I didn´t need that luggage anyway

But really, American Airlines staff really need to get their shit together. In Cancun I said ´Do I need to pick up my bags at any airport, and recheck them on the way to Peru?
'Yes, sir. You will need to pick your bags up at Miami airport and re-check them through US customs.'
'What about Lima?'
'No, sir. Your bags will be checked through all the way to Cuzco.'
'Thank you'.

I asked twice, and I got the same answer. Arrived in Cuzco after a 1.5 hour flight from Cancun to Miami, a 5 hour flight from Miami to Lima and a 2 hour flight from Lima to Cuzco. Checked the baggage carousel. Nothing there. Not the best thing to do when you need all that stuff. Talked to LAN Peru and filled out some paperwork which should have reached Lima by 11am (it´s 2pm now). With any luck I´ll get it back late tonight or tomorrow morning. I was given an American AIrlines number to call (since they handled my bag from Miami to Lima) and they told me that LAN Peru was the only thing I could try, since it was LAN´s fault... apparently. I´m glad I have a 2 day buffer zone in this trip. 2 days before I need all my hiking gear, so fingers crossed.

I´m really tired, and I´m laughing alot because if I didn´t I think I´d just cry.
The hostel´s staff are really friendly and helpful though. The main girl´s english is pretty good. Nothing stellar, but we can communicate. Goddam I hope I get my luggage.

Another experience I can say I´ve lived through was getting kicked out of a classy hotel by a Mexican security team. I got a call from Team Deathsquad inviting me over to their hotel and hang out, so I jumped into a cab and headed over there. They were all standing at the security barrier waiting for me. As I hopped out of the cab Dan walked up to me and said quietly ´Tell the security guy you´re with us and you´re checking in. Oh, and put this towel over your wrist, no one goes anywhere here without a towel.´ It´s important to note that the reason I had to wear the towel was to hide the fact that I didn´t possess an orange wristband, a mandatory accessory if I want to be in a Spring Break hotel.
I walked past security and said, ´Hey mate, just checking in,´and walked off without a hitch. First stop was the team´s hotel room where they ordered a couple of beers and a cheeseburger for me. Their trip is an all-inclusive package. Chilled there for a bit then went down to the pool for a chat, towel still in hand. Didn´t order anything, and kept my mouth shut until we reached a table. Watched spring-breakers walk by for a bit until Dan said, ´Dude, we need some AC/DC cranking, since you´re an aussie and all.
We walked over to the music spot where the staff were constantly changing cds. It was here that a tiny Mexican security guard came up to us and said, ´Where is your armband, sir?´
I replied by pointing at Dan´s wrist and saying, ´He has his wristband, it´s cool.´It was at this point that five guards appeared out of nowhere in a calm but very definite manner. The music guys tried to communicate that I was just a non-consuming guest, but the others didn´t buy it. They asked me to leave, and followed Dan and I back to the lobby. Dan made a call, Jason brought down my bag from their room, all while a security guard watched from a short way away. Deathsquad escorted me down to the security gate where I caught a cab and buggered off. Very interesting day.

The ´chicken fucker´comment was based around Jason´s story of being a meth dealer for a few years. It broke his brain a little bit and he has really REALLY weird dreams. He was a chicken catcher for a while (that´s the job description) and it was during this time that his dreams got even worse. He was lying next to his girlfriend one night and, after thrashing around in his sleep, sat bolt upright and yelled out ´CHICKEN FUCKER!´, to which his girlfriend said, ´We´re sleeping in different beds now´.
´So yeah, that´s why they call me chicken fucker, not something I like really much,´he said with a laugh.
´That´s a good story, chicken fucker,´ I said and his mates lost their shit completely.

Mexico critique time.

I don´t like Mexico. I like Chichen Itza, in fact I love Chichen Itza, but that´s about the only gem. I met some great people, namely the MMA team and some American girl called Nikki who decided that we´d be good old fashioned pen pals. Could be interesting. And before you ask, no, she has a fella back home. Met a couple of cool German guys too - I can now say that I´ve cockblocked a German (you guys DO know that term right?). Was pretty funny.

As far as the culture/ country itself goes, the only conclusion I can make is ít´s ok to visit for a very short time, but it gets shit quick.´ The climate is disgusting since it´s right on the equator, all the food smells and looks the same, the water is poison, the fruit and vegetables should be avoided unless they can be peeled properly (citrus and bananas), and the people seem out to get you in a shifty sort of way. They expect a tip after the smallest of services for instance. Don´t get me wrong, I met some good ones. My waiter, Felipe, the bar manager who bought me a beer, and a cab driver I met who would point to American girls on the side of the road and say ´Nice pussy.´But beyond that, it´s not a country I would recommend, save for visiting Chichen Itza. Cancun is pretty much ON the equator too, but it´s a different climate to other tropical places I´ve been. The air feels like miasma for one. Still, Peru is cold as balls and not humid, so it´s a great change. Just need to get used to the altitude and I´ll be fine. Need luggage too.

One thing I haven´t had much of is an appetite. I don´t feel nervous about the places I´m in, and I´m not thinking of a potential meal as a catalyst for a stomach virus, but I still have that butterflies in the stomach thing going on. It´s getting old. Oh, and Mexican food is way better in the US and Australia. Mum, your bean muck kicks the shit out of anything I´ve had here.

Adios for now, I´m going to check to see if LAN Peru has called. I won´t feel complete until I have my colossal Deuter backpack with me again.