8am; I forgot the fifth thing you’re unlikely to find in a Peruvian bathroom – soap. Of any description. I carry a small tube of shaving soap with me as well as the toilet paper, so I can at least wash my hands after going.

I never got the full body massage I needed to soothe my aching muscles yesterday – I had to wait for my laundry to come back to the hostel at 7pm and by then all the massage establishments were closed. What I did achieve though was making a phone call – I popped in to Claro (the provider) to ask why I couldn’t make calls or send texts. Every time I tried I got a message in Spanish I couldn’t understand. I added 20 soles to my account and tried again and got the same message. A consultant at Claro interpreted the message for me – I needed to add their prefix of six numbers to the number I was calling in order for it to go through. At last I have a phone that I can use if I need to – the number is +51 9538 74299 in case anyone needs it (only while I’m in Peru).

Today I hope to fly to Lima. I say “hope to” because when I booked the ticket online on a third-party web site the transaction went through and I got the eTicket by email but then got an email from the issuer (eBoliteris – like Webjet) telling me that only the airfare cost had been debited and their booking fee had rejected. I asked them to cancel the ticket and refund me but they wouldn’t (I’d found an even cheaper fare on Latam’s – the airline’s – web site). So, I’ll turn up at the airport and see what happens – I have the Latam eTicket and it looks Kosher. I’ll update you later today.

Later: 11:27am – I had breakfast in Cusco, the place that cooks my porridge wasn’t open at 9am so I went elsewhere – a place that had a sign outside with a picture of an American Breakfast (two fried eggs, bacon, tomatoes, toast, jam, butter and coffee). Never assume in Peru that what is advertised is what you’ll get – the toast was hard and stone cold, the tomatoes raw sliced, the bacon and eggs were scrambled eggs with ham pieces mixed in and the coffee was made with milk instead of water. And naturally no pepper. Yuk. I left them a note to help them in future as to what “Americans” expect. I’m at Cusco airport and have checked in for my flight to Lima, no issues. I tried to change the ticket to a non-stop service but had no luck. So, via Arequipa I go with a long stopover there (2:15pm until 10:40pm). Cusco airport is a disaster! Thousands of passengers with their luggage in a terminal serving about six airlines, which is far too small for the job – unbelievable chaos! For some reason the planners just don’t understand that you need SPACE in the check-in area in order to operate smoothly. And this isn’t even high season, which is June and July. I shouldn’t have any problem filling in my day in Arequipa as I didn’t explore the Plaza de Armas area while I was there. I saw it in passing and it looked interesting so I’ll likely catch a cab there for a better look.

Even later: 8pm – I went into the city using Uber – taxi is about 25 soles, Uber 12 soles. Not much to see, just strolled around the Plaza de Armas and enjoyed the afternoon sun. I did get the massage I wanted in the end, though, NZD12 for half an hour – it was painful on my leg muscles though! The flight from Cusco was on an A320-200 with 174 seats – by the look of the queue to board I thought it must be an A380! I was in row 29, of course – cheapest seats. The flight was full, and most passengers had huge amounts of hand luggage (all not weighed). By my estimates the passenger load with hand luggage was around 17,400 kgs. I wondered what the maximum ramp weight was for this aircraft to take off safely assuming the hold was full of freight and baggage as well, especially in such thin air. Ruth probably knows – it would depend on how much fuel was on board as well, of course. Even later, in Arequipa: While I waited for my boarding call at 10pm I tried to connect to WiFi – difficult, but at last the coffee shop I’m in has got their router rebooted and I manage. I’ve booked at the Pool Paradise Hostel in Lima on the recommendation of Greta, who is working at another hostel in Lima – it sounds good, with a pool and breakfast included for only 43 soles per night. I booked two nights but may stay longer unless I continue touring North to Huarez and other places. They also claim to have hot showers, but I’ll believe that when I see it – they all claim that but seldom deliver. My flight is about to board so I’ll leave my post here. More tomorrow, Ciao.

Llamas graze contentedly on a wall in Machupicchu.

Machupicchu - a small part of it.