Lima and a doctor visit for Daves big fat belly

The hotel in Cusco became more and more like Fawlty towers with increasing arguements between Dave and Victor over the mantequilla. Pre Inca Trail a lady had served breakfast and happily put out everything so that you could help yourself. Now Victor had taken over breakfast and was keeping everything hidden presumably to reduce consumption. We now had to ask for milk for coffee, butter and jam and Victor provided a small amount with the maximum amount of complaining.
The last afternoon Dave checked the fridge for his insulin and it was gone. He found it in the freezer frozen and therefore probably destroyed. The lady at reception said very sorry and phoned the doctor who said it is destroyed but you can get more at a price in Cusco, good news. Victor then said someone had left a bag in the fridge so he had moved it to the freezer. He didn´t know it was medicine.The hotel manager said there are lots of diabetics in Cusco but they can't afford insulin and die.As it was $20 per tube I imagine its true. The hotel gave Dave $120 towards the cost of replacement insulin and we went for a farewell dinner with Detlev and Urte. They had been upgraded to a great hotel and were happy. Back at Fawlty Towers the hot water had gone to warm. I guess Victor had turned the thermostat down. No last bath.

Album - Lima, Peru

Great flight to Lima. Shared a taxi with two ladies to the hostel.At the airport it was 45 soles for a taxi. We were told as there were 4 of us we had to pay 55soles for a minivan. The minivan turned out to be a Toyota Yaris small car and we could fit in OK. A tour of hotels suggested by the taxi driver led to the hostel the ladies wanted to go to at the start. Ceasar the taxi driver speeding through Lima and getting increasingly unhappy as we rejected his hostels. Lima very big and lots very modern. Apartments, big roads, gardens and sunshine. We stayed at Miraflores a couple of streets from the cliffs and sea. Lots of paragliders floating along the cliff tops-very nice.Next day bus into lima and see changing if the guard, cathedral, musuem and old torture chambers of the spanish inquisition. Dave full of gas and feeling sick at the sight of most food. Look across the river to Rimac and the squatter settlements on the hillside. We have been told it is too dangerous to visit these districts and the police standing with machine guns on the bridge suggested they thought it was dangerous too. We somehow manged to get a bus back to Miraflores. Exciting as ever weaving in and out of traffic. A guy of about 65 in a suit got on the bus and tried selling encyclopedias. Amazing enthusiasm. He spoke good english having lived in the states for many years and knew my accent was not australian.
Next day manged to get a night bus ticket to Huaraz. The travel agent lady had a korean boyfriend. There are koreans everywhere. Walked to the restaurants on the cliff top then along the grey beach to Barranco. Museum of electricity didnt take long. Bus with the conductor hanging out scooped us up and back to Miraflores. Visited what we thought was a burial mound but was a huge structure made of mud bricks.Dave has more pains in the stomach and his belly is getting even bigger with gas. Taxi to the bus and just as we think we hvae been kidnapped we come to a very smart bus station. Bus modern but seats not huge and it is too hot. Sleep most of the way to Huaraz arriving at 6.30am. People at bus station wanting to show us hotels but Youngmi tells them we want breakfast.After breakfast find a nice hotel then a doctor for Dave before his belly gets so big that he explodes. Great doctor, thorough checks and diagnosis of food poisoning. Antibiotics-cipofloxin and bismutol to chew.No more burgers in the street as the burgers are likely to be unhealthy and may include rats-only horsemeat in England.Put iodine in water if not bottled or boiled.
The antibiotics for the stomach were $15 in Bolivia. Here they were 50cents. Lot cheaper than insulin.Dave took his first tablets and began to hope he would survive. Tonight he is still producing enough gas to run a power station. Amazed to meet Julie in a hotel. We had last seen her in Sucre since when she had been in the jungle for a few weeks.Hopefully Daves belly will be smaller tomorrow and he can start to fasten his trousers again

The next morning and the cure is starting to work. Dave no lomger thinks he will be dead before the week is out. For a few minutes the previous evening the clouds rolled away to reveal amazing pointy snowy mountains not far from town. Reminds Dave of when he first saw the Matterhorn in 1975. The Cordillera Blanca appears a great mountain area but we are in the rainy season so will need a bit of luck to get good weather.This is close to the Touching the Void mountains.We will try to avoid the need to crawl for four days down the mountains with a broken leg, or to crawl for four hours back from the pub