Pisco-Lima

0932 At bus terminal. After standing there being ignored for five minutes while she did some paperwork, woman at ticket window told me I can't buy a ticket for the 1000 bus now, I have to buy it 'al momento' or as I infer when the thing is actually here. Fuck knows. This all gives me really bad feelings about security and so on. Asked hotel owner and the place I should get off is Puente Benabides.

Netbook indeed hadn't finished that fsck overnight, had to kill it and shut thing down. Bag is chock full and really difficult to shut; there's no more stuff in it than usual but because I've never had time to do a full wash all my dirty clothes are in a carrier bag which means they are 'lumpy' instead of folding flat. Due to feeling short of time I'm only in Lima for four nights but hopefully that will at least give me a bit of time to get things sorted out.

Can't find PB on OSM map; also noticed last night the whole city seems to be rotated 90 degrees on OSMcompared with what I expected, and yes I do have it set for north at top so fuck knows. I am just going to have to see if I can get off there and take a punt on a taxi. At least, assuming I can buy this fucking bus ticket, it should be daylight at the time.

I fucking hope the wifi works in my room in Lima.

Security shit around taxis especially is grinding me down. The advice seems to essentially say 'you are completely fucked whatever you do'.

0944 Oh, I was at Posada(s) Gino(s) here. At least it is only a very short work from the Flores terminal.

0950 World plus dog just shown up, all with identity cards and laser printed paper which I am inferring are ticket reservations. I am queueuing up randomly at the other ticket window. Neither is labelled as expected. This one is 'encomiendas y giros' and the one I tried before is 'canjes de essalud'. I haven't got a fucking clue. I am never going to get out of fucking Pisco.

0955 OK, she took my money (15) and gave me a paper ticket which says nothing on it. The word 'sencillo' came up which made no sense. I suspect I am going to have to take my bag with me on the bus, esp if I want to get down at PB, which is contrary to all the smug advice I read, so I can spend 4.5h watching my bag to make sure no one takes it. Maybe 'sencillo' means 'single', I don't know. Fuck me, I don't want to come back.

These buses are really fucking with my head. It would be fine if not for all the fucking advice about security *which does me no good since it appears I have no choice but to travel with Flores out of Pisco to Lima*, unless I want to go the route of flagging one down at Cruz del Pisco which sounds nightmarish and also any such bus by definition is also poor security.

1000 And yay, I've lost one of my padlocks, even though I could have sworn I deliberately locked them both onto one of my zips before leaving hotel.

1012 We're off. Got double seat to myself (unallocated). No, some more ppl getting on so maybe not. No one has checked my ticket, I hope this is Lima bus. If it goes to Ica I will just change there. Fingers crossed. Not mega rammed but obviously this is a fairly frequent route and not some enormously long haul high ceremony process. Still have double seat.

1016 Think just overheard chap on his mobile say he's on a bus to Lima. I got the front two seats on left, bag is overhead so as long as I don't sleep hopefully be obvious if someone tries to take it. Thinking I might need to deliberately ignore all the security advice which renders things impractical. Dunno. Maybe if I restrict myself to taxis with Sewhatsit on them that is as much as I can do in reality, the alternative is walking everywhere which is perhaps riskier.

Quite a few tuktuks in Pisco BTW.

1024 Woohoo, we turned south onto the Panamericana. I suspect this is just to get to some bus stop we have pulled up at, I should probably stop paying so much attn but would just like to get our basic direction confirmed. Yes, we seem to be doing a U turn so fingers crossed we are indeed heading north.

1029 Load of people just got on but I still have my double seat and the front two seats on right are free. Heading north.

1052 Guy just checked my ticket, so probably OK.

1442 At hotel. As I half hoped bus stopped at Puente Bwhatsit anyway. I had been torn about getting off at previous stop but didn't. Got a taxi on third try, he quoted 20 which seemed steep but not in mood to argue as felt bit vulnerable with my bag as always. Anyway, got here OK - I had the wrong location in OSM, I think there is more than one pair of streets intersecting and that caused me to get wrong one. WTF the lat/long cannot be shown on the booking page instead of just a no-use-when-in-transit map I don't know. Wifi seems to work in room, which is a relief.

Islas Ballestas and Paracas National Reserve

Wed 0709 Sat in reception. Dragged myself out of bed, wish had had more sleep but twill be OK, 4-5h not a huge amount but not nothing either, in part the slight tiredness I feel now is probably more my usual morning shitness than lack of sleep. Slightly hungry but going to try to hold off eating until after boat. Wondering if I should have a cereal bar though. Hmm, I'm not really properly hungry so perhaps best not to.

0714 No, sod it, I will have cereal bar.

1034 Fuck knows. After the tour the group dispersed. There was no announcement, even an incomprehensible one. I think someone said something to some about 1030, but as it is I am just milling around where we milled around pre tour in hope something turns up. Super fucking shit. I bought a sandwich from some vendor so not mega hungry but do I have an hour to kill or what? The one consolation is that one family I recognise as part of my group (though they are not necessarily doing the same second tour as me) is sat nearby apparently waiting for something.

