Inca Highlands Day 6 - Steep Climbs on the Inca Trail

After a rainy evening with a reasonable amount of rest I was awoken at approximately 5am by roosters. Yes, roosters. This was the surprise that the tour leaders alluded to last night. Roosters were milling around the campsite signalling the dawn. It was actually quite entertaining hearing them cluck and crow as they waddled around just outside of the tent.

Hot cocoa tea was brought to our tents shortly after the roosters quietened down. The delivery of the tea set the clock ticking. We had thirty minutes to pack our bags and be ready to leave the tent. Quite the struggle for me as i'm generally quite a slow packer of bags - evidenced by my near-miss with the initial flight down to South America.

One of the frustrating things that I realised in the morning was that I left my pants resting against the side of the tent, as I had changed to shorts for the evening (sleeping bag). The side of the tent became moist overnight as a result of the evening rain. This meant that I had the pleasure of starting the day with wet pants! Not the best start to the day, that's for sure.

This morning was a bright and lovely one. As it was such a nice morning the mess tent was put away so that we could have breakfast with the blue sky in clear view. Breakfast out in the open was hearty and refreshing. Omelettes, banana pancakes, bread with jam - much needed fuel for the day ahead.

After everything was packed away it was time for a meet and greet - where all of the trekkers, porters, and guides would all say hello to eachother. A good idea since we would all be spending several days with eachother. This greeting was quite a large affair as there were 13 trekkers, 3 guides, 1 chef, and 18 porters!

This would have normally have been an event free affair, yet for this trip the introduction proved to be very entertaining. The porters went first, and it was clear that most of the porters had come from the nearby Sacred Valley - the Anta region, to be specific. The porters weren't all young, with ages ranging from the early 20s right up to the late 40s. Unexpected for some. The usual occupation of the porters, their day-job, was farming.

Thanks to the introduction I got a good sense of the organisation required to ensure that we would all have a resonably comfortable trek to Maccu Piccu. Each day porters would have to carry cookware, cutlery, tents, stools, our duffel bags, food, supplies, and their own daily items (clothing, toiletries, etc). Not a trivial logistics operation!

It was the trekkers to introduce themselves after the porters had done theirs. When it was my turn I tried my best to inject some Spanish into the introduction. I didn't manage much - most of what I could come up with was something like "Hola, Buenos Dias Muchachos, mon nombre es Marko". Don't even know if that's correct.The rest of my introduction was in English - which was subsequently traslated by one of the trekking guides.

The most entertaining segment was to come. It was time for one of the ladies in the group to perform her introduction. After a brief introduction she was asked if she was single or attached (a question that all of the younger ladies was asked). She stuttered and eventually answered that she was single. The porters all seemed entertained and one of the younger single porters was being ridiculed by the other porters. The trek guide grabbed the single porter and I grabbed the single girl and we brought them together. The porter passed on a peck on the cheek and that was it. After the incident I was politely told "Mark, i'm going to kill you". Hillarious!

Onto the trek itself. The second day of the trail walk was said to be the hardest by the guides, and there was no reason to dispute this. The journey from Wayllabamba to Paqaymayu was indeed ardurous, as it had involved a particularly steep and extensive climb of 1200m in its first phase before a shorter yet equally steep descent.

The uphill leg was tough, yet the previous day's walk helped me understand how much weight would be ideal for carrying. I carried much less on my back on the second day of the trail than the first - dropping at least a litre of water and a couple of items of clothing. It was not as cold as some claimed that it would be!

The experience of the climb changed as the altitude increased. The initial phase of the climb was mostly warm and humid, with trees and foliage providing a shade from the sun. The climb was made more difficult thanks to the heat and humidity, yet the streams that ran close to the stony path upwards provided a useful cooling function.

The latter parts of the climb to the peak of the second pass were quite different. Vegetation was sparse, the stream was nowhere to be seen, and the sun was able to bear down on me with no problems - having said this... it was cool. Not cold, just cool. The steepness of the climb was similar, the environment was quite different.

By the time I made it to the peak of the second pass I was a little tired. A break was in order. The peak provided a sweeping view of the climb just completed with snow capped mountains as a backdrop. I took the opportunity to rest up,take some photos, and chat with som members of the tour group. More importantly, I was starting to get hungry and lunch was nowhere in sight. Lunch was to be a couple of hours further on, at Pacqaymayu.

