I had a somewhat spartan breakfast of bread, jam and instant coffee with a late offering of some sweet bread. Afterwards, I sat on the deck reading until I had finished the book, by which time Lauren and Jason had appeared, so I spent a bit more time chatting to them. It appears they have a few mental health issues in their respective families with one bi-polar mother, who provided an entertaining childhood, and one schizophrenic brother who caused many problems.
When they went to work at 2 o’clock, I decided it was about time I motivated myself to do some thing so went for lunch at the 8 soles cafe. It wasn’t brilliant but perfectly reasonable for the price. Whilst I was eating, one of the local guides came in for lunch and proceeded to tell me about his tours, in a mixture of Spanish and English, to some of the Andean communities in the area. A 4 hour car tour was $90 so I politely declined! It seems to me that the locals in this area certainly know how to exploit the tourists.
After lunch I visited the Choco Museum where Lauren and Jason were working. To be fair, I only went to taste the chocolates and have coffee and a brownie. The museum, such as it was, didn’t really feature on my agenda! I also tried to use the wifi but, as per usual, it was very slow.
Next stop was for another coffee but this time at the Sacred Heart, where they know how to make it without drowning it in milk. I wasted time there for a while before having a short wander, visit to the market and then back to the room. It was a decidedly lazy and uninspiring day!
Nicky Abroad 