Islands quite cool, no one seemed to get sick or get shat on, though I kept squinting due to sun (even though it was behind me, weird, next time I get glasses I am definitely getting photochromatic) and the way the strap on my cap broke (in the fucking bag a week or two ago, not while I was wearing it) meant I had it on mega tight and I also ended up sat in an aisle seat on the right and most of the viewing was to the left so it was a tiny bit crap like that, but generally pretty good really. Except that now I'm lost. Oh no, tour chap just came up to me - it's 1039 - and said 'here at 1045'. Tour seemed a bit short but OTOH with the sun and the uncomfortable lifejacket and so on I guess it was long enough.

1406 Had lunch - finally, I was gagging - waiting for cheque. Fairly decent grilled sea bass with rice and chips. We went round the Paracas National Reserve or whatever they call it, attractive in a sort of desolate way but I was tired and hungry and not super appreciative. Still bit tired but food has helped a lot. Bill 38, making it 42. Let's use bog and see if I can get an ice cream, we are reconvening at 1430 but no idea what we are doing.

Place is El Che. I did a moody circuit of the few restaurants here to compare prices, all about the same, avoided the ones with touts.

1424 Oh, did see some (I think) condors flying about in the park and swooping round the coast quite close up, quite cool (not captured on film, unless you sit there waiting for an opportunity by the time you see it swooping towards you and get camera out it's gone past and no longer makes a particularly good photo).

Fod was priceyish but couldn't be helped. I could have had chicken and rice or something like that for 20 instead of 30ish for the grilled sea bass, all the fish dishes (the majority) were more pricey but I figured what the hell. I think the 620ml beer was 8. Was going to finish with a coffee (largely to fill time) but they didn't have any.

1524 Been back at hotel 5 mins. Tired, slept bit in minibus. Will eat the apple left over from yday then go out for cash, bus ticket and more fruit.

1629 Got cash, fruit and cold soft drink. Woman at Flores office said she couldn't sell me a ticket. I asked why, didn't really understand but she might have said they could only sell me one when the bus arrived!? I just have to hope tomorow. Useless fuckers. In hindsight should have tried to freak her out by pulling out phone, turning recording on and asking her to repeat explanation for my Spanish lesson. I just had to give her a 'you're kidding me... but I guess it's no good to argue' disbelieving stare.

Owner said yday alt option is to go to Cruz del Pisco and flag down one of the buses passing every 5 mins. Rather not do that (robbery prone on such a bus? Fk knows) but probably not have too much trouble geting to Lima one way or another.

0014 Don't want to go to bed. Don't want to go on what I imagine to be foul bus tomorrow. One of my 32GB photo backup SD cards has somehow got screwed up as I tried to copy more photos on, netbook is grinding through fsck now but frankly I doubt it will finish by morning even if (as I plan to) I leave it on all night. Didn't (partly due to that) take it down to reception to research Galapagos Islands further, though I am worrying I am running out of time and prices will soar further. Inclining towards doing a half-decent cruise as the "safe" option but need to research it. Hope I am not going to be too run off my feet in Lima. Didn't go out for food or drink tonight, wasn't hungry after fruit and while in some sense would have been nice to have a Pisco Sour here it's not as if I often drink them, plus I wasn't really in mood and for better or worse guide book makes out that walking across the plaza/market area (it's a bit unclear where it means exactly, how unusual, normally it's *so* precise) after dark could be dangerous and all in all decided not to bother.

Not happy about SD card but do have other copies if it is a write off. I am almost certainly going to have to buy (at exorbitant prices) a couple of new SD cards here as existing ones nearly full anyway. Oh, and I have a suspicion that the wifi is switched off at midnight here, since both tonight and last night it has completely failed/disappeared as opposed to just being ropey as hell. Which is pretty shitty. I may ask about this tomorrow morning, but probably not.

0029 OK, let's go to bed.

Pisco, Tuesday

1758 Come to Polleria La Fogata near hotel. After showering and clothes washing went down to reception and as price was reasonable (50PEN plus about 20PEN of entry fes) for a half day as Isla Ballasteras (sp) and another half day at national park signed up, need to be in reception 7am, didn't try any other tour agencies as suspect all same and the one mentioned in guide book way more expensive. Deliberately won't eat tomorrow morning just in case.

Then had brief walk but non-combat trousers bit uncomfortable with all the crap shoved in pockets and it's v hot. Went to Flores bus terminal as advised by hotel owner and they do indeed do many buses a day to Lima, I asked and it's 15PEN and 4.5h. Need to read up on Lima and book hotel tonight. Guy says I can get off bus at Puente Bsomething if I stay in Miraflores instead of near centre and save myself PEN25ish for 20 block taxi ride. Right now have not a clue where I should stay.

