Days 9/10 - Return to the UK

This morning we all had a bit of a lie-in, in that we didn't have to get up at stupid-o'clock. We went down to breakfast about 09:00 and then Naomi and a few others went to look around the shops in Cusco. Annette joined them initially and then wasn't feeling 100% so went back to the hotel courtyard to chill and get this blog up to date. 

This is a drawing that José did for us to show a summary of the treks we did.

He also drew this explanation of the meaning of the Incan Cross.

Some of our group hired their own coach and guide to take them to some ruins on the outskirts of Cusco. They returned with stories of a rather unconventional guide who behaved very bizarrely!

At about 13:00 some of us met up for lunch at the restaurant that we visited on our first evening in Cusco. We chose this one because it has guinea pig on the menu. We ordered our meals plus one cuy (guinea pig) to share between 7 of us. Naomi was quite upset to see it on the plate because it is served whole. Annette tried it and it had quite a gamey taste. It was ok but the taste is quite strong so it'd be difficult to eat much of it at a time.

We returned to the hotel about 14:00 and Efrain was there selling 2015 calendars that he had printed to raise money for a local school. Lots of us had snacks left over so we gave them to him to pass on to the children.

At 14:50 we got on a coach which took us to the airport. All our flights left on time so our journey Cusco - Lima - Madrid - Heathrow was very smooth. We even managed to get some sleep.

The only hiccup came when we collected our luggage at Heathrow. Neither Naomi nor Stu's bags appeared on the luggage carousel. On checking, we discovered they were still sitting at Madrid airport and would have to be forwarded to them as soon as they arrive at Heathrow.

We all said our goodbyes to Dean, our excellent expedition leader, and boarded a minibus about 18:20 bound for Cornwall. We were hoping to have a big coach so we could have plenty of space to stretch out but we had a 19 seater minibus instead. We made good time and stopped at Gordano services en route for food.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored us and helped us make the trip possible, and thank you for reading our blog. We had an amazing experience with a fantastic group of people. It was an unforgettable trip.

Naomi and Annette over and out... until the next time.