6th June onwards....... Inca land

Matt says...

So, here we are in sunny Cusco (do these guys ever suffer bad weather?) The city is arguably the most 'touristy' place we have been so far and I have to say we have taken full advantage.

Firstly, we have treated ourselves to hotel accomodation and have stayed at the absolutely wonderful Hotel Los Niños I (translation - the children) and its equally great twin Hotel Los Niños II. The hotels were opened by a incredible lady we have yet to meet called Jolanda van den Berg. Jolanda arrived in Cusco in July 1996 from her native Holland, determined to help as many street children as possible. The income from the hotels helps Jolanda support twelve boys who live with her full-time, but even more amazingly, she feeds up to five hundred children every day for free in four children´s restaurants in the city. For more information on this amazing project, visit http://www.ninoshotel.com/ and click on the English icon if your Dutch isn't up to scratch!

It really has been a pleasure staying in these fantastic hotels which, with their great breakfasts and warm, friendly staff. It´s a great way to legitimately help those in Cusco who have needs greater than ourselves.


Another great breakfast in the courtyard of Hotel Los Niños I

We have also been performing admirably in other full-on Gringo ways. The bar / restaurant Sumaq Misky run by friendly ex-pat Brit Nick has proved a home from home for England´s World Cup matches. We honestly never thought we'd be sitting down to a full English breakfast of (wait for it!) 4 rashers of bacon, 2 home-made sausages, 2 slices of fried bread, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, 2 fried eggs and a cup of Tetley Tea in Cusco. All we can say is if you're ever down this way, pop in and try either the breakfast or the double alpaca (honest!) burger.

And that, apart from the six day Ausangate Circuit trek, (see Lynne´s entry) has been Cusco so far. There will be some inca-ruin visiting and other cultural stuff going on while we are here but we are slightly ashamed to admit that Gringo food, beer and the World Cup have all got the better of us so far. Cheers!