The one where Lynne went to Machu Pichu

You´ve all seen the postcard pictures, and yes, it´s even better in real life.

So first let me tell you about my tour guide, Mario, who´s a Peruvian in his late 40s and likes to stay awake till 4am every day. As Paul said "He´s probably the most uncharismatic tour guide ever." Paul is an Australian living in London. He´s cute and funny and makes me laugh, but before any of you go "Oh I knew you´d meet someone on your trip." He´s gay. And no Geoff, he´s not your type. He´s 34. Way too old for you. Anyway, back to Mario. He´s a guide who gives us the bare minimum information, but thankfully we have other local guides for day trips who are much more entertaining and informative.

So Mario at 5.30am hands us over to Augustine, and we join hundreds of tourists queueing for buses in Agues Calientes to take us to the top of the mountain to see Machu Pichu.

We get there just after 6am ... and cant see a thing.... the clouds completely blanket the Inca ruins.

But while listening to Augustine tell us about the miracle of how the Incas built these temples and homes so high up, Machu Pichu slowly reveals itself as the cloud lifts.

It´s incredible, and we all take about 100 photos.



We walk around getting a guided tour for nearly 4 hours, then me, Paul, April and Paul´s friend Reena head up to walk to the Sun Gate, 45 mins away, for spectacular views. It´s great. One of those ´travel moments´.



Getting back to Cusco was anything but. We had a few hours to kill before our train, so had Pisco Sours (the local drink. its cheap and yummy). We´re provided with a bizarre Peruvian fashion parade on the train, then have to wait half an hour for a bus to take us the rest of the way back to Cusco. And its a really windy road. And its 11pm, and we´ve been a wake since before 5am.
Anyway, all part of the joys of travelling through South America!

The one where Lynne raves about tour groups

I used to be a backpacker snob. You know, I looked down on tour groups with disdain, while spending half my day organising where to stay, eat, how to get there. Jane and I did Europe and Central America that way, we´ve driven across the US, and Ive travelled through Russia and China on my own. So I think Ive earned the right to go with tour groups.

Also, being a TV news producer I must have made 100 decisions every day. Is this story of interest to the viewers? Should it go higher in the rundown? How will I write the intro to get viewers interested? Should I get Geoff´s coffee for him before or after morning conference? Should I email Matt a photo of a hot guy off the internet, or is he too busy to perv?

But can I say being on a tour in Peru is awesome. I so love switching my brain off and being told what to do. Be ready to leave for the Sacred Valley at 9am. Meet here for dinner at 7pm.

And the group is pretty cool too. April, the 27 year old Canadian Im sharing a room with, is lovely. There are 7 others .. a few around my age, and 2 older couples. There´s one guy who is the Australian George Costanza. He wears tracksuit pants outside. As Jerry told George Its Like Youve Given Up.

Cusco is an amazing city. Love love love it. The Andes surround the city, its built on what used to be a lake. The town square is one of the prettiest ive ever seen. And the nearby towns of Pisac and Olyantatambo today were beautiful.

The one where Lynne ate raw chicken

So a couple of days ago I finally got the courage to eat in a restaurant on my own, and pick something off the menu in Spanish. I ordered chicken kebabs and it came back beautifully presented with salad and chips. Im thinking ´happy days´when half way through my meal i realise the chicken isnt cooked properly.

So I stop eating and ask for the bill, all the while thinking im about to die from salmonella poisoning. The waitress could see the problem, and chef was giving my filthy stares, and i didnt have to pay for the chicken.
And I didnt get sick!

I joined a Geckos tour in Lima, but there was only two other people on it until we flew to Cusco today and were joined by another 6. So its not too big a group.

Im sharing a room with a Canadian 27 year old called April who is lovely.

Lima was nice. We went to this water fountain spectacular thing they do at night where the water lights up to music.

I also enjoyed my first pisco sour (the local drink) in the bar that came up with the idea to begin with! Its quite nice, if a little strong!

Lima is a bit unsafe, but we were in a lovely hotel right in the centre of town.

Flew to Cusco this morning, and im loving it. The altitude has me slightly light headed but not sick yet, touch wood. We are 3300 metres above sea level.

But the town has a great square to sit and people watch. And we are staying in the cutest hostal up the hill with great views.

The one where Lynne realises she´s the only blonde

Yes, probably could have dyed my hair a shade darker or two before leaving. I seemed to be the only blonde in Santiago. Comments from the Customs guy: ´single. that´s good.´The drunk homeless man: ´where you from? California?¨and the dodgy tourist official who swindled me of a couple of bucks: ´blonde is not normal here.¨Thanks Einstein.

Oh, I´ve decided to name each post like an episode of Friends ... The One Where .... etc.

Santiago was a nice start to South America. Wealthy, safe. Although the beautiful view of the surrounding snow capped Andes I had when I flew in, disappeared on my day of sightseeing. I caught this funicular train thingy to the top of a mountain for the views, only to have them vanish on me completely within 5 minutes when the clouds came in and visibility dropped to about 10 metres.

But ´my lovely hostel´turned out to be Chile´s number one party destination I think. Im showing my age, but far out these people just wouldnt sleep!!!!! Between a chick and her guitar singing ´wild thing´at 3am and my jet lag, i didnt sleep much last night.
They were still partying when i had to get up at 5.30am to get the plane to Lima!!! No more hostels. Im too old, even if i get my own room.

So Im in Lima now. God the poverty compared to Santiago was quite a shock. Different ball game now in terms of pick pocketers etc. As Chevy Chase said in National Lampoons ´roll em up.´

But the hotel is lovely. Right in the centre of town, a guy opens the door to the foyer for you, the room has a tv etc. This is more like it!

The one where Lynne nearly got an upgrade

Well flying long haul is never a pleasant experience. This flight had promise. I got on board to see a big Maori man in my seat, and after being told to ´wait here´the flight attendant returned with a new boarding pass.
I could see that magic word ´business´and my heart started racing. But alas, on closer inspection they had given the Maori man the upgrade.
The flight was delayed a couple of hours in Auckland, first it was éngine problems´then ´paperwork´.
So I had a couple of Chardonnays while chatting with a guy from Maroubra (Mark, who has a sister called Lynette...). He was flying to Peru to see his Peruvian girlfriend and meet the in laws.
I had a spare seat next to me on the 10 hour flight to Santiago, so at least got a half decent sleep.
Had a dream run through Customs and got a taxi to a lovely old hostel in the bohemian part of town.
Santiago seems to shut down completely on Sundays .. everything boarded up, so didnt do much today except stroll the neighbourhood and have a sleep.
Can´t believe the trip has finally started!!!

Still in Sydney

So I haven't actually left Sydney yet. This post is more a test to figure out if I can work this blog. It's still just under 3 weeks till I fly to Santiago.
Plenty of time to get organised.