We are leaving for the airport in half an hour, for our trip to Lima, we have slightly less stuff than when we arrived but still a lot. Cusco airport is about fifteen minutes from the house, as it's Sunday the cafe is shut so Valerio and Miriam are coming to see us off. It was raining here earlier which is never a good sign on the day we are leaving because rain and mist cause flights to be cancelled. In this age of technology you might wonder why a bit of rain has such a dramatic effect. A conversation with a friend of ours a few years ago enlightened me to the challenges faced by air traffic controllers at Cusco airport, in the UK air traffic is controlled by highly trained individuals shut away in front of banks of screens somewhere near Southampton, here someone leans out of the window with a pair of binoculars and guides the pilot in. There is no radar at Cusco airport, but it's surrounded by a huge mountain range, something of a contradiction I think. I assume that if someone forgets to bring the binoculars in they cancel flights too, at least that's what I'm hoping today.