Was tempted to have a beer as hot and to help me continue to wind down but didn't, found supermarket with fruit (though was waiting ages at checkout as they were doing some kind of accounting) and took it back to hotel with some cold Inka Cola zero. Bit stuffed now actually but wanted to come out and eat before it got dark, may have beer or a Pisco Sour (seems appropriate) tomorrow night.

1821 Food not bad, quite decent portion, glad took account of stuffed feeling and didn't have a half chicken. While I remember, was at Andean Dreams Ho(s)tel in Cusco.

1829 Back at hotel. I gave a 2 tip but can't remember what the woman at cash desk actually said, ISTR 15 but I paid with a 20 and I'm not sure I got 5 change so maybe she short-changed me and I still gave a tip, probably OK though and sod it. Still light out, very odd quality to the light, didn't have camera with me and prob hard to capture anyway, I can only try to describe it badly by saying the sky was totally overcast and the light had this vague 'artificial daylight' quality.

1854 Yay, the wifi is just completely unusable on my netbook now, it was flaky but just about useable before I went out to dinner. Connection keeps dropping and even when it's there most of the time nothing flows. FFS.

Room a bit warm and dingy but meh, could be worse, apart from the bloody wifi. I really don't want to have to go sit down in reception to book a Lima hotel. Not that I've even started reading up on Lima in guide book yet. Oh, rereading the stuff about buses to Pisco I *still* think it's confusing, especially since I was afaik on a bus to Pisco, and it doesn't use the phrase 'Cruz de Pisco' but since in its usual convoluted unhelpful way it does sort of mention the issue I definitely won't bother pointing it out to them.

0126 Finally in bed. Have booked a hotel in Lima, went and sat in reception to do it. Then continued to vaccilate/research Galapagos Islands. Five responses on Lonely Planet all a) non wanky, a pleasant surprise b) say they've never seen anything. Have posted slightly altered version of question on tripadvisor forum. If going to do it should prob be booking soon. Getting bit jittery in general, am wondering if there's a risk here for example, or in say Quito or Guayaquil. Prob not. The one indirectly cheering thing is I found an extract from a Seychelles Lonely Planet guide which had a sidebar saying arachnophobes might not be comfortable as iirc just about every tree is covered with silk produced by some 10cm-though-harmless palm spider. So the absence of such a note in the Ecuador guide book may be evidence this isn't worth worrying about - or it may just be one author has more awareness of this than another. Didn't come back to room til gone midnight and had to shower and shave and need to be up 630, oh well. I can hear someone snoring across the hall. Wondering if should shut interior window to reduce spider access but ffs, this is paranoia, I have no reason to believe there's anything too terrifying here.

Cusco-Pisco

1537 At hotel. As I half feared they had already arranged a taxi for 4, my query this morning re possibility being interpreted as a request. Difficult linguistic stuff I guess. They say it will be 10, chap at place bought ticket said something like 5-7 but can't be helped.

1559 At Cruz del Sur terminal. Ate last apple of the six, reminded in part by signs saying you aren't allowed to take fruit to Ica. (One apple was half rotten this morning so threw it away.) Here way too early but what can you do?

1605 I don't fucking believe it. The Nook, which was fine last night, has decided to crash/reset itself/whateve the fuck. Oh no, that's true but my fears that it had gone into the mode where it needs wifi to set itself up were misplaced.

1715 I see laptop computers are not allowed in checked baggage. I assume this is so it's easier for people to steal them. Temped to leave it in checked bag anyway but won't.

1741 There's a woman (probably a European/American tourist, 25-30ish) in the queue to check baggage with absolutely enormously flared/bell-bottomed jeans. Have I just been massively unobservant and this is in fashion now or is it just her?

1806 Off. Billy Joel's "Movin' Out" started to play on my phone almost at the exact moment. I felt somehow sad (not ttbomk about leaving Cusco) as soon as I got on the bus, who knows?

1830 Asked for wifi password, guy typed it in for me, dunno if secret. Can't surf heavily as phone batt won't stand for it but be nice if can check email.

1841 Fucking hell. We had a mandatory safety video. Now we have some guy burbling on live over the super low quality PA, insofar as I can understand a word of what he's saying he is repeating the video. Shut the fuck up and leave me alone.

0417 Slept. Illogical bad dreams about routing via some bizarre place to get  to Ica. Bus is fucking stiflingly hot. Had to change phone battery as first one down to 5%. Will try to go back to sleep. Had to dredge water out as felt super dehydrated. Short of breath after swigging, dunno if altitude related but GPS does show over 4000m here. Stifling stifling stifling.

