I got up early and took a tricycle taxi to the bus station. This time it was only 'two soles, no mas', possible because it was downhill...

I bought a sandwich and cookies to see me through the six hour journey, and saw that the bus I was supposed to get on was the scruffiest of the bunch. However, I had the best seat on the bus: on the right hand side, right at the front, so I could see out of the front window, plus I had lots of legroom and was far from the increasingly smelly toilet (still, at least there was a toilet...). Of course my good view also meant I witnessed all the crazy manoeuvres our driver did, so it was a bit of a mixed blessing...

Just after Puno, we drove through a town which resembled a big mud bath, with a large amount of potholes. But about the time when we left Puno province, everything turned very green, the road was nice and even had road markings (something I don't think I've ever seen in Bolivia outside La Paz) and everything felt a lot cleaner.

However, the first view of Cusco (as of any big city anywhere in the world) was far from appealing: we passed a car graveyard (what's that in English again?) and lots of rubbish. I was also a bit worried about getting into a taxi, as taxi robbings with unofficial taxis have been reported. However, the guy driving mine was fine (even if he looked too young to own a driver's licence) and dropped me off on the Plaza de Armas, which is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with a cathedral and a church.

I had picked Hostal Resbalosa from the LP guide, and it was a great maze of dorm rooms, doubles, a great balcony, patios and single rooms. Well, single cells more like, as my room is pequeñita, very very small. But it's adequate and it's one of the cheapest places, with a million euro (the dollar's too low these days) view over the city.

I had a great piece of pie de manzana (that's apple pie, it's funny that there's no Spanish word for pie, and pie also means foot...) for late lunch and had a wander around, although the siteseeing does not start till tomorrow.

My most important mission was to get some more stuff to read and walking back up the hill to the hostal to get my books (which I'd forgotten), I realised I didn't think things through properly, because these are as steep as the Escalera del Inca in Isla del Sol... Still, I like my little cell.

I got vengeful women with 'The first wives club' and lesbian women with 'Tipping the Velvet' at bookshop Jerusalen. Very good. I also walked into Iglesia La Merced, which was atmospherically lit for the night. In fact, in the aftermath of Christmas, the whole square still has lots of reindeer made in Christmas lights, and it adds a certain je ne sais quoi to an already beautiful place.

In the evening I was hounded by boys selling cigarettes, they even pressed their noses up to the window of the restaurant where I was sitting. Telling them 'no fumo' (I don't smoke) has absolutely no effect whatsoever. Perhaps they think if they just ask enough, you'll get so agitated you'll want to start. It's not a bad strategy as they go, I suppose.

I was really tired from doing absolutely nothing and sitting on the bus all day, so I went to bed at ten.