All right in the end!

We got to Madrid but had to collect boarding cards from somewhere. As a word of warning to all, if you expect information from the information desk at Madrid airport, you'll be disappointed - they haven't got any! The girl on the desk thought LAN would probably let us on the flight to Lima wihout boarding cards.  ?!

We found the LAN desk and eventually got our boarding cards - unfortunately not for our reserved seats. In fact, we were 6 rows apart. Disaster and calamity. We showed our documents, we gave the reservation code - all we got was "It's the system. It won't let me do it!"

To cut a very long story very short, a very, very nice young man made a few phone calls, scribbled out the numbers on the cards and wrote on the ones we should have had.

Things got better from there on. The flight was on time, the cabin crew were fantastic and we had the best airline food we've ever had - we even had real cutlery!

We also had to take a photo of this with Peter Kay in mind. We haven't tried it yet so don't know if it's crap pop like Rola Cola!

Spectacular sights as dawn broke over the Andes - red skies and lightning flashes.

Connecting with our next flight was made easy thanks to the Audley rep. There were more stunning views over the mountains as we flew to Cusco.

Surprisingly, the altitude hasn't seemed as bad as we'd feared. No oxygen needed yet anyway.

The hotel is great - thanks to Mike and Den for recommending it. It's a bit special and even has a genuine Inca wall. Full of antiques so it suits us well!!

After a tiring journey the quiet lounges and cool courtyards were very welcome.



We've had a short stroll around the cobbled streets surrounding the hotel, doing our best to avoid the street sellers with their paintings, dolls, hats, etc. If you want to photograph the colourful locals, it'll cost you!

Opposite the hotel is the sun temple, or at least its remains.

When Cusco was conquered by the Spanish in 1534 the temple was mostly destroyed and the church of Santo Domingo was built on its foundations. We'll be visiting it tomorrow.

We ended the day with a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant ( our waiter was Jesus no less! ) and sampled the local beer and wine.

Cheers!

Our room looks down on one of the courtyards so a good chance of a quiet night. A lie in tomorrow then a sightseeing trip in the aftenoon.