Hotel Vinlandre Cusco

... i.e. most expensive). Although it wasn´t cheap, it probably was worth it for the 23-hour+ ride. One thing made abundantly clear thus far in my travels: the price you pay for your bus ticket determines the quality of movies you get to/have to watch. When Julieann and I aimed as low as possible (I think going from Baños to Cuenca or Cuenca to Mancora), we were treated to Jackie Chan in ¨Drunken Master,¨ in Spanish without subtitles. When I payed a little more than ...

... fun exploring the huge site, trying to avoid the tourists guides offering their services. The site even has an extensive system of underground passages that connects the fortress to other Inca ruins, we got to crawl through one of these passages but it got pitch black and we had no idea where we were going, the trusty cell phone got pulled out to provide some light and we ventured out safely the other end. There were 3 other Inca ruins ...

... car broke down, and he couldn't get it started.
Fortunately another taxi driver went by (can you imagine the odds at 4:30 in the morning?) and agreed to take us to the airport for 15 soles.
We got to the airport at 4:55, and went on to find our check in counter. We got there just as they were closing the counters, to our amazement - apparently the plane was overbooked, and when it filled up it just went!!!
It didn't help that we argued we still had 50 ...

... which is good training for my Inca Trail. From a high vantage pt. Cusco looks a little like Dubrovinik with all its red terracotta style roofs. Then we got a bit of lunch before watching the 2nd half of Eng v Croatia, before I went for a bit of a wander round the rest of the city.
We´re meeting up for one last dinner tonight cos the Danes are off on a white water rafting trip, and then doing a Jungle trek as an alternative to ...

... The roof of the church was all hand painted, Rokoko style decoration, very nice ( no pics allowed inside :(

45 min additional bus and we are back to hotel around 6.30pm
Time to read your emails and I am already out with Mila and Alex to go buy nice jewel to Mila. She flashes on full set of course :) Bracelet, Neckless and hearings! Alex offers her the bracelet and Mila want to get the 2 others! Alex is asking her to chose and be reasonable ......I tell you he is a pain ...

... small
towns. They simply have an upper bell tower, a façade decorated with
murals, and two stone columns perfectly designed to face the main
grate.


Inside the church there are two different sections as they
were built in two different stages. The main inner arch separates them.
The older section has ornaments in Arabic style (the architects call it
Arabic mixture, Christians developed it between XIII and XVI
centuries). The new section is near the ...

... teacher will also take you through a general oral revision of the initial topics. This revision, and the placement test, will enable us to start at the right level for you. You will take progress tests throughout the course (usually weekly). These help us to see if you are ready to progress. You will also take an exam at the end of each level to check if ...

... of the americanos have been on this trip, these guys show the other side. Stcay is canadian and exempt from needing to be explained. Peter is in his 40s but looks younger than me and is an english teacher in Alaska, where he didn't vote for Sarah Palin but is a worthy democrat. Kirsten is from Virginia, living in DC and is a fan of country music. This would normally see her ditched straight away but she's also a democrat, intelligent and also into great music as ...

... year old batholith pluton. This material varies in consistency and crystal size. The finest material was selected as building stone for the most important buildings and walls. Occasional pieces of a green chloritic shist seem to be local. Bingham describes small disks made of the material found in excavations. The material apparently came from below a cliff of Machu Picchu Mountain [Bingham 1952]. The Australian anthropologist/explorer John leivers has recently located the site ...

... for the key ruins in the Sacred Valley, a beautiful river valley on the way to Machu Picchu, and travelled around by local buses and minibuses to avoid the expensive tours (we, and especially Brad, runs a mile when that word is mentioned). And, as we found out, you can still travel for 6 hours or so for less than the equivalent of A$5.

And just getting to Machu Picchu? One rail company has a monopoly on getting there (no road access) and ...