I finished the journal after breakfast and emailed it to Sandy to upload.  The email in Ecuador is the slowest of any country I’ve ever been in…I hope the same is not true for all of South America.

Jose Luis had arranged to take me to the airport at 11:15 AM and when he had not shown up at 11:50 AM, I decided to take a cab to the airport.  Once at the airport, I discovered that my flight had been rescheduled to 5:00 PM, so I would not arrive in Lima until 7:15 PM.

Once airborne, the flight went well and we landed on time.  My tour representative was waiting for me once I passed through customs.  The ride to my hotel took half an hour and I was amazed at how large Lima was compared to Quito.  Although it was dark, I could tell the city was very active.

I checked into the Jose Antonio Hotel, a comfortable 3 star property near the ocean.  I had been coughing throughout the day so I went straight to bed, rather than explore the area.

Monday, December 29, 2003 – Jose Antonio Hotel, Lima, Peru

I ate breakfast at the hotel and then went to the lobby to wait to be picked up for a city tour I had arranged.  The small bus came at 9:00 AM and I joined six other people on an English tour of Lima.  We spent the morning touring various historic places including the old Monastery.

In the afternoon I walked around the neighborhood of my hotel and won $160 on a ten cent bet in one of Lima’s 3000 casinos.  I ate dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and then went to a local Internet Café and spent an hour on-line.

I was still feeling under the weather so I returned to my room and went to sleep early again.

Thursday, December 30, 2003 – Picoaga Hotel, Cusco, Peru

I had breakfast at 6:00 AM, packed and checked-out.  I was picked up at 7:15 AM and taken to the airport for the one hour flight to Cusco.

Cusco, the third largest city in Peru, is also much larger than I anticipated.  I arrived at 10:00 AM and was met at the airport by my tour representative, Boris who took me to my hotel.  The Picoaga Hotel is a block from the main square and is very comfortable.  My room had a king size bed and TV and there are Internet Cafes everywhere.  I can use the Internet for about a dollar per hour on high speed lines with new equipment – much better than Ecuador.

I had lunch in the restaurant on the top floor of my hotel with a view of the city.  At 1:15 PM I was picked up for an afternoon tour of Cusco.  We visited the cathedral, and a monastery that had been constructed over an Incan Temple which was only recently discovered when an earthquake shook the ugly Spanish frescas off the beautiful Inca stone walls.  We also drove out of the city up into the surrounding hills to see the Sacsayhuaman Archeological Site, a huge Inca fortress with walls containing stones of up to 120 tons all constructed with no mortar and extremely fine joints.

I met a couple of Japanese women from Kobe who were on the same flight from Lima and seem to be taking a similar tour. The bus let me off at the main square and I had dinner in a Peruvian Pizzaria.  I had to walk several blocks back to my hotel in the rain and went to sleep early again as I had an early wake-up call in the morning.

Wednesday, December 31, 2003 – Machu Picchu Inn, Aguas Calientes, Peru

Today I had to wake up at 4:00 AM in order to have enough time to dress, eat breakfast and check-out before Boris picked me up at 5:20 AM for my transfer to the train station.  It was raining as we got off the bus and boarded the Vistadome Train for the 3 ¾ hour trip to Machu Picchu.

The train was packed, but I had a reserved window seat on the left side of the train.  I understand 1500-2000 people visit Machu Picchu each day during this, the slower rainy season, and twice that many in July & August.

The train left at 6:00 AM and commenced to climb an incredible series of switchbacks and loops to get us up and out of the valley of Cusco.  The 3 ¾ hour ride only covers 110 KM, so the train does not go too fast.

After a couple of hours, we were traveling in a narrow canyon which we shared with a raging muddy river.  We raced the river down the canyon entering a lush green tropical rain forest where we found our final destination on time at 9:45 AM.  The town of Aguas Calientes, which is in the process of being renamed Machu Picchu, is the commercial district for the historic Inca site which occupies a nearby mountaintop.

Thursday, January 1, 2004 – Picoaga Hotel, Cusco, Peru

I slept in this morning as it was raining still and I did not want to aggravate my cold.  I would have had time to visit Machu Picchu again, but decided to try to rest instead.

At 11:00 AM I checked-out and went to the Internet Café, but the service was down.  I wandered around the town, but found most of the business not yet open.  At noon, I went to a restaurant for lunch and afterwards finished reading 'Cold Mountain'.

The train back to Cusco left at 3:30 PM and took four hours, stopping a couple places along the way.  Boris was at the train station to meet mw when I arrived & took me back to the  Picoaga Hotel where  I’d stayed the other night.  After checking email, I went to sleep.

Friday, January 2, 2004 – Picoaga Hotel, Cusco, Peru

I had nothing scheduled today.  I took some laundry to be washed and had some film developed.  The sun was out for a change so I walked around the city visiting various squares and watching the local people.

Tomorrow I fly to Santiago, Chili where I’ll spend the night and then meet up with the people I’ll be climbing with for the next several weeks.

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