Do you ever feel like you´are in one of those Imodium ads?

Four days in Peru and they have been eventful - somewhat. First let me say that my grammer and punctuation is all off because the keyboard is different. I´m sitting here drinking Coco tea in CUsco to get rid of my altitude issues...apparently this stuff keeps you healthy while you´re here. We are currently at about 3300 metres about sea level or something crazy....

Our first few days in Lima were nothing to write home about - so I didn´t! We spent the first day wandering the dirty smoggy streets of what seemed like any other big city. Aimey saw and ad on TV for a Peru vs. Cuba volleyball game so in the dark we hopped on a taxi and he took us to the stadium. Are there rules on the road? Not really. Hold on! As we approached, an aggressive scalper was trying to sell us tickets. He held onto my window and didn´t let go until the crazy driver turned the corner. He kept harassing us and we fought our way to front to ask security where to get tickets. Surely we should buy from a scalper infront of security -- but that´s what we have to do! We paid $4 each and got to watch the game. It was a lot of fun but we were concerned about getting a taxi back so we left a set early. Cuba was up 2 sets to 1.

Day 3 we wandering around again and then met with our GAP group. We all went for dinner at a great Peruvian restaurant and I, against, my better judgement, order a soupa de la mar. (Seafood soup). It was terrible and ended up right back in the toilet of the said restaurant. It didn´t look any better coming up as it did going down! This, my friends, was the start of my problems.

Day 4 we boarded a flight for Cusco with our group. Flying over the Andes was beautiful. Bright skys, white clouds, little villages. As we landed I started to feel ill. Then I started to sweat. I was sitting next to the window and all the passengers were in the aisles to leave. We were near the back. How was I going to get out of here? THankfully, there was a door in the back - near the toilet. Barf bag in hand, I locked myself in there and got rid of everythign I thought was in my stomach. The lovely stewardess knocking on the door and me replying "un momento, por favor". When I got out she was standing there with a glass of coca tea saying " you drink all of it. ALL OF IT". Aimey was waiting on the tarmac in the sunshine and I wandered to get my bags.

We got to the hotel for another meeting (during which I visited yet ANOTHER bathroom) where we got all of our info for the trek. At this point I was thinking "what if I can´t go. What if I need to stay back?" I spent the rest of the day sleeping in the hotel. I didn´t see any of Cusco. Thank God for Aimey. We had one day, and one day only to book our trip to the Amazon, extra nights in Cusco and nights in Peurto Maldonado. I was dilirious. She left on her adventure and when she returned this was here recount:
- She waited in one bank wiht number 500 (#300 was on the screen) for the bank to finally tell her they don´t accept mastercard! Running around the streets trying to find a bank that did - thank God there are Scotiabanks everywhere. She had to pay for the lodge in cash
-leaving in a t-shirt and freezing when she got back after dark. The tempurature here dips about15 - 20 degrees each day.
-having a man try to steal her camera
-No one speaks English
-needing my passport number to book our flights but not having it so phoning me at the hotel but I didn´t answer because I was out of it and so calling the desk and lying to them and telling them she was me and she needed the number. They gave it to her!!
-Taking a taxi back here so she didn´t miss our meeting and getting ripped off but knowing this, she refused to pay the amount the driver was going to give her.
-Total Amazing Race style

So then we have another meeting which the entire group now knows that I can keep nothing down or in and that not being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet but put it in the basket next to the toilet is awful when you´re sick!! They were sympathetic. The guide did applaud our decision to take rehydration salts which I sipped throughout the meeting. After all this we find we might not even be leaving today! There is a bus strike (apparently) and so we might not get ot see the Sacred Valley and instead will just be driven to our starting point tonight. I will be disappointed because we were going to visit weavers and markets but secretly a little happy to be able to see Cusco - and not just the toilets in it!!!