Half an hour passed and it was time to move onto the last segment of the day - the descent leg. I felt that the descent leg was tougher than the ascent leg. Why? Most likely because I was hungry, I wasn't fresh, and nature was calling. Having said this, the descent was much easier after making a slight detour off the well warn track. I wasn't the only one who made a temporary diversion though, everyone does it!


Through the second day I noticed something different with the Maccu Piccu trek when compared to the Everset Base Camp trek in Nepal - the method in which the group as a whole travelled. In Nepal we effectively had 2 groups, a fast group and a slow group, and stops every 30-45 minutes or so - regrouping at key places. In Peru, people are allowed to go at their own pace with guides towards the back and someway towards the front. An interesting contrast.

At 3pm I stumbled into Pacqamayu Camp #5, lead to the specific campsite by our chef Cesar. Boy, was I glad to see camp. After quickly selecting a free tent it was time to head to the mess tent for some well deserved lunch! I was starving! Lunch was fantastic, although that could have been because I was very hungry. Cevice (fish) salad was the starter, followed by a prawn soup, finished off by an alpaca, plaenta, and rice dish.

Pacqamayu camp was the site of the evening camp, so thankfully no more trekking was planned for the day. Due to the lateness of lunch, it was only an hour and a half or so left remaining before afternoon tea was scheduled. There was the option to stay and have some afternoon tea... but I passed. I took the opportunity to rest up and napped until dinner time. Popped out for dinner and a quick chat before it was back to bed again (with nothing leaning against the side of the tent).

Inca Highlands Day 5 - The Trek Begins!

Today marked the first day of the Inca Trail leading to Maccu Piccu! Exciting. We departed from our hotel early in the morning. The group was hearded onto a coach bound for a place called Kilometer 82. Now I don't know why someone would call a place Kilometer 82, but at least it's a unique name!

First up, a bit of administration was required. The morning was a bit of a rush as we had restrictions on what we were allowed to bring along to the trek. A 5kg duffel bag (which was weighed) and whatever I could carry on my back was all that was permitted. The rest of the luggage would have to be left at the hotel.

Initially I thought that it would be quite warm and therefore packed light - only using up just over 3 of the 5kg allocation. Others in the tour used up their entire allocation, citing the extra clothing that they intended to pack. Taking this on board, I threw in some warmer clothing... bringing my duffel bag up to 5kg.

We arrived at Kilometer 82 by the mid-morning and it was a bustling place. Coaches, minibuses, porters, guides, trekkers, and locals filled the little bus compound. After a quick introduction to our trekking guides Liborio and Tina we were handed a little snack pack. Some biscuits, a few little sugar lollies, and a banana. Then we were off! We had commenced our our 4-day journey to Maccu Piccu.

The first stop of the trek was literally two minutes away by foot - a group photo under the "Welcome to the Inka Trail" sign by the railway line. Everyone looked quite happy and excited. I remember thinking that it would be interesting to see both the before and after shots! Once we had taken a good set of photos (as everyone had a camera) we were off to passport control.

Why is there passport control? Now that would be a very good question. Technically speaking the whole Maccu Piccu National Park area is another country, or so we were told. Perhaps something was lost in translation there... maybe it's akin to the Vatican and Italy.

All of us needed to provide our passport and entrance pass before being allowed though the checkpoint and across the footbridge on the other side. The interesting thing about the whole process was that we had to line up in particular order - simpler administration. No matter, one more stamp on the passport and away I went - at a start altitude of 2450m.

The late morning consisted of a nice gradual walk towards our lunch stop - a 2 hour walk away. It was a pleasant walk. We passed along the Urubamba river and observed a track section of the recently rebuilt railway line that connects Cusco to Maccu Piccu.

On the way to lunch we came across a very well preserved Inca settlement called Llactapapa. The distinguishing feature of this particular Inca site was that it seemed to follow the undulating stream as it snaked through the valley below. Furthermore, many of the structures remained intact (minus the thatch rooves). Something that I wasn't expecting!

Unfortunately for us it began to drizzle as we were peering down at Llactapapa, getting an explanation of the importance of settlements like Llactapapa for the Incan economy. The rain wasn't too heavy at this point. The 3 soles poncho that I bought the day before was well worth it!

Lunch. I knew that we were going to get food made for us along the way but I didn't quite know what to expect. Pleasantly surprised is one term i'd use for the lunch provided, excellent is another. First up, the trekkers and guides were all seated in a large mess tent.

