Shopkeeper

The first day I went along to La Policia I called into the wee greengrocers across the road from it, to buy some fruit and bread for the kids.

The couple who run the shop recognised me from last year and were awfully pleased to see me again. It's nice to feel so welcome in a place. I bet I don't get any welcome back from the shopkeepers of Morningside, even though they,ve taken enough of my dough over the past 30 odd years.

Coca Cafe with Claudia

I moved to my new hotel this morning and am very pleased with it. Nice big double room with shower etc and staff are suberb. The receptionist is called Sandra and looks after me a treat. Am looking forward to my stay here over the next week. Sorry to leave my apartment but will be back there next Saturday. His father came to help me move this morning. He has one of the apartments in the house and seems like a decent cove. He gave me a lift in his car. His driving leaves a lot to be desired.

I was out with Claudia on Thursday night. We had dinner in Granja Heidi, a rather nice wee restaurant in San Blas. I like Claudia a lot and we chatted for over 3 hours. Its nice to chat in two languages, though her English is far superior to my Spanish.

She took me to the Coca Cafe where we had mate de coca as it should be made. It tasted very sweet to me. The owner, Cristo or Christo, came over to chat and explained that all was well with my mate as it was made with all natural ingredients. He only uses unrefined cane sugar and he brought some over for me to try. Will go back there, even if it is at the top of a hill in San Blas.

Claudia and I are meeting up again next Thursday. I am so pleased to have got to know her over past couple of years, she is a very special person. I will ask her if I can put her photo on my blog.

Dancing in the Road

I was walking home late last night, at about 10.30, when I heard some music nearby. I followed the sound and there's this big group of kids dancing away to the music provided by two of their mates on drums and something like a tin whistle.

Looked like they were doing a Strip the Willow or some such. I stopped to watch for a while before heading off home via my local police guard.

I suppose its their version of "dansa cean a' rathaid" . Hope my spelling is there or thereabouts. Its hard to get three languages right all the time.

Diane

I was walking along the road to my apartment and saw this woman walking towards me carrying a huge piece of chocolate cake on a plate. As we passed she stopped to explain that the lovely lady who runs the cafe had made this cake and she was just taking it back to her hotel to consume in piece. We got to chatting and ended up going for dinner the next night in Trotamundos cafe.

We spent a pleasant evening chatting away. She's travelled most of her life and spent 20 years working as a mountain guide in the Himalayas. She now owns a house in Romania, though she is from USA. Has no plans to go back there, except to visit her aging mother. She plans to go back to Romania to work with some women there. Aparently older women in those parts get a shit deal all round.

We got to talking politics as one does but when she claimed not to know anything about USA involvement in South America I decided not to pursue the subject. I don't think my views would have gone down too well and best not to spoil things over a few CIA criminal activities.

We decided to meet again on Saturday morning as she was taking me to a market where a Peruvian woman makes special fruit juices to order. She checks your pulse and then decides whats best for you. Sounded like a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Unfortunately I was too ill to leave my bed that morning so never made it. Fortunately I bumped into Diane later in the week and she was fine about it. I will call her at her hotel next week.

Cristina Inn

My apartment is a short walk from Plaza de Armas and just along from the police station. There are usually two cops hanging about with their AK47s or whatever. I don't know if I feel safer or less safe with them there. They all seem so young to be hanging about with their guns slung over their shoulders. I walk quickly by and try not to look, it feels more sinister at night somehow.

I really like my apartment, especially as its so close to everything I need and only a 20 minute walk to MN every morning for my Spanish class,where Mabel is usually waiting for me, or sometimes me for her. The walk is just whatthe doctor ordered for my BPand fortunately downhill all the way.

I've added a link to the site for the guy who owns the apartments.Its in an old colonial house which has belonged to his family since they arrived in Cusco in 17... and buil the place. They also own an hotel in Ave el Sol.

I'm paying $200 per week which seems like a good deal. The cheeky bugger agreed $200 and then when I went alongto the hotel to pay him,in cash,as requested,he tried to up it to $250. I resisted his advances,which was a bit easier as he had just told me that his father or his uncle or some one I'm sure never to see, had let the flat out for next week but had forgotten to mark it up.

So the end result is that he has offered me a week in their hotel at no extra cost, breakfast etc included. I would prefer not to have to move, but he's agreed to help me move on Saturady morning and then moveme back on the following Saturday. Do you reckon I should make him pay for the taxi?

And the hotel is called Cristina Inn or Hostal Cristina,which I rather like.

Altitude Problems

Cusco is about 2 miles or more up in the sky somewhere and it's not doing my pressure any good. I can't believe that I was able to do the Inca Trail just a few years ago. It would be out of the question today I'm afraid. So that's what ageing does for you, as well as a few other minor problems, which I needn't go into here.

On top of coping with the altitude I've developed a chest infection, so had to go see the medico yesterday having spent the weekend or most of it laid up in my apartment. He's changed my BP pills and given me stuff for my infection, and today I'm lots better. BP is back to normal, which is a relief as I was worried I might have to leave Cusco. I have been lucky to find a good doctor, Dr Paul, who seems to know his stuff. Have to go back to see him Thursday just for a check up.

