to avoid paying to get in the national park of Saqsayhuaman by going the road way so I took his advice and went up that way. It turned out to be a hard and tiresome climb with my flip flops but worth it when I finally reached the Christ statue.

The view was pretty spectacular with Cusco being in a bowl with houses as far as the eye could see, 360 degrees around the mountain slopes and at the bottom of the bowl, the
spectacular main square and catherdrals. I had no idea it was such a big place! I thought to myself that Id get Dad to do exactly the same as some training for the Inca Trail so I went up again with him the next day. He had to stop many times but made it so I was pretty proud of him! In the evenings Dad would go to bed pretty early and I'd go out. On the first night I headed to Loki to meet the nice girls I had travelled on the bus with from Copacabana. We stayed at the Loki for a while, had some good veggie soup, initiated drinking at happy hour and proceeded to play card drinking games with 2 English guys the girls had met at the hostel. I was fine at shithead but as soon as the game changed to one I didnt know how to play I lost. The problem here was that there was a forefeit for losing so I ended up having to tell a girl at the bar an awful chat up line (getting her to touch my tshirt and asking what type of material she thought it was and telling her it was boyfriend material) and she actually thought I was chatting her up for real and seemed quite interested! THen I ended up having to strip down to my boxers awith one of the other guys and running round the courtyard!
After these escapades we headed to Mama Africa in the main square which was good fun and I didnt get in til about 4.30! Dad and I had 2 days in Cusco before the trail so we visited a few museums and had some good and some rather mediocre meals. One meal included Dad trying guinea pig which was pretty revolting looking like a huge great big rat and put me off my food! I very much liked Cusco, it was a wonderful place although the constant annoyance of people trying to sell you things and coax you into their restaurant got rather tedious after a while.

So after 3 nights in Cusco we headed off early in the morning to walk the world famous Inca Trail. Our guide Martinez was a real character and total legend and he was there exclusively just for Dad and I although we had 2 other English guys in our group who had their own guide too but a group of 4 was great for us. The first day of walking was fairly easy with spectacular views and beautiful flowers and birds such as humming birds and cute little sparrows chirping away. We arrived at the camp site after a few hours and set up camp with a beautiful view of the valley and the snow capped white Andes in the distance.

I wasnt the biggest fan of camping and tents but I was quite looking forward to camping and the food provided by the porters was fanstatic with 3 courses being served up out of their tent at every mealtime! Each day was a struggle due to the altitude, steep gradients and even coming down felt just as hard at times as going up due to big drops between each step causing particular strain on the knees! After each exhausting but at the same time exhlirating day sleep in a cold tent in a sleeping back was a welcome thought although at times it did get very cold and so it was necessary to wear many layers in the sleeping bag just to get snug and warm enough to sleep. On the 4th morning we woke at 4 to get to the sun gates before sun rise. Unfortunatwely on arrival there it was too misty too see Machu Piccu from there so we continued down and arrived on the terraces of Machu Piccu without even realising as the clouds were so low but as Martinez continued to tell us about the place and guide us around, the clouds began to rise as it warmed and we began to see the full glory and beauty of the place and we got the money shots of the picture postcards that everyone recognises.

It was beautiful and all the pain and effort in walking was now easily worth it. After an hour or so of walking around and Martinez explaining the history and significance of the place, I decided I was going to climb Wayna PIccu which was also a big struggle as it was an almost vertical climb at times but again well worth the effort as it was simply a sublime view from up there looking down on city of Machu PIccu and all around huge mountains, quite a breathtaking view!

Once we'd had a good look around and taken in the beauty and mystery of the place we headed to Auguascalientes in the bus which is the nearest city to the Incan ruins.
We stayed in rather a nice hotel right next to the torrid and turbulent River Urubamba which was in itself a marvel! It was so nice to be sleeping in a bed again after 4 nights in a tent and after bathing in the natural hot springs in town, I returned and after a cocktail with Dad at happy hour I slept like a baby!