With the rain progressively getting heavier we were served both our first cup of hot munja tea (munja being a herb) and a fantastic guacamole entree. Next was a hearty chicken and vegetable soup. The series of dishes was rounded out with an apacca, corn puree, and rice dish. The series of three dishes were easily some of the better meals that i've had so far in Peru! If the chef were to publish a cook book, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

A few more hours of gentle walking under light drizzle brought us to our first evening campsite - Wayllabamba, situated at 3,000 meters. It was fairly obvious that we reached our campsite as there was a row of bright red domes set against a lush green backdrop.

As soon as we entered the campsite we were told of the location of the toilets and then were assigned our tents. One thing i'll say about the tents provided are that they're quite spacious. The tents can quite comfortably fit 2 people. The tents were also provided with air matteresses for extra comfort. Handy!

At approximately 5:30pm we were called out for a treat at the newly erected mess tent. The surprise was afternoon tea! Cocoa tea and popcorn. Yummy. Definitely something unexpected. We were warned not to spoil our dinners, yet the two platters of popcorn were finished.

Dinner was served shortly after afternoon tea, 6:30pm. With people given free time to either sit in the mess tent or head back to the privacy (or relative privacy) of the sleeping tents. Another fantastic meal was served up by the chef before we all went to bed. On the way out we were promised a special surprise in the morning, and with that idea in our minds we went back to the tents to snooze.

Inca Highlands Day 4 - The Sacred Valley

Not too early a start this morning, especially when compared to the previous one. A more reasonable 8am was the time in which we were to all assemble. Breakfast in the Cusco accomodation was adequate, with bread and condiments being made available. There was some Peruvian cereal on offer (with pinkish milk), but I didn't take any. Playing it super safe.

The Sacred Valley tour started off with an introduction by the guide for the day (Roger), who subsequently introduced the driver. Once the introductions were done, we were off to our first stop - a small market approximately 40 minutes out from Cusco.

As I irresponsibly failed to bring a hat along to South America, I went searching for a hat in the markets. I found an interesting hat reminiscent of the good, the bad, and the ugly (in black) but it didn't quite fit. No purchase. The trip to the market wasn't completely fruitless though, as the highlight was just in front of the market proper.

In front of the market proper was a small llama and alpaca pen, inclusive of an aged shepard. The people on our tour bus, as well as tourists from another van, flocked to take photos of the various four legged animals. Obviously, I joined in. There was this cute little llama wandering around just in front of the pen, which was open. Some of us got the opportunity to feed the baby llama before the shepard shut up shop. Clearly wasn't getting as many soles as he was expecting. For taking photos, I provided a small donation.

Once we had spent 30 minutes at the market it was time for us to move on to our next location, an Inca site close to a village called Pisac. We all quickly hopped onto the bus and we were off. En route to the Inca site we stopped along the side of the road for a few happy snaps - very picturesque, with the clouds floating above and the mountains encircling the valley below.

The Inca site near Pisac consisted of well preserved terraces as well as a few intact buildings. There were approximately two dozen terrace levels spanning the face of one of the mountains, and just about all of them were still standing. The guide assured us that only a small percentage of the free standing terraces had to be explicitly restored (due to terrace walls eroding and collapsing). It's clear that the agricultural knowledge of the Inca was quite advanced.

At Pisac the tour group learnt about the rise of the Incas - which included the subjugation of the local populations, the gradual spread of the Inca empire over time, and the importance of the Andean Cross. Whilst the historial and cultural aspect of the tour was not everyone's cup of tea I definitely found it interesting.

By the time we finished the Pisac ruins it was off to lunch - as it was late afternoon we stopped at a small village nearby. Unfortunately for the village and its occupants a mudslide had hit the area and caused a significant amount of damage... with approximately 100 families losing their livelihood due to the destruction of their homes and land.

Lunch was a buffet lunch at a place called Inca House. Given that we were in the middle of nowhere, it was quite nice. We were advised in Lima to avoid buffets, but down in the Sacred Valley with a different tour guide... it was a different story. The lunch was quite pricey, at 35 soles, but it did the job. The lunch also included a complementary glass of Pisco Sour (a popular local alcoholic drink).

