Still Recovering

Wednesday May 14th

Most people still looked like they were recovering from the exertions of Cusco (the trekking or the partying, you decide) today. We were travelling from Cusco to Chivay and it was a usual truck day, long boring and bumpy. We did reach a new high point as well, at 4,800 metres.

Still we were doing well enough time wise until about 5Km from our destination we got a puncture. It took an hour to sort out, as it turned out the rim of the wheel suffered structural damage, and it was freezing standing around while the spare was put on.

When we eventually got to Chivay it was still cold so we went to a restaurant that promised and open fire. There was one, but it was tiny, a couple of matches wopuld provide as much heat. Still the meal was excellent value, the best in Peru so far. The women who owned the restaurant was a Kamuka groupie, she actually had baby clothes for her kid with Kamuka on them. Slightly strange.

The only disappointment with Chivay, the Irish pub was closed. To put this in context, Chivay is a tiny town with less than 5,000 inhabitants. The fact that it had an Irish pub was used as proof that they get everywhere. But apparently they can't always survive.

One final thing, to tell how cold it was in Chivay, when we got back to our hotel they guy was giving out hot water bottles because that is how cold it gets.