Which is why I've not been able to post anything on my blog for past few days. I won't be going to La Policia this week, or maybe a couple hours on Friday. My Spanish classes will be back on tomorrow though.

Thankfully I have a really nice flat so being confined to barracks over the weekend was not such a drag, and I was able to watch the Man U game from my bed at 7 am,live on Fox sports, which was not too bad. They show lots of European footie on lots of channels. My apartment is on the first floor and RHS of the photo I posted.

I was in Chinatown in Lima and saw these flagstones. So my bros were here before me.

I was out with Claudia on Friday night, which was first time I've seen her since I got here. She's great company and helps me with my Spanish. MN asked her at the last minute if she could teach me this year, but she was already booked up. Will be seeing her again on Thursday when she's taking me to a coca cafe. And on Saturday she's taking me to see Elena, who was one ofthe first people I got to know here in Cusco.

Must go now. More on Heber and Robin in my next posting.

Chinatown, Lima

My Apartment

Elim Cusco

I've added a link to the site for Heber's orphanage. It gives a good idea of the area where it's located and the work they do. There's so many kids needing help sometimes the task seems hopeless, but they do lots of good work here and have plans for more in the future.

When I was there on Saturday it was a young ex street kid who was looking after them. He'd been living there for a number of years and they kept him on in some capacity and have given him training and of course he understands what the boys lives are like and can empathise with them.Its his story thats told in the web site.

Eliza has arranged for us to go to see the woman in charge on Wednesday afternoon.

As you can see they are always short of funds and need all the help they can get. There's a bit on the site about sponsoring one of the kids and if anyone is interested that would be great. Let me know if you want more info.

Cusco

Cusco is still much the same, but more expensive than of yore. The flight into Cusco must be one of the most difficult in the world for pilots and exhilarating for the rest of us. You can almost reach out and touch the mountains as you fly down into the valley. I reckon a flight over the Andes and into Cusco is a must do experience. Having done it a few times I feel like an old hand at it.

I need a few days to get used to the altitude,so have been taking it easy over the weekend. I went to meet Heber yesterday. He,s now living in an orphanage called Elim, but he,s allowed to visit his dad's house which is just down the road, and which is where he was when I met him yesterday. He was having lunch on his own in his room. He,s an incredibly happy boy, despite it all. He had all the cards and xmas cards I ever sent him stuck on the wall above his bed. It never ceases to amaze how much something so insignificant to me means so much to him and them.

We then walked up to his orphanange, through some of the poorest bits of Cusco. I met some of the other boys and Heber showed me around. They are planning a trip to Macchu Picchu some day soon and he wants me to go with them. Will have to check this out with the staff. I will go back next week to see him and Eliza has promised to come with me.

I took a taxi into town and was strolling round the Plaza de Armas when who should I bunp into but his brother Robin. He'd been staying in Elim but ran away and is now staying with his mother and helping her out with her stall. I can see why Elim would be a bit boring for Robin, he´s more adventurous shall we say. I´ve arranged to see him at Maximo this week but I´ve forgotten which day. I´m sure he'll find me though.

Met a few of the other boys too. Dany and Anthony are in an orphanage outside of Cusco. They came in to see me today. They wanted to go to a fairground, so we had some juice in Maximo and I took them along. Fortunately they did not mind that I had no desire to stay. I paid for a few rides and left them to it. They know their way around, having been street kids. Dany wants me to meet his girlfriend and his granny, not sure which is most important to him. He wants me to go and see some horses he rode when he was a wee boy, but its at some distance from Cusco, in the countryside somewhere, I think near his gran. My Spanish began to fail me at this point, so will need to see if its raised again.

I'm away to eat now. Tengo hambre. Chau.

Hotel Bolivar, Lima

Hemingway stayed here as did Orson Welles and John Wayne, who it seems married a Peruvian high society woman. I probably slept in Hemingway,s bed, which was nice, as he himself would have said, I,m sure.

The hotel was splendid, full of character, a little run-down and in need of a lick of paint, but very comfortable, and the staff were very friendly too. So I decided to stay a bit longer than planned. All the web sites I checked said how dangerous Lima central is, but I felt quite safe and had no bother at all.

The place is full of history of course. I had a guide for my first morning and she took me to see the Congress building, which is their parliament. She introduced me to a congressman and a congresswoman, who shooks hands with me, and yes I did use my right arm. I didn,t think a left hand shake would go down too well and after all I was representing my country. Anyway no harm done, they shook gently. They welcomed me to their country and invited me to join the government, but I had to decline as I was going to be busy for a few days.

I spent a morning getting a free personal tour of the Museum of the Inquistion. Free because they do hourly English tours and no-one else showed up. The girl refused to accept a tip as it would cost her her job. It was a gruesome trip.

My main memory of Lima is the polution, which fair takes your breath away, literally. Despite this I managed to get my head sun-burnt, at least my bald bits. Its ok now, only lasted one day.