0825 Nasca.

1117 Fuck a doodle do. I'm on a bus hopefully bound for Pisco. After I had a shit at the Cruz del Sur terminal I asked the chap there about a bus to Pisco. He said no one did a bus to Pisco, the closest was Cruz del Pisco or something where you could get a colectivo. He said you can't get a colectivo from Ica to Pisco. This is all completely at odds with what guide book said. I wandered around in the 'high crime area' near the bus terminals, not 'taking the usual precautions' because I wasn't sure what they were. More by luck than judgement some chap at the Flores cargo terminal said I could get a bus to Pisco at their office, which was 'on the left'. I blundered around madly and eventually found it, a surly woman sold me a ticket to Pisco for a bus leaving immediately and I panicked at missing it (however, only PEN4). I am on it and fuck knows what will happen. It hasn't left yet. Oh, OSM map shows a single bus terminal, despite at least Flores and Cruz del Sur having their own. Lonely Planet map doesn't deign to mention Flores at all. I am not at all sure they have CdS terminal in right place but I might have left a different exit. Fuckfest of epic proportions.

Oh, the Cruz del Sur chap kept calling me 'mister' which didn't help.

1246 Yay. Pisco is *not* final destination. We just stopped in (prlbably) Cruz del Pisco and now are heading north. I got window seat so couldn't leap off and the fucking woman next to me bought a jelly desert, obviously we are heading fucking miles and miles and miles. Oh, and we have a DVD of 'the immortal' on. Fucking hell. The bitch at the ticket office told me it was the final destination. The LP guidebook even shows a terminal for Flores in Pisco proper. Will just sit here and play it dumb for now.

What a fucking crock of shit. How was I to know 'Cruz del Pisco' counts as Pisco even though they are distinct places? Fucking fucking hell.

1404 At hotel. Wifi flaky in room. Top came off sunscreen in trouser pocket somewhere in that 5km walk back to Cruz del Pisco so it's lost and I have shit all inside that pocket. Managed somehow to get a collectivo (to myself) from the junction, dropped me in Plaza de Armas. OSM has no street names for this town; I think they anticipate an invasion as none of the actual streets have signs on. Sweating like a bastard so let's have a shower and wash my clothes and put some dirty ones on from bag (all the clean ones in bag are damply manky since they never dried in the freezing climate of Cusco) and see if we can organise this boat trip so I can leave Pisco behind forever. Chap at desk asked about a tour tomorrow morning and I said I didn't know, I needed to sort one out and he didn't persist for better or worse. Oh, and checkout is at 12am according to a billion signs. am. midnight. I am assuming this is a mistake and am deliberately not querying it in the hope of avoiding an extra charge if it really is midnight.

Cusco, Monday

0939 At Ñucchu for 'breakfast'. Bit tired this morning but not too bad. Shoved mostly damp clothes and other shit in bag randomly. Checked out dead on time, woman came to knock on door just as was eating an apple so I ended up wandering the streets trying to find a bin to throw the core away instead of dumping it in room bin. They let me leave my bag there and said they will be able to call me a taxi. She offered me breakfast but I stupidly declined, because I was a bit shaken and pissed off about being 'caught' in my room instead of making my own way to reception. Oh well, prob just bread and coffee or something. Found bin and got cash in plaza, now come here as it's cheapish and had enough of wandering. Going to go to Soysacwan (sp!) after, guide book says entry is only with boleto turistico but have no idea what that is (I understand the Spanish, but what does it offer and where do I get it) so I will just walk up there and hope I can buy one there.

Metro Bank card is getting badly scratched up somehow despite living in hidden belt. Can't do anything about it and it does still work, they are stopping their free cash withdrawals outside Europe on March 18 IIRC anyway so if it works til then that's something. Can always ask for a replacement once back in UK. As always, incidentally, *because* I have to scatter them so widely for 'safety' I have only a hazy idea where most of my cards are. Frankly I should have a fixed place for each and write it down. In theory it seems best to shuffle them around depending on whether I'm separated from my bag or not, but in reality most of them sit in some unused limbo and there is a slim but non-zero chance I've already lost one without realising it.

On a future trip I need *some* means, be it just a USB stick (or perhaps I will have a new netbook or replace the SSD in that one) of increasing netbook storage. Managing and keeping backups of my photos is such a tedious chore largely because a 2GB SD card full of photos from the camera only just fits in the free space on the netbook SSD. I would always want copies on big SD cards but if I could also keep a whole big SD card's worth on the netbook it would be enormously more convenient - for example, if after a trip like the MP one I had two full 2GB cards to process, I could do them in one go instead of having to copy each to my backup SD cards separately. Perhaps not clearest explanation but I know what I mean.

1025 Bill 23, make it 25. I had a coke zero, I also ordered a papaya juice but it never turned up (obviously my Spanish isn't up to conveying the idea that I might want two different drinks) but they didn't charge for it so wtf. I ate the small bit of tomato and cucumber on plate by way of scraping up something towards my five a day. It's fucking hard when you can't buy fruit; I bought a shrink-wrapped pack of six apples yday, but that was all they had apart from mangoes. Still, do the best I can and sod it.

1442 At Norton Rat's. I might be the only customer. I wasn't going to come here but I have an hour to kill. I was going to go into the Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesús but it doesn't open til 1530.

