I stored my luggage and settled my bills and had breakfast. I'm getting quite fond of desayuno Americano, which is fresh orange juice, toast, jam, butter, eggs and tea.

It had started raining and I went into the Museo Historico regional. Downstairs was the history bit, with loads of ceramics bearing a spooky resemblance to the ones you see in all the souvenir shops.

Upstairs, in rooms with creaky floorboards, there were paintings by Cusqueños, most of them religious in theme. All the people in the paintings are a pale white and look rather sickly. Most of the cherubs looks like they're spaced out on San Pedro cactus (a plant which has hallucinatory effects), with bulging eyes turned upwards. Baby Jesus has the muscled arms of a grown man. Disturbing stuff.

After, I bought Hiram Binghams book on his discovery and excavation of Machu Picchu. It was the beginning of a succesful shopping trip and both DHL in Arequipa and the customs office in Belgium will be pleased to hear it, as they get to make some more 'money for nothing' on my back. Well, at least I managed to bargain for a slightly better price at most places.

I stopped at Granja Heidi's for pancakes with banana and chocolate sauce, yummie. I walked around the shops some more, but it started raining again so I had a drink and read in 'Tipping the Velvet' by Sara Waters. She's a good historical writer, even if she has to write about lesbians all the time.

In the evening, I read my book on the balcony of the hostal, with a spectacular view of the Plaza de Armas, before it was time to get a taxi to the bus station. I got there a bit early, with a chatty but nice taxi driver. I couldn't believe my luck when I didn't have anyone next to me even though that wasn't to last.

Dinner was chicken, rice and some doughy thing. It is not easy to eat chicken when the bus is winding its way through the Andes, I can tell you... I said no thanks to the cup of Inca Kola, it tastes like bubblegum and has a kind of fluorescent yellow colour, not really my thing...