Hello Cusco

There is a Latin American tendency, which we have observed so far in Chile and now in Bolivia, to speak in diminutives. In Spanish, this involves changing the end of a word to -ito/a or -illo/a, such as changing casa (house) to casita (little house or cottage). This can literally imply that the thing so named is physically small, but is most often used just to soften speech. In the Spanish school in Santiago, our teacher often referred to us as chicillos, rather than chicos (guys), and even called one of the students, who was particularly young, Mattito. Our horse trekking guide made reference to caballitos, and many women will talk about having put on a few kilitos, as though this were a different unit of measurement to the standard kilo.

This morning at 4am, we presented ourselves at Jorge Wistermann airport in Cochabamba for a number of "vuelitos" (the check-in desk lady's word) to Cusco. And small were these flights indeed. Forty five minutes to Santa Cruz, and a further hour each onwards to La Paz and then Cusco. The reason for being bounced around Bolivia, before reaching escape velocity bound for Peru, is that Amaszonas cancelled the more direct and convenient flight without notifying us. Much frustrating administration ensued and the current convoluted route was agreed upon.

Lies, maps and statistics

Having ping-ponged our way to La Paz, we had a tight (forty minute) connection to get our final onward flight, which was rendered quite exciting by landing ten minutes late and encountering some Bolivian emigration administration. Our documents had already been processed and removed at Cochabamba, but now in La Paz, we had to fill out yet more slips while the officials riffled through the pages of our passports. Eventually, after yet more baggage inspections and scanning, we were allowed into the departure lounge. We needn't have hurried, however, as the flight was delayed owing to "adverse weather conditions" at Cusco. After half an hour, these didn't seem to present a problem any more, and we boarded for take off.

Soon after reaching cruising altitude, we found ourselves flying over the magnificent and enormous Lake Titicaca. It takes a flight from 30,000 feet to truly appreciate its magnitude.

Lake Titicaca

We didn't get to discover what the "weather conditions" might have been - there was a whispered rumour of volcanic ash - but the weather on landing in Cusco was perfect.

Perfect landing in Cusco

Our host, Mary, was ready to meet us and whisked us up out of the centre of Cusco to an area of town known as Tambillo. Here, perched on a hill overlooking the valley, she has built her own traditional bungalows.

By the hearth

Wooden beams

Mary, a retired architect, designed the buildings herself, which are light and airy, with white walls and tasteful furnishings, and surround a sunny central courtyard of "tronquitos" - short tree stumps that double as seats.

"Tronquitos"

After settling in, Mary kindly invited us for a home-cooked lunch. The food was simple and yet exquisitely prepared. We snacked on roasted yuca with guacamole, which hands down beats any roast potato I have ever tasted, while the soup was warmed up. We were then presented with a thick and hearty quinoa soup with broad beans, served with traditional Peruvian bread filled with cheese. After second helpings, we were sated, having had nothing much beyond a sandwich at 5 o'clock this morning.

Being remote from town - although only half an hour's walk along an old Inca path - there is no WiFi, so we decided to make the short walk to the centre and buy a SIM card for mobile data. Owing to the ubiquity of WiFi in many of the countries we have visited, this is something we have found necessary to do only twice; once in Langkawi (staying in the jungle), and then in New Zealand (on the road in a camper van). On both occasions, the SIM was popped out of the packaging and we were up and running in less than ten minutes. Not so in Peru, which seems to take its bureaucracy very seriously.

We spent well over an hour in the vast and soulless offices of telecoms provider Movistar, stuck in a process of endless paperwork that bore all the hallmarks of, ironically enough, the film Brazil. The queue for the shop was out of the door on Avenida El Sol. We joined the queue, which seemed to entitle people to a numbered ticket to proceed to the next room where they waited to be called forward as though at the post office. Our fate, however, was different. Having explained that we wanted a pay-as-you-go SIM card, we we directed to an unmarked kiosk, where a lady assured us that her colleague would be only too willing to sell us an 8 soles 'chip' on presentation of adequate documentation.

I presented my passport as a means of identification, whose details were entered painstakingly into the computer. The passport was then photocopied twice, each copy of which was stapled to a print-out of a contract, onto which its details were transcribed in duplicate. The lady and I signed and dated both copies, she stamping them, while I inked my finger and validated my signature with a fingerprint. The signed contract was then photocopied and I was presented with this and an invoice for the 8 soles, which I was to pay at the cash desk. The cashier took my money, stamped the forms and gave me a coupon to redeem at the next desk - almacén. Here they took all the paperwork I held (including the contract) and exchanged it for a SIM card and a receipt.

Finally, I inserted the card into the phone and asked now how I make calls. I was ushered by the man on the desk to a fourth counter, labelled "recargar", where I could top up to a desired amount. Phew.

With newly enabled Peruvian phone, we returned triumphantly up the hill, where the full moon could be seen rising spectacularly over the city.

Moonrise over Cusco

At the top of the hill, we stopped a while, fittingly, at the ruins of the Temple of the Moon and watched the white disc ascend into the rapidly darkening sky. Although only shortly after 6pm, evening had set in and we had been awake since 3am. We called it a night.