Went to Sancanwhatsit after 'breakfast'. Met a chap at the sort of entrance who was a guide; it was 70 for ticket and he wanted 35 for 1.5h tour. Was bit dubious as guidebook had warned about some crime round there, but when we got up to site proper he took me to ticket place and people seemed to know him and while I was permanently on very slight alert after a while I figured he was genuine. He later proposed to take me on a 1.5-2h walking tour of some adjacent sites covered by same ticket, charging 25 per site or 75 in total. We did all this in Spanish BTW. Was quite interesting, he showed me some carved snakes and monkeys on some rocks. See GPS track and photos for exactly where we went, I couldn't say. In the end he tried to charge me 110ish saying it was 75 on top of the first site. Now I had definitely said '75 in total?' to him or something to that effect, so I think he was trying it on but maybe I'm wrong. He didn't seem too insistent and I said 'digamos 80' (prob incorrect, but trying to say 'we'll call it 80') and he took that without any apparent ill feeling. I felt a bit awkward but I had been wondering if even 75 was steep (really not sure what would be fair) but since I had agreed to it was planning to make it 80 with tip anyway. So kudos to me for sticking up for myself, though I did feel a bit awkward. Anyway.

Went to KFC for super lardy lunch after then went over to where Museo Quijote supposedly is. Couldn't find it but in roughly same spot was small free museum run by Banco de la Nacion so went round there. Quite interesting, some slightly nightmarish paintings and sculptures by Jesús Venero. Then went and bought some seasickness tablets (made harder by saying 'dolor del mar' instead of 'mareo', meh) just in case for island trip from Pisco. I didn't get any instructions, but they said to take them morning, noon and night starting 15 mins before trip if I understood correctly. I don't intend to take them unless I feel shit, so I hope if I can keep them down for 15 mins that will be OK and they don't not work if you already started to feel sick. Could take them first but I will never know if I do suffer from sea/motion sickness if I don't try without them.

Oh, at start of tour we were making conversation re altitude and the chap pulled some local mint type plant off a wall, he called it muña, and said breathing the smell in helped open the lungs up. I wasn't in great difficulty, but I did sniff it and don't really know if it helped or not, but interesting. He *might* have been called Jose Luis but I wouldn't put much money on me remembering that correctly. He was probably about 50.

I forgot to locate hotel on OSM map last night with all the Galapagos shit, I hope to do it from hotel (possibly in street) when I go back for my bag.

1524 Nearly finished pint, don't think will be able to spin it out much longer and don't think another would be super smart (though hardly massively imprudent either). Will send this now then it might sneak out while I am back at the hotel.

Cusco, Sunday

1430 At Yakumama restaurant, bit shitly confusing menu but I am losing plot and think need food. I could swear phone alarm didn't go off. Got up 1310, had look at onward travel, Skyped parents, came out to go buy bus ticket to Ica before much needed lunch but woman in office was eating so I felt compelled to offer to come back in an hour. Couldn't find any other places which claimed to be authorised Cruz del Sur agents so forced to go for food then will go back. Bit worried will sell out but can't help it. Prob be OK.

Ica sounds quite horrible, nearby Huachachina (sp) sounds sort of interesting (dune buggies/sandboarding) but sounds like a Peruvian San Pedro de Atacama and I'm not in the mood. Also you apparently have to go by taxi to/from Ica which would be awkward for booking onward bus. Somehow my slight rush mitigates against an SPdA type place, and not really in mood for hordes of SYTs. So I've booked a hotel in Pisco, will get an onward from Ica (fingers crossed, only about 1.5-2h) then after couple of nights there can get bus from there to Lima, only 4hish. In Pisco there is some bird island you can go out to on a boat and not much more.

1514 Lomo saltado pretty good, reasonable portion. Orange juice good, oddly zesty, perhaps this is fresh squeezed and I'm not used to it. Bill 30 (I had mineral water as well, slightly pricey but not too bad), make it 33.

Place is in Procuradores. My legs are shot after yesterday, seriously stiff, stumbled as came out of restaurant. I suspect the downhill bit from MP to AC was the real killer but who knows?

0139 Was going to go to Museo Quijote but shut Sun. Went to Museo de Arte Precolombino instead. Some of the exhibit text almost ridiculously precious but I enjoyed some of the ceramics.

Not packed yet. Uploaded some photos and about 30% fiddled around with MP photos. Been drafting an itinerary. I spent about two hours (this is why I am up so late, really) looking into visiting the Galapagos Islands. I came within a gnat's whisker of booking flights (about GBP220, to spend about five or six nights on the two islands with associated airports - San Cristobal and Santa Cruz - flying into one from Guayaquil and out ofthe other to Quito). But then I thought I'd have a little check on the spider situation. The web is surprisingly unhelpful, and I can't believe the guide books make no mention of it.

