getting ready for the Inca Trail

It was quite the business packing tonight. Ah, the joys of organizing by ziploc. I piled everything on the floor and it didnt look possible to get everything in under 6kg. However my first attempt came in at 5kg so I borrowed the scale, went back to my room and threw more stuff in to peak at 5.8kg. It felt awfully heavy to me. TG at the end, the porters take the sleeping bags and thermarest back with them so I don´t have a huge pile on the train coming back. My day pack, the one I have to carry, is already heavy enough but a lot of the things like food and hand warmers will be gone by the end.

We leave tomorrow at 6am. This will doubtlessly be the one morning I sleep past 5 and then through the alarm, in true BR fashion. I am excited to finally meet the other people in our group.

I went to get a pasta at Chez Maggys and befriended the waiter with my love of soccer. We moaned and ooooed together watching Peru play Argentina on the tv. Soccer: the universal language! I wish I had caught a live game. The Cusco team played yesterday but in another town :( My pasta turned out not to be pasta with chicken and avocado but rather avocado with chopped potato inside, and it was expensive for what it was. I may have to run out for another steak sandwich!

The laundry service opened late today as it was Sunday. My clothes came back ironed and folded very neatly - I think they were in shock!

Well I guess that´s it for a few days. Hopefully I can find an internet cafe in Aqua Calienetes, which is the small expensive tourist town below Machu Picchu and from where we catch the train back to Cusco on Thursday late afternoon. If not, it may be Friday before I can check in again.

Thanks for reading. It makes me feel just a little closer to home.