On the way to our next location we learnt a little bit more about Inca textile skills. There was a particular segment on how the Inca used to colour their fabrics. All of the colours that the Inca created were natural, which would turn out to be dull in appearance (so if colours are bright - they're synthetic). Different colours required different ingredients and techniques. For example, to get red you had to harvest tiny little insects and squash them and use their blood. Simple enough. Other ingredients used to obtain different colour palettes included herbs and even human urine!

The next stop on the Sacred Valley tour was an Inca town called Ollantaytambo. Apparently this is the oldest Inca town that is still inhabited - with many of the buildings and infrastructure that were in place during the age of the Incas still intact. The locals still live here just like they did in ages past, with a few extra modern luxuries.

One of the highlights of Ollantaytambo is the nearby unfinished temple - a substantial monument that is still surviving to this day. The ingenuity of the Inca was obvious - huge slabs of rock that must have weighed tens of tonnes formed the structure of the temple. Not only was it amazing that they managed to lug the masses of granite hundreds of meters uphill... they were able to build walls made of these hulking stones without the aid of mortar or adhesive material. Quite impressive.


The visit to the temple at Ollantaytambo was not without incident. Humour always seems to creep into holidays. The tour group was on its way out of the temple complex via a narrow path, we paused at a junction that provided a great vantage point for photos. We all took our time taking pictures and were prompted to move on when another group of tourists appeard behind us. Some of the members of the tour group were resting up on the slope of the mountain, as others in the group were actively taking photos.

Now, one of the ladies in the group behind us wanted assistance taking a photo, with the lady in front and the temple as the backdrop. One of the guys in our group hopped down and almost fell off the side of the track - due to the momentum of hopping down. There was a moment where everyone gasped. He didn't fall off, although it was a long, long way down to the bottom. The photo was taken without any further dramas. Many jokes followed afterwards about how 'mamacitas' can inspire guys to do crazy things!

A sleepy bus ride back followed the Ollantaytambo city visit. I did buy a small hat with llama images on them in the Ollantaytambo market on my way out - which would come in handy for the Inca trek itself. Once we were back in town we all split up to do our own thing. For me and a couple of others, it was back to the cafe for some safe food. Carbo loading for the big trek ahead, which was to start the next day. Avoid Spaghetti Bolognaise.... it's just different. Carbs are carbs, I guess. Anyway, an early evening followed dinner and that ended the day.

Inca Highlands Day 3 - Arrival in Cusco

The morning began with a 5am wakeup call. This wasn't organised by me, it was organised by the tour guide - and it came as a bit of a shock. For a minute there I thought that work was calling me up, wanting to discuss an issue! Not only was the wakeup call totally unexpected, it was half in Spanish. Did the job though. The reason for the call was due to the fact that we had a 7:20am flight to Cusco to catch. After showering and packing the bags it was down for breakfast. Breakfast was the same breakfast as the morning I arrived in Lima - scrambled eggs, ham, cheese, juice.

A transfer bus to Lima airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez) was arranged by the tour, we arrived at the airport with no incident. Everyone on the bus was in high spirits, considering that it was still early in the morning. At the airport we were handed our e-tickets and proceeded to check-in. Nothing too special so far - except for the fact that the Gate number that I had on my ticket differed from others in the tour. Turns out that they just print any old number when they haven't assigned a gate to a flight. I must say, it would have been much easier to print nothing and tell us to monitor the departure boards!

Whilst the scheduled departure time of the Lima to Cusco flight was 7:20am, we didn't depart on time. The plane (Peru Airlines) set out for our next destination at 8:00am instead. The journey only took an hour, I slept. I woke up fairly tired - that could have been due to the early morning start or the impact of altitude... as Cusco is roughly 3300m above sea level. We were met by our guide, Belge, after we picked up our bags and left the terminal building. There was only time for a quick hello before we were whisked away to our accomodation.

The hotel in Cusco was pretty good. The room was clean, the bathroom was nice, and the shower did it's job. What more could you ask for? As for the negatives - the room was a bit cold and the key to the room did not snugly fit the lock. Getting into the room always took a few tries. All good.

The first day in Cusco was quite light - as we were all supposed to acclimatise to the higher altitude. We were given free time until after lunch and were given a few recommendations on where to eat. Given that we didn't know much of the place, we took up one of the recommendations - a little cafe that was effectively down the road.