But (after firing up w3m to avoid seeing all the images) we can find a few gems such as:

"Two of the most frequently encountered hunting spiders are the giant crab spider... Both of these species live in houses and other buildings where they chase around at night after insects. Despite their formidable size..." (a personal site on ic.ac.uk)

and

"Another feature in these isles is their emphatic uninhabitableness.. immense spiders" (Hermann Melville)

and

"The crab spiders... Heteropoda venatoria to the Sparassidae family. Heteropoda venatoria are often seen in hotel rooms on..." (Google Books extract from "Galapagos Wildlife" by David Horwell and Pete Oxford, I cannot get any more text in w3m, possibly a search in firefox would reveal a page image but my skin is already crawling so I'm not chancing it - aha, searching for that string allows me to extend the quote) "the islands, and occasionally on boats. They are harmless hunters and should be welcomed as expert..."

"Heteropoda venatoria...body size: female to 30mm; male to 22mm... At night, it emerges from its hiding place to wander over walls. Adults occur throughout the year." (www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online...)

(I am retyping these on phone from w3m on netbook, so can't copy and paste text or URLs.)

Proving itself as reliable as ever, Yahoo! Answers had one person say with a straight face there were no large spiders on the Galapagos Islands, which nearly took me in.

Am I letting my fear prevent me from doing something I would otherwise enjoy? Damn straight. Yes it is irrational but I have this fear and it would be fucking stupid to put myself in (mental) harm's way just because it's irrational and "shouldn't" bother me. I am a bit surprised there are fewer random blog entries (or hotel reviews, based on trying to use Google to search tripadvisor and booking.com reviews) mentioning anything like this, given how relatively common fear of spiders is, but still, the above sources seem fairly authoritative. Most blog entries re fucking enormous bastard spiders are from people who have spent time in cabins in the jungle etc, which is a) what I'd expect and b) consistent with my normal strategy of not going to really rural spots and considering myself safe. I just cannot help but find it ultra reprehensible the guide book offers not even the slightest warning. Maybe it really isn't that common, despite the above sources, but I'm really not feeling like taking a chance.

Ooh, continuing to search (it's now 0209 and checkout is at 9 but fuck it):

"Heteropoda venatoria (Banana Spider), inside a house, Santa Cruz" (photo caption - thank fuck for w3m - on www.darwinfoundation.com)

"The hunstman spider, Heteropoda venatoria... leg span of 7 to 12cm (3 to 5 inches)" (entnemdept.ufl.edu) [I assume that is the whole thing from side to side, not the leg length, but that's damn well large enough for me]"

Trying to assess the risk from such things in urban environments, a chance mention of Guayaquil in a blog turns this up:

"Galapagos Islands Days 23-30... the speedboat to Puerta Villami, Isabela... I'm staying at Coral Blanco Lodging...I have the pleasure of a gigantic huntsman spider in my room tonight, the biggest I've ever seen!" (pjclementson.travellerspoint.com)

I'm not super confident but I haven't been able to turn up any mention of the things in Guayaquil and I might assume Quito would be the same. I obviously need to be careful (eg if I go anywhere remotely rural), but to a limited extent it's different if I encounter a fucker like that "out and about"; what I think would really fuck me up would be having one *in my room* and/or the continual fear of such a thing.

Can't help feeling I've dodged a bit of a bullet by finding this out before going to the Galapagos Islands. I doubt the shock would cure me of my phobia. It is a shame but equally it's not as if I've had a lifelong dream to visit the islands; FFS, until tonight I was well aware they were an option (as the Ecuador guidebook mentions them in its title) but without having any spider-related thoughts I was kind of dismissive of the possibility of going.

0310 FFS. Not packed properly yet but as washed combats sort of hard to pack until they're dry and shit all over bed can be put away. Don't attach much weight to possible responses as my limited experience suggests the place is populated by arrogant travel bores, but have posted on the Thorn Tree forum to see what people say.

Need to have a quick shower and clean teeth and bed. Lack of sleep not great but I slept a lot last night and if I am tired maybe I'm more likely to sleep on the bus.

0336 Finally in bed.

Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu tour, Saturday

0701 On bus. PEN28.06 (and oh yes, they charge that 0.06, it's actually 28.10 with rounding) for single. Return is only fractionally cheaper at something like PEN53 so I didn't buy that. Modulo spider terror I intend to walk down, and I am hoping/assuming you can buy a bus ticket at MP if desired. You can't buy an admission ticket to MP at the site, there are signs about it and guy checked I had a ticket before letting me on bus.

Didn't sleep great but not too bad, bed bit short even for me, no eight-legged friends joined me there to the best of my knowledge though. V overrcast but not raining. Dragged myself out of bed 623 after snoozing on alarm and it disappearing; I think my current alarm clock program is buggy. Still, am probably OK for time so next hurdle is getting into park with bag...

0755 Phone GPS refusing to work (with some apps, i.e. the ones I care about to take a log) despite having rebooted the useless crock of shit. Fearsome looking insect on stairs as we came up to have tickets checked.