The next day it was time to head back to Cusco and so we took the Inca Rail train back to where we had started the trail and then from there we met our driver who took us part of the way back to Cusco (the police stopped us half way and asked for his license but he had no papers at all) so we caught a ride with another guy who turned out to be a very nice guy and even stopped at places for sight seeing on the way and explained a little about the area to us. On return to Cusco, Dad and I decided that since my plan was head North that he'd accompany me to Lima and pay for my flight there which was very generous as it was
either a 24 hour bus journey through the mountains or an hours flight. I was very much looking forward to seeing Lima, the captial of Peru and the capital of the Spanish colony for 200 years! After a last supper of guinea pig and another good sleep in the nice Walk On Inn hostal, it was time to leave the beautiful city of Cusco.

Lake Titcaca, Copacabana and Isla del Sol

The relatively short journey of around 4 hours from La Paz to Copacabana including a short boat trip across lake Titicaca was quite an exhilirating one! Rising up high in the Andes, from a distance you could see the Bolivian cordillera, the chain oh high snow capped mountains

and then not long afterwards, you could begin to see the lake for the first time. Now to say this is a big lake is soewhat of an understatement, it is absolutely huge and looks like an ocean amongst land. Such a beautiful sight!

Finally after driving through, around and over the lake for an hour or so, I got my first glimpse of Copacabana where I would stay for one day and then head to Cuzco from there. I could indeed now see why the beach in Rio was named after this place as it was a similar layout with two high rocky outcrops at either end of the beach (or the bay as it was a lake remember) and it curves round in a similar fashion. A very beautiful looking town as we approached it from above and I was looking forward to exploring.

Unfortunately on arrival I discovered that the hostel I had booked was not actually in Copacabana but on an island on lake Titcaca called Isla del Sol which I had heard about and was planning to visit depending on time constraints. Well now it seemed that I was destined to see it so I booked my boat ticket which left in one hour so found my boat and dropped my large bag off so that I could do it quick tour of the town in the hour or so that I had. I had seen a nice looking church or cathedral and after walking along the bay seeing the market stalls, getting photos with the cutest baby llamas

and watching the boats for a little while, I headed up to the church which turned out to be a quite fantastic looking church both inside and out!

Then I had a stroll through the park and by this time it was almost departure time so off I went to get on the boat.

The ride across the lake painted a pciture of the sheer size and scale of it. The biggest and highest navagable lake in the world, it really was like going out to see. One girl told me it was almost 500 metres deep in some places! Sitting up on top of the boat the sun was hot but the wind made it very chilly so I wrapped up warm and was even cold with my hat and gloves on! After about 2 hours on the boat (we had only travlled a tiny part of the lake and it had taken 2 hours!!) we reached Isla del Sol.

I was absolutely struck by the beauty of this place and I was so glad I had come. It was an Incan island and a community of natives called the Yucumani community lived there along with a large amount of backpackers who made their way there every day from Copacabana. The island was so remote (the only land nearby was the smaller Isla del Luna) meaning Island of the Moon that they were very scarce on certain things and there was no internet at all on the island. On disembarkation from the boat, I was quite releived to be on terra firma
as some parts of the boat ride had been quite choppy and I had a very sore bum sitting on the edge of a wooden plank for 2 hours but getting off the boat and asking where town and the hostels were, he pointed up to the top of the mountain simply saying 20 minutos arriba! 20 minutes up a very steep mountain face!! With a bag weighing 26kg on my back and hand luggage! This was certainly going to be a challenge I thought to myself!! It certainly was, absolutley exhausting walking up the steep valley steps, I thought my heart was
going to pop out of my chest at times it was beating so fast! I couldnt believe there had been no warning of this on the website! Or perhaps there had but since Id booked it in such a hurry I hadn't read that part. I didnt mind though as the scenery and views were simply amazing.

Once I finally reached my hostel I was totally shattered, it really had been a struggle but the view was one of the best I'd ever seen with a huge snow capped mountain chain directly opposite when looking out of the hostel window and the vast and seemingly neverending deep blue lake surrounding the island! It really was like I'd stumbled across a paradise island with thick green terraces all over, just a few small buildings, mainly restaurants and shops and isla del luna opposite I was so glad I'd made the error of booking my hostel here rather than Copacabana!