Once we were done with lunch we commenced our walking tour of Cusco, led by our tour guide, Belge. The tour was only brief, then again Cusco isn't exactly the largest of towns. The focus of the tour was the Plaza de Armas and surrounds. I was actually impressed by the plaza, as I wasn't expecting much - it was quite a pleasant place to just sit and relax. Once the walking tour finished, some of us headed back to the Plaza de Armas and chilled out in a cafe. The cafe, funnily enough, was called Cafe Bagdad. No idea where the name came from, and I didn't ask.

One thing that i'll mention about Cusco is that it is quite polluted. I don't mean that there is litter on the ground and that it's a gubby place to be, I was referring to the air quality. I originally thought that the air in and around Lima was bad, but Cusco was horrendous. Just about every car on the road would be spewing noxious clouds out the back of their mufflers.

The tour had its first organised dinner at a local restaurant. I can't recall the name of the restaurant, but it was more on the higher end of what was available. The food here was great!  I ordered a chilly chicken dish that was akin to curry. Yum, yum. I also tried small portions of what some of the others were eating as well, with one of the more exotic dishes that I tried being alpaca. Guinea pig was on offer as well, but that was ordered by another table. Many made a mental note to give it a try at a later stage.

After dinner had concluded it was time to head back to the hotel for some rest. A big day ahead was planned for us, a tour of the Sacred Valley. It was still early on in the tour, so everyone signed up. A wise decision as we'd be back for another free day post-Inca trail.

Inca Highlands Day 2 - Lima - To Rimac and Back!

The second day of the Inca Highlnds tour ensured that I saw much more of Lima and surrounds. The day saw me visit both the rough end of Lima as well as the more pituresque, the hustle and bustle in the heart of town as well as secluded views looking over the town. The day in isolation would have been a good one, if it wasn't for other groups telling us what we could have done in the day. More on that a little later on.

The morning was supposed to be an early one, with several people aiming to wake up really early (5:30am) to see the celebrations in the main square outside the Presidential Palace (Plaza de Armas). The event was the Procession of the Lord of Miracles - where purple could be seen everywhere, banners are hung off balconies and people dress up in as much purple garb that they can find. I set an alarm for 5:30am, found that I was just too tired, and went back to sleep. I reawoke at 8:30am.

Heading down for breakfast, I met up with those that left earlier in the morning to see the Procession of the Lord of Miracles. They had just come back for breakfast. Good timing. There were a few others in the room for breakfast and we discussed what we could do for the remainder of the morning (as the half-day tour of Lima would be beginning in the afternoon). I didn't really have much of an idea, as I hadn't done any research on what to do in Lima - as I had assumed the tour had it all covered. I was happy to go for a stroll, as were the others in the know. We set off shortly after breakfast had concluded.

I'm not exactly where the target destination was for the morning but we first made it to Plaza de Armas where, as expected, the area was bathed in purple. Even though the speeches and the main procession had passed there were hundreds of people milling about. Perhaps the locals were staying out and enjoying the sunshine, as it was a lovely day outside.

After cutting through the Plaza de Armas the aim was to cross the bridge behind the Presidential Palace. We headed up towards the river towards the Library with the aim of cutting back behind the presidential palace. The road was blocked off by the military. Standing at the blockade we watched as the side gate of the palace opened up. Several military men milled about before an artillery piece was rolled out of the gate. The men carted the artillery piece down the road, and that was that.

As the bridge behind the palace was closed off, we went to cross north of the river via the main arterial road, Abancay. As we crossed the road it seemed as though we had crossed into another world. The feeling of complete safety evaporated as the integrity of the buildings in view deteriorated. As we turned left and walked down Via de Evitamiento, abandoned and burnt out buildings also came into view! Digital cameras that were in plain view promptly made their way into the concealed security of backpacks. We had arrived in Rimac.

Rimac happens to be one of the most run-down areas of Lima, and this was confirmed with conversations later on in the day with local guides. Without this knowledge we forged onwards, passing through a small market. One thing that was of particular note was that there were several stalls selling Chinese food. Bizzare, especially in a place like Peru.

Our stay in Rimac was not an extensive one. A currency exchange person stopped to talk to me, whilst some of the others continued. He gestured to me that we should not continue - I imagine that he was saying the exact same thing. The shaking of the head followed by pointing ahead of us wasn't really the set of gestures that I really wanted to see. I nodded and thanked the exchange person and called out to some of the others. Some of the group ahead were much further on. I didn't have to do too much as some military men had stopped the lead elements of the group and started talking to them, apparently they were strongly told to head back. So turn back we did.

