Peru

I knew that today, day 2 of the Salkantay hike, was going to be tough; but nothing could have prepared me for the massive ascent that we made this morning, from Soraypampa to the edge of Nevado Salkantay. We literally walked almost 1000m uphill, in less than 3 hours. By the time we reached Paso Salkantay, at 4,600m asl, we felt pretty damn proud of ourselves. Although a little more oxygen would have been good.

Just as we were leaving our campsite from the 1st night of the Salkantay hike, we saw a big building under rapid construction. A building that looked very much like it could be a hostel. And judging by its progress, I think it will be ready in just a few months' time. Are we one of the last groups that will get to do this hike as it's meant to be done, with camping? If so, then I count myself very lucky, and I feel sorry for the people ahead of me, who won't get the same experience that I enjoyed.

When I arrived in Mollepata this morning (starting point of the Salkantay hike), there was a little girl running around inside the restaurant there. I asked her: "¿Como te llamas, chica pocita?" (lit: "What's your name, little girl?"); and she replied without hesitation: "Jasmine America". Oh-kay, whatever! Jasmine was eager to show me her puppies (in the back yard), and her set of barbie dolls. Very sweet girl — she reminded me of my little sisters back home. But, oy: if that's her real name, she's gonna score a few laughs in her lifetime!

Today I started the 5-day Salkantay hike, which is an alternative to the (massively overbooked) Inca Trail hike, and which also ends at the Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu. The journey started with a 5am pickup from the Loki hostel in Cusco, and a 2-hour bus ride to the starting point of the hike, the village of Mollepata.

After just three days here, I've decided that it's official: Cusco has been pwned by tourists. Pommies, Swedes, Aussies, and (most especially) Israelis, say it loud and proud to the Cusqueñans: all your base are belong to us. Seriously, the centre of Cusco has been utterly taken over. There's just nothing left there except tour agencies, massage parlours, Internet cafés, souvenir shops, and overpriced restaurants. I've seen some badly overtouristed places before, but nothing else even comes close to the centre of Cusco. The locals here have been wiped out.

Just a few nice, cheap, traditional bits of clothing, to keep me warm on my upcoming Salkantay hike. As with all the local clothes here, they're hand-made, stitched with Cusqueña patterned designs, and (ostensibly) made from Alpaca. I could have got a local beanie as well, but I figured that would be just too touristy.

Therese is one of the many seldom-sober Irish girls that are staying at Loki. Therese has been here for about a month, she's starting work at the hostel, and she has no immediate plans to leave. Tonight, when we took Therese to Uptown for a big night, she kept going until 6am. The staff had to kick us out of the club, because we were the last ones there. We ended up virtually carrying Therese back to Loki.

Tonight at Loki, we had a fancy dress party, and the theme was "nightmare". I walked into the bar this evening, and I must say, the place did look pretty hellish. Black gloves, ghostly-white dresses, and death-white faces everywhere. I wasn't planning to dress up for it; but I ended up putting on a black t-shirt (inside out), and getting my face painted white. Just so that I could fit in with tonight's freaky crowd.

I did river rafting for the first time today, and it was fun. Very fun. A big group of us went down to the lower reaches of the Urubamba River, near Cusco, and spent about 2½ hours braving the cold, fierce rapids. Tumbling along the river, mounting and crashing into churning waves, dodging scary rocks, and being so cold you can't feel your hands, is an experience like no other.

Two hairy, bearded British boys, who are cycling from one end of South America to the other. These guys are my heroes: really down-to-Earth, really crazy, and doing something really incredible. They started in Ushuaia (southernmost city in the world, in Argentina) in about December last year, and they hope to reach the Caribbean north coast of Colombia by the middle of this year. I met them here at Loki, where they're having a quick break before continuing north.