1253 At Sun Gate, met Peruvian family (iirc Gaby mother, Carlos & Diana 18-22ish children) from Lima on walk up - they spoke great English. Waffle more later, just wanted to jot down names while remembered. Also spoke to chap from Durham while admiring view. He said Inka trail itself is prob closed this week. I went about ten metres down it just so I can say that technically speaking I have reached Machu Picchu by the Inca Trail (after all, I'm here now again). I was going to walk back down road but Durham chap said there is a footpath which doesn't follow the road's repeated curves, we will see. I am intending to leave the site 1430-1500 then I should easily be in town by 1700, probably earlier, and can have food there before getting train back, I have to be at stn by 1830. Frankly leaving even at 1500 is perhaps a bit early but better safe than sorry.

1316 He's right, back on the Inca Trail and fiddling with OSM (which has v good coverage here) I can see the footpath back down the hill.

Oh, the views from up here are very cool, perhaps more so than being on the central part of the site. Also did the 'Inca Bridge' walk earlier which was cool and like up here hardly desolate but not as busy as main site. Quite evocative to imagine the Inca messengers running along these paths, esp with the vertiginous drops at places.

1556 Nearly in town. Come into practically first restaurant I've seen, but price not too insane. Having medium chorizo pizza and since it was an included option a beer, though it's only small (330ml Cusqueña). Bit weak but fuck it.

Trouble with GPS, I do wonder if in part being in such a deep narrow steep-sided valley causes problems. Has been spitting very slightly but despite ominous rumbling have escaped dry so far. Hope I'm not going to get soaked or forced to open my disposable poncho just to get to the train station...

Walk down slightly taxing on feet and I did slip over and fell on my back but caught myself with hands at one point. The surface is generally stone and it's not that bad. Not monstrously scenic and I tended to have my eyes on the path but glad I walked it.

Think I saw most of what was on offer (discounting the two 'special limited ticket' needed peaks) at MP, perhaps an extra hour might have been nice and as it turns out I probably could have stayed an extra hour, but I was getting a bit tired and I had to allow a safety margin and also slightly concerned to get down before weather turned if possible. I probably actually left the site about 1450.

Sustained myself until now entirely on 100g of chocolate-coated raisins, some guzzled discreetly inside site since no food is allowed.

1605 There's a ginger and white cat here, it's come and sat a couple of chairs down from me, though doesn't seem particularly responsive to my attempts to get it to come to me.

1629 Pizza OK if decidedly nothing special. Should perhaps have hung on but f it, it's not raining yet so let's pay and go find the station then can always go somewhere nearby. Bill 27 plus a 'tax servicio' making it 30, I guess that's OK as it's what I would have tipped anyway.

1651 While I think the guide today even said Aguas Calientes sprang up around the tourist trade, I am sat in the centre (well, the place is tiny) by the river and it really isn't so unattractive here. Seriously tempted to go and have a beer but probably resist, if nothing else if I have one (well, another, but the one with food not quite the same) I'm more likely to go out tonight, and if anything if I am going out tonight it's more important that I don't drink now. So better to be firm now and if, which I probably won't be, I am tempted later then at least I've shown a bit of abstinence here and lowered my consumption by that much.

I'm still a bit hungry, I might compromise and buy a snack, I dunno. But then maybe I'd be as well holding off and going out for dinner back in Cusco. But then that might tempt me to go out for a drink. Meh. It all comes down to boredom really.

1658 At station. It appears to be completely surrounded by market stalls.

1708 Come to some cafe restaurant place for cafe cortado.

1716 They have wifi, so infer place is La Payacha. Paid, PEN6 so making it 7 with tip.

1738 Was interested earlier to note that while getting lots of advice off that Peruvian family, they consider pollo a la brasa (sp) a classic Peruvian dish. I suppose just because it's pretty common elsewhere doesn't make that wrong, but stil interesting. I have a vague idea Valeria told me the same thing at some point.

Finished coffee, will use bog then go hang around at station. Not having another, it's just a smidge pricey and it will probably make me want to piss when I can't. Tis OK, at least now it's 'only' 50m til I have to be at stn and 1h20m til the train goes. I note I am in economy on this trip.

1751 In station waiting room. There is a cafe bar here, I flirted with a ham and cheese bap but it was PEN10 so I didn't even bother asking about mayonnaise. Could have a drink, alcoholic or otherwise, but as per above neither option is ideal.

I should say when I keep writing eg Owhatsit, it is in part so it's obvious I am not sure how to spell or can't quite remember place name. I should probably just have a go though, Future Steve (should he care) is likely to find it less irksome to correct an approximate name than a pretty unhelpful first letter only version. (Though I am sure consulting a travel guide and/or the GPS track would always allow them to be resolved.) Owhatsit is something like Ollaytantambo. IIRC the 'tambo' suffix indicates somewhere founded mainly as a rest stop between two more important places (in this case Cusco and MP) - this is based on what I remember guide saying yesterda at Owhatsit.