The way back was much more direct as the bridges behind the palace seemed to have opened up. As it was lunchtime, and not too far away from the start time of the tour we dispersed. Three of us decided to have something quick and ate at a chicken shop on the Plaza des Armas (Roccos?). Nothin too special about the meal except for the fact that I tried some Inca Cola. I just had to try Inca Cola as I saw the advertisment for it everywhere!

At 2pm we all gathered in the hall at the hotel to set off for our half-day Lima tour, organised by the local tour leader. Two minibuses were provided for us and we split up accordingly. After a short drive through downtown Lima, we were out onto one of the highways - where there was an accident on the side of the road. As we approached the accident zone, we slowed to a crawl. Looking to the left as we passed by it didn't look good at all. An overturned sedan sat on the side of the road, just shy of the median strip down the centre. It looked as though the car had hit the median strip, which was actually demarked by a raised slab of concrete along the centre of the highway, and rolled over. Glass shards and shrapnel were everywhere. Approximately a dozen people were milling about the car, some trying to assist the driver out of the car, and some just watching. Quite the chaotic scene.

The journey past the accident was incident free, and in a short space of time we were in the district of Miraflores - the playground of the more affluent in Lima. We were taken to a local park in the area and were permitted to walk around. The park was reasonably large and was distinctively green. Water isn't the most readily available resource in Lima and therefore its use to ensure the health of the park emphasised the affluence of the area. So we were told, anyway. In the park we were given some basic information about Lima - it's population, size, number of districts, and the city's demographics.

Huaca Pucllana was the next stop after the stroll through the park.Whilst we didn't enter the Huaca Pucllana site, we did get a good view of the structures within from outside of the enslosure walls. The intriguing thing about the series of structures is that it's made up entirely of little mud slabs, that surprisingly hasn't totally decayed away after all this time. Probably better that way, as i'm not too sure how many people were in the mood to spend extra dosh. There was a bloke out the front trying to sell books about Huaca Pucllana, yet nobody was interested. It was at this point we got a bit of a primer on ancient pre-Inca cultures - the Lima and Wari cultures.

We must have only been there for about 20 or so minutes before we were back in the mini-bus. The next stop was the Monumento al Soladado Desconocido, in Chorillos - an area to the south west of Lima. The moument was located at the top of a windy road overlooking Lima as well as the Pacific Ocean. The monument, located not too far away from a stack of communications towers, was to commemorate the persistance of the Peruvian armed forces during the Chilean occupation of Lima. All news to me.


One thing about the area in which the Monumento al Soladado Desconocido resides is that it's not exactly well to do. From the platform you could see the run down houses down below - blocks and blocks of brown sprawled out as far as the eye could see. Having said that, there was a reasonbly nice football (soccer) stadium nearby. I guess that goes to show how important football is in South America!

There was one last stop to the tour after the Monumeno al Soladado Desconocido - the Lovers Statue back in Miraflores. However, there were two minor disruptions on the way down. We were first stopped by a man who was holding a rope taught, where the rope was connected to the rockface on the opposite side of the road. We were warned about this as we set off from the top of the road, obviously this came true. The driver gave the man one sol and we were off again. The second disruption was a pair of sleeping dogs on the road, as we approached the dogs continued to lie there. We stopped in front of them, the dogs continued to lie there. The driver beeped the horn, the dogs poked their heads up and continued to lie there. We ended up driving around them.

The final stop of the tour was the lovers statue in Lima, which provided more ocean views as the sun began to set. As expected there were couples milling about enjoying the sunset. Unexpectedly it was also the place where you could go paragliding. Some people seemed interested in paragliding but it was far too late to do so, and we were already committed to the tour. Once the sun had set we hopped back into our transports and were taken back to our hotel.


Back at the hotel we had a chance to freshen up and prepare for a group dinner at a local restaurant. At this point we were notified of our plan for the next morning - an early breakfast to be served at 5am so that we could be at the airport in time for a 7:30am flight. One of what was to be many early starts.

Dinner was fairly simple chicken dish with chips, as recommended by the guide for the day. No alcohol and no strange food this evening. What I did try though was the local chilli, aji - loved it. I do know that there are lots of types of chilli, but whatever it was... it was fantastic. I loaded up, by adding the chilli to both the chicken and the chips!

Anyway, as there was an early morning ahead of us we all left the restaurant not too long after 9. Sleep promptly followed..