 I went in to check in and met my hostel mates for the night. It was only a small hostel called Inga Pacha run souly by a rather old looking but very nice Bolivian woman. In total in the hostal there were just 6 of us so it meant we all got to know each other very well. It was especially nice the fact that 4 of us of the 6 were English, a lovely couple from Liverpool (beleive it or not you do get lovely people from Pool too), a guy from Bristol who was travelling with a girl from Belgium called Joy and a guy from Canada called Steve who freaked me out a bit at first but turned out to be a nice guy. Having all just arrived and checked in, we all decided to go for food and had a great laugh and the food was even pretty good, 3 courses (veggie soup, omelette and veg and banana split and tea) all for 25 bs which is 2 pounds 50!! All the guys turned out to be very nice and we all got on really well and decided we'd go on a walk and explore this mystical island a little. I'd heard from the woman at the hostal that there was a a temple called templo del sol about 30 mins walk towards the islands' peninsula so I suggested that we walked there and tried to catch the sunset so everyone agreed apart from Joy who was too tired and went to bed. Wrapping up warm and making sure we all had torches for the way back we headed out, I led the group as I was the one who had been told where it was and it was my idea so off we went on our intrepid adventure exploring this amazing island! We walked the path for a while until it disappeared ad then had to walk through crop fields, volt stone walls, climb terraces, jump down slopes and then finally we found a path again. It was all great fun but there was no sign of any Incan temple and it was getting darker and darker so we just decided to try and get to the highest point and get a view of the sunset from there although we were just too late, we got about half way up to the highest point we coupld see on the island and did witness a nice sunset behind the mainland with the suns reflection on the lake making it even more spectacular (I got a photo that actually looked like a lava flow, as it was such a bright red between the mountains and clouds)

but unfortunately we were just too late and now it was very dark and certainly time to try and find our way back or risk getting lost. It was a real shame we were all leaving the next day as I got well with them
all and I really would like to have been able to explore the island properly.

Apparently they have another community on the other side of the island but that's a 3 hour hike away and I certainly wasnt doing it in the dark and didnt have time in the morning as check out was 10, the boat was 10.30 which meant I'd get to Copacabana at around 12.30 leaving me just half an hour til my bus to Cuzco. We had planned to get up at 6.30 for sunrise which was supposed to be spectacular but I just thought that since my room was facing the mountains and
the direction where the sunrises, there wasnt too much point in getting out of bed for it, I'd just watch it from the comfort and warmth of bed! On return from our walk, Steve went to bed too, leaving just the English and we all agreed we'd try and find somehwere to eat dinner since it was only 8pm and we all felt like food and a beer so we had a beer each and headed for food but surprisingly there were no bars at all and none of the restaurants were open (only shops) so we just decided to get beers and crisps and play cards back at the hostel. This was good fun
and we shared some good fun times but soon it was midnight and everyone was tired and went to bed. After agreeing to get up early for sunrise, nobody did and I simply opened my eyes to watch it for a few moments at around 6.30am and then went back to sleep again. It was quite impressive but not really worth getting out of bed for especially when I could see it without the need to get out of bed! A few hours later at around 9.30 we were all up and ready to leave to catch the 10.30am boat back to Copacabana.

THis didnt seem to take nearly as long as the boat out to the island perhaps because I had people to talk to and also the lake seemed alot calmer as well as the fact that we had a bigger slightly more powerful boat than last time.

After 2 hours crossing the lake we arrived at Copacabana at 12.30 so I had 30 minutes until the long bus journey to Cusco (around 14 hours!).

 Crossing into Peru was relatively straightforward although I had to wait in a long queue and then we headed up to Puno where we needed to change bus. Unfortunately this meant waiting around for a while for our bus to turn up which on arrival was loaded up
with crates and boxes and bags full of guinea pigs and chickens ready for sale and consumption. Very cruel treatment I thought, it made me very angry to see such treatment not to mention the smell but I just had to grin and bear it! Luckily, 3 nice young English girls were travelling on the same bus and one of them sat next to me and we pretty much told each other our life stories for 14 hours while everyone else went to sleep. I wasn't attracted to her but I felt comfortable chatting to her and felt I could confide in her so we had a great chat for a long long time! When we finally arrived at Cusco, I had no hotel booked so had foolishly gone for a hotel with the bus company guy which turned out to be a bad move as they were apparently fully booked when I arrived and so I had to stay in another and pay again which I was not too impressed about, bloody conman! Oh well, the next day I was meeting Dad and he'd be releiving me alot financially over the next couple of weeks so I wasn't too bothered. I was just looking forward to seeing Dad again and exploring Cusco and Peru!