Cusco, Peru

Our stay in Cusco bookended the Inca Trail. Unsurprisingly, our first visit to Cusco was more enjoyable than the second, which was spent entirely in hospital.

A welcome break from some of the more remote places we'd visited, Cusco offered a selection of home comforts, including KFC and Starbucks. After a quick introduction to Peru's 'Historical Capital' we soon got stuck in and enjoyed our Toasted Twisters and Mocha Frappuccinos immensely.

Undeterred by the fact we would be starting the Inca Trail the very next day, Sam decided to go white water rafting. As it was advised not to take cameras on the raft (for obvious reasons) we have no pictures or evidence that he actually went rafting at all.

We do, however, have a photo of the treacherous Urubamba river which flows alongside the Inca Trail and eventually reaches the Amazon in Brazil - which Sam reckons is the one he rafted down.

The night before we set off, we went to a really nice restaurant for a group meal. It was hidden away, off of the touristy main square and clearly only frequented by those 'in the know'. The food was so good that we promised ourselves we'd come back to celebrate after completing the Inca Trail...

Unfortunately this was not to be, as we returned to the city four days later in an ambulance! We both spent the next four evenings in a local hospital - Jo connected to a drip, being pumped full of antibiotics, while Sam took advantage of his own bed and the flatscreen TV showing the London Olympics.

Whilst in hospital, Jo was subjected to a number of tests (her favourites being the three stool tests!) which confirmed she had a bad case of salmonella, along with intestinal parasites! Not the best way to end our organised tour of Peru, but luckily Jo improved quickly and was discharged with a cocktail of medicines to get her fighting fit.

We made it back to Lima just in time to be reunited with our group. As it was the last night of our tour, we all went to a fancy restaurant. Lucky Sam wolfed down a huge, tender steak, whilst Jo had to make do with a bowl of mashed potato! We then went for cocktails and karaoke... and showed the Peruvians how it was done.