2252 At Norton Rat's. Train didn't get into Owhatsit til about 2050, about 2110 by time our minibus left Owhatsit and we got to somewhere not far from plaza in Cusco about maybe 2200. Times v approx. Walked to hotel, no probs but they are painting 'my' room (1) so I've been put in 13, which is a twin but has a sloped wooden beamed ceiling which just screams 'spiders' to me. Still, close inspection showed none and it's a million miles better than last night. I had a brief chat with woman on reception about heating, there is no heater but if I want one I can have one but she thinks it's a warmer room, and she could well be right.

Had quite good chat with F&F on train back, they seem very nice people (not that I ever thought otherwise, my avoidance of them last night was a reflection of my own mood). We spoke in Spanish this time, I understood about 70-80% of what they said. They didn't like the hotel either, they also didn't get a bus ticket included (so I may not go complain), they paid same as me. Apparently the reason it's so expensive is the train is USD50 each way - the tickets did show this. The USD100 trips are by bus and according to them it's 8 hours on a really bad road. Anyway, they basically agreed with me (hotel and buffet sucked, silver market waste of time but guides good and MP itself well worth all the hassle).

As I said wasn't going to come out tonight but I was feeling weak about it and the room and blah blah made me think I'd give it a go. It's not amazing here but meh. Will probably only have a couple barring social interaction and I'm pretty sated so I'm unlikely to go out of my way to initiate anything.

2309 "Jeremy" playing. Not that busy. Did occur to me earlier that given how tourism-oriented Cusco is (at least these bits), is Saturday really any different from any other day?

2322 Strange version of "Born to run" playing. F&F live in Santiago, she is from there, he is from Temuco. They reckon it's pretty safe in general, though as always slightly hard to follow the exact names of the regions (eg never quite sure where Providencia is). Will have second beer. They gave me some advice on Ecuador and we chatted a bit generally re travel.

Think have bit of sunburn on head, I did apply cream but only realised when reapplied it pretty late on it says to reapply every 2h, and it was pretty sunny at times. Don't think it's mega serious, it's not as if I was completely unprotected.

2347 F&F did say locals probably tended to say Santiago was more dangerous than it was. I keep dropping these little bits in as I feel up to the effort of writing them. Might jog my memory of the conversation in future. Didn't make any (slightly pointless really) effort to eg make facebook connection with them or the Peruvian family earlier. F&F did suggest we meet up if I was in Lima when they were but they are flying there and leaving (by bus to Tacna then cross to Arica and internal flight to Santiago since international flights are more expensive) Thursday and I am not going to be there by then.

Think my neck has sunburn too, oh well. Shouldn't take too long to recover, as said before not as if I was totally unprotected.

2356 Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians playing. Title eludes me but the lyrics go "What I am is what I am". Busy but not absolutely rammed in here. Probably have a third then maybe go. Is it called "What I am"?

0004 Yes, third. *Not* intending a repeat experiment but having had a few people tell me about the healing effects of pure/thin air re benders on ski holidays, I do wonder if the altitude could possibly be responsible for apparent lack of major ill effects after definitely six and probably seven pints of 5.5% beer on Wednesday night. I don't drink anywhere near as much as I used to and that was a pretty heavy night in theory, even if it was over a moderately extended period. Probably nothing in it but mention it FWIW.

0040 Let's head home. My total consumption this week is a bit high but I take comfort in the fact I can decide to go home after three, it's not as if I'm compelled to drink just for the hell of it when it's not fun. (Not a *bad* night but I am a bit tired and not really in the mood for staying out.) Going to walk home, probably OK but fingers crossed.

0049 Back at hostel, quite a few people in street except right near hostel but even then not deserted. Couple of dogs investigating rubbish bags but they didn't show any signs of being arseholes, minute or so wait to be let in but all good. As per above only Wed was a bit OTT and personally I see nothing wrong in cutting loose occasionally, as long as it is only occasionally.

I don't fucking believe it. This room is even worse provisioned with sockets than the other. The *only* one, including the bathroom, appears to be the one on the wall for the TV which is sufficiently recessed my plug adapter won't work in it.

No, I tell a lie, there's one low on the wall hidden at the foot (not the head, natch) of one of the beds.

0058 Delighted to see the wifi signal is super ropy here, worse than in other room, phone struggles to maintain a connection at all. Not tried netbook yet.

0107 If didn't already say this room is on UK 2nd floor, prev was on UK 1st. Had shower, thanks to wanky electric heater in showerhead had to turn water flow down super low to get more than lukewarm and then if anything it was a bit too hot but unable to find compromise. Could have been worse I guess. I have a hand towel to dry myself on, which is really OK but bit sucky. Going out to bar meant missed chance to buy water/snacks at nearby shop but I'm not really hungry and can always indulge myself tomorrow. Be good to do city tour but esp given need to sort out onward travel doubt am doing it tomorrow even if I get up early. Since checkout is 9am I guess I can maybe do that Monday before getting bus on to Ica in evening. Phone is on charge, I switched battery in minibus so need to get both charged but it appears for some reason to be crawling excessively to charge now, never mind that I'd like to use it to read myself to sleep on.