Muy bien!!!

Hola Chikos!!
We are very sorry for keeping you in the lurch, but we have been away from internet access for some time now and unfortunatly have not been able to update you with our adventures as of yet! But don't fret, because Sally is here again to tell you whats been happening!

Where we last left you, we were about to hit the streets of Cuenca. Well we did that, and let me tell you, Cuenca is a beautiful city; it is esentially like the old town in Quito, except ALL the buildings are colourful Colonial Spanish creations and they are JUST SO PRETTY I'M GONNA DIE!!! We went to the San Francisco church (yep there,s one here too, they arent very imaginative with choosing church names), the flower markets, which were so pretty, and Diego gave all us chickas a red rose (naawwww), we went to the fresh fruit and vegetable markets, and the Panama hat factory, which was pretty damn cool - the hats are still woven by hand by the local women, and then sent to the factories to get shaped and dyed by the machines. We took lots of photos wearing silly hats, and Ruby even ended up buying one, which you will probably see in later photos when we visit the Brazillian beaches. We also went to Central Museum, where we learnt all about the native Inca people, and how they were conquered by the Spanish, which made me and Ruby sad, as they pretty much decimated whole cultures and belief systems so that there are really only stories and replicas left to show the indigenous heritage. But we also got to see the shruken heads, which was pretty cool, if not slightly gross- yes, I'm talking actual human heads being cut off, their lips sewn together and then put in a solution that shrinks them to about a third of their natural size. Ruby is under the impression that she is going to do that to me at some point on this trip, but I don't like her chances. I'm going to mess that bitch up!

After that, we were supposed to go on a hike in a national park, but we ran into some problems, as Ruby had her four hundred dollar jacket stolen, and I had some troubles with my bank, so all in all the rest of the afternoon was a bit of a fail as we ran around trying to find out how to call home and contact insurance and stuff. The only way we could cheer ourselves up was, of course, chocolate ice cream. Yeaaah.

That night, however, was not a fail, infact it was the biggest unfail! We had llapingachos for dinner, which is just cheese surrounded by mashed potatoe and deep fried...if you know me well, which most of you do, I was in heaven as it is essentially my favourite food coated in my second favourite food. Best ever. I miss them already (they are traditionally Ecuadorian, and we are now in Peru :( ) I also treated myself to a 5 dollar margarita, which was delicious, best meal I've had in a long time. It also happened to be Tim's birthday, and in honour of the occasion Diego bought some fireworks. That's right, fireworks. And these weren't just any firworks, these were black market, the place where you go and buy extra livers and kidneys fireworks. Ok, well maybe not that serious, but they weren't particularly legal. So we decided to go into the square outside the restaurant and let them go. No big deal, right? Just letting off some fireworks in the main square of Cuenca, right next to the San Francisco Church. So, Tim set on up and lit the fuse, and we all stood back and watched, not really knowing what to expect. Well, we certainly didn't expect him to hit the San Francisco church. I'm not even kidding, that bad boy collided with the bell tower in a shower of sparks as we watched from the ground in horror and amazement. Its probably safe to say that we're all going to hell.
The rest of the night was lots of fun; we went to a couple of bars, had some drinks, did some more dancing (still no salsa, sigh), and well, when tequila is involved, it gets a little messy. But all you need to know is that everyone got home safe with all their limbs and belongings :)

The next day was PAINFUL! 6:30 am start after getting in at 3 is not fun, so safe to say we slept the whole way to Mancora. This is where we crossed the border into PERU!!! Some fun facts about peru: Their currency is the Sole, they get around in Tuk Tuk's (i think thats how you spell it) and everyone is a lot more intense and pushy than our laidback Ecudorians. And they dont have empanadas or llapingachos, but they do have Inca Kola, which is so tasty its probably what Napolean would have drunk...if he was a bit strapped for cash, and there wasn't anything else going...haha no but seriously is delicious.

Our first stop in Peru was Mancora, which is this adorable tiny beach town (yay for being at sea level) populated with beach markets, surfers, tuk tuks and beach side reastaurants and bars. It was so nice to take a couple of days just to relax, soak up some sun and do some shopping. The place where we stayed was called Kimba's lodge, and it was sooo nice, we had our own little beach hut, a hammock, a pool and a bar, it was just lovely. There were many hours spent sitting by the pool drinking rum and coke, talking shit and enjoying the sites. I had to follow Ruby to the police station

ahaha got you there didn't I! it was just to make an incident report for her jacket for the insurance company, but they totally gringo taxed her ass and made her pay like 8 soles for it, which really isnt that much, but it was still pretty funny. Then we attempted to have lunch on the beach (what restaurant runs out of chips and bread?) before having pasta and a cute little cafe in town, did some shopping, and chilled the fuck out! It was great.

That night, however, was something else. After dinner, Ruby and I decided it would be fun to go night swimming in the ocean, fully clothed mind you, a favourite past time of both of ours, which was wonderful, and we managed to get Diego in on it too...crazy Ecuadorian. We had to go back to the hotel cos Ruby was wearing denim and the fact it was wet made her very uncomfortable, but after that, we headed back out to a beach side bar for Pisco sours (a very strong famous and delicious peruvian cocktail) flaming sambucca and some very silly photos. You can feel that summer is coming in Mancora.

Thankfully, we didn't have to leave until 12 noon the next day, yet once we got on the bus it was another 10 hours...well more like 12 hours -_- to get to Huanchaco, but we made it!!! So that is where we are now - it is very similar to Mancora, except perhaps not as condensed and touristy. Today we went to the Chan Chan ruins,which are the remains of an ancient palace, and was very cool, I totally had a bones moment :) And a wander around the town, which is very colourful. Tonight is our last night with Diego as our tourguide, and we shall miss him muchly :( :( :( WE LOVE YOU!!

Hope all is well at home, we love and miss you very much
Adios
Sally xoxoxox