I was anticipating a view of snow capped mountains and hummingbird filled gardens at our hotel in the Sacred Valley.
Nothing is ever quite as it you expect in Peru though.
Out of our window we do indeed have a splendid view of a snowy mountain and hummingbirds are buzzing around the beautiful flowers that fill the gardens.
However in-between the hummingbirds and the glacial peak is a sight I really wasn’t expecting.
In an enclosure next to the swimming pool is a vision that has fascinated both me and Salvador since we got here, you’ve probably already guessed but I’ll tell you anyway – yes that’s right, it’s a full grown adult male Ostrich.
Unable to fly, but able to contest the bad temper stakes with its friends the Llama and Alpaca that share the pen, the huge bird is strutting his stuff just outside our back door.
It’s a very long walk from Africa to Urubamba but this monstrous creature looks the determined sort.
I’m not sure that 16 month olds can do a double take, but Salvador certainly gave me one of his ‘bloody hell, what’s that Dad?’ looks.
Our journey here was excellent after our typical rush and panic to leave Cusco, in truth we are only an hour away so I could get anything we’ve forgotten anyway.
Jesus brought us the scenic way via Chincheros, sadly the mountains were capped with cloud, but the greenery at this time of year is spectacular.
We stopped to take a photo at the same place where Christine, Mick, Kerry and Mike saw the 100 year old woman knitting when they were here. She might not have been exactly 100 but she certainly had the prune like complexion of the Andes.
Our divine taxi driver regaled us all the way with Cusco ghost stories, which always seemed to end with people going mad after seeing a non-existent party going on in an empty house. I will be ringing Derek Acorah the minute we get back home.
Mid afternoon we took Mr Energy for a walk around the hotel gardens and amidst the soft twitter of the birds and the rushing rapids of the River Urubamba, the sound of the political rally in the main square bounced off every mountainside, trombones, trumpets and lots of Lourdes.