Cusco

We arrived to Cusco after a 21 hour bus ride without our backpacks...We were not robbed but they were not on the bus...it quickly became obvious that we have forgotten them in Lima...we did not check them in as we thought but left them at the luggage deposit...our only hope was to ask the bus operator to send them to us the next day. So we did...

The happening has been a déjà vu for me - I have once very long time ago forgotten my backpack in a different country and boarded a bus without it :) - one would think that such things do not happen as you get older...

So we arrived to Cusco - a place where it is warm only when the sun shines. At night it is freezing cold...and honestly our room is by no means warm so instead of waiting to get used to freezing temperatures (as we were advised will happen) but decided to get ourselves a small heater...a week has passed but we still do not have it...we simply have not found one...but we got ourselves ponchos gloves and hats from beautiful alpaca wool.

I am still suffering from the fact that Cusco is located higher than the ski resorts I used to go snowboarding in Alps - 3400m above see level is probably higher than any peak in Alps we visited...and here we live at such altitude - going to toilet makes you gasp for air... The city has also a very lively nightlife with all sorts of nice bars including irish pubs and salsa clubs with live music...good for us as we will have to do some fundraising in them...

There are three schools with a little over 30 kids that we have to take care of - the districts they are located are not as scary as in Trujillo and the kids seemed a bit more disciplined...perhaps it is the weather :) So it is easier to deal with them...so far none has complained about my very basic Spanish - still I cannot help kids over 10 years as their textbooks are too complex for me...right now I am at the level of a preschool...

During the weekend we celebrated our first wedding anniversary and splurged on a nice hotel room and a nice local dinner. But what we enjoyed (almost) the most was a clean and hot shower. To remain on the constructive side we have an opportunity to develop house renovating skills if we want to make our new home somewhat cosy... The following day we chilled on the Plaza de Armas, Tomek enjoying the sun halfway leaning on Rita, when a policewoman with a deafening whistle blow appeared and straightened us not to disturb the local order. Rita has been already once cursed in Kiev by a babushka at an orthodox monastery so this was not so bad. Actually we have been already over 6 months on our honeymoon trip - the time flies...

By the way - the next day our backpacks arrived and nothing was missing despite of the horror stories we hear about pick pocketing and theft...luck is still with us...They must all have been trained in the famous Polish prewar pickpocketing school in Lvov as they are unbeatable in their skills.