I stayed at a cheap hostel yesterday evening, which doesn’t have a 24 hour reception, so with another early start I had to organise my own taxi to the airport. After yesterday’s experience with the fake taxi driver I wasn’t taking any chances so had done a Google search for local taxi companies and booked a taxi via WhatsApp, with the driver’s name and licence plate sent to me beforehand. He turned up 5 minutes beforehand and rang the bell of the hostel, greeting me by name which was very reassuring!

As we drove off the song “Summer Nights” from Grease came on the radio and instantly lifted my spirits – it was all I could do to stop myself singing along! I could possibly have coped with that on repeat on the bus yesterday – maybe the reason the locals were not bothered by yesterday’s music was because it’s a song that is very familiar to them? Though I still think three hours of the same song is beyond excessive!

Once at the airport I got my suitcase tagged and checked in in no time; Arequipa airport is tiny but just like at Lima airport there are plenty of staff around to help. I then had much-needed coffee before heading to the departure area.

I was interested to see, when boarding, just how relaxed the airline was about cabin baggage. You’re allowed one personal item in the cabin for free – this can be a handbag or a small rucksack (which is what I have) small enough to fit under the seat in front. But you can pay for an extra carry on bag and while in theory the size of this bag is limited, in practice there seems to be loads of leeway given. I saw plenty of people boarding with huge rucksacks with boots and sleeping bags hanging off the sides, and this didn’t seem to perturb the cabin crew at all.

We took off on time – 8am – and it really is a very short time in the air; we landed in Cusco at 8.35. By the time I’d got off the plane and had a quick visit to the loo, my suitcase was waiting for me on the carousel and a group of taxi touts were vying for my business. I was whisked to a properly-licensed taxi and on my way!

My hotel is in the historic centre down a very narrow street; the driver asked me to pay up before he entered the street so that he could get me out quickly as queues tend to build up when a taxi or any other vehicle stops for too long.

I went to check in and was immediately offered coca tea which I accepted gratefully – I was actually feeling fine, as my headache has finally cleared, but I do find coca tea refreshing and I presumed my room wasn’t ready yet as it was still so early.

In the event my room was ready shortly afterwards so I was able to settle in briefly before going out to explore.

And wow, is there loads to explore! Cusco is a fascinating city with its mixture of Inca history, beautiful buildings and squares, tourist shops galore, a drugstore on just about every street (often multiple stores in the same street, all offering oxygen shots, coca remedies and various other treatments for altitude sickness or whatever else ails you). Yoga studios are found in abundance and you can’t walk through Plaza de Armas without at least 10 offers of a massage, and numerous attempts by local artists to flog their paintings. And of course the women in traditional Peruvian dress accompanied by baby alpacas who encourage tourists to pay to have a photo taken with them.

I spent the day just wandering round fairly aimlessly, taking it all in. Oh, and did I mention how hilly it is? There are very few streets that are flat – I lost count of the number of steps I’ve walked up and down throughout the day! And the pavements are exceptionally narrow – pedestrians will often end up walking in the middle of the street and then leap onto the pavement when necessary to avoid being run over by an approaching taxi.

There is also no one-way system on these narrow streets – I witnessed a very amusing stand-off earlier in which three cars had already got stuck in a row all going different ways, and just as the car positioned alongside the pedestrian in the below photo was trying to reverse to allow the car facing him to proceed (the car behind him was just about to drive out forwards), a van drove in and completely blocked the road! I saw a passenger sat in the car at the back with the window down and joked to him about how crazy the situation was – he told me the crazy thing is it happens all the time!

I’ve eaten exceptionally well today, too. A special mention to “Avocado” – a cafe that, as the name suggests, specialises in avocado-based dishes. This trout and avocado open sandwich was absolutely delicious – and so beautifully presented.

And this was dinner, at a cafe called Cicciolina – trout ceviche followed by steak in mushroom sauce with a side of pesto-filled cannelloni. And a delicious orange, carrot, lemon and ginger juice to wash it all down with (I’m staying off the alcohol for the moment and finding plenty of fresh juices to compensate!)

More exploring tomorrow.