Claire´s Birthday!

We awoke early next morning after discovering that night that only a few doors down from the hostel was a disco. Well...maybe not a disco exactly but definitely a bar which chose to play loud bloody music all night! It was decided, Claire had made a stirling effort getting a hostel but it was shit. We needed a new one.

We headed back to heart Café and tucked into a great big birthday breakfast. Eggs, toast, toms, veggie sausage (Bacon for the birthday girl) fried potatoes, juice, coffee and birthday wishes and kisses...tasty.

Quick sharpish we´d found a new hostal KB Tambo and had left the awkwardness of the last place far behind! The new place was good, although in comparison I think most places would have been better. It was clean, had awesome views of the surrounding hills and ruins, hot showers (eventually) and a roof top terrace. They even had a café downstairs who agreed to boil the water for the baby everyday for us! I sneakily had a word with the girl in the café and arranged a birthday cake for claire for that evening but when I tried to arrange for her to go horseriding things didn´t go as well as I´d hoped. To make a long story short I basically went to EVERY café, shop and horse looking person in the village asking to rent a horse or arrange a ride. Things didn´t go well. The best I could manage was to get the name of someone who had horses but was no where to be seen...bugger.

We settled into our room and after lunch we decided to head up to the ruins. Not before buying our train tickets for Machu Picchu (what a palarva THAT was....note to self learn more spanish!).

Ollantaytambo ruins are perched on the side of the mountain above the village and provide a lovely backdrop to the place. They are the only site in Peru were the spanish lost a battle with the Incans during the time of the conquestidors. Today, we were heading up to see them. We packed the baby carrier and started off up through the village and through the market at the entrance to the ruins. The ruins begin with ascending the steps which run up the terraces. The terraces are stepped level ground that the Incan people used to grow crops etc. I assume so they were safe from invaders etc? We soon got to the top and started looking around. The ruins themselves were unfinished in some places and it was interesting to see the blocks still in situ where the Incans left them when defeated. Around the place there were building perched in the most unlikely of places and a long narrow path joined one site to another about a KM around the other side of the mountain.

Then it started.

Little Bodhi...
whimper whimper....
rock rock...
ah there now Bo
Cry Cry....
oh come on now Bo
Wail Wail....
Bo....shhh....people are looking
SSSSCCCCCCRREEEEEAAAMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

bugger...

So began the 40 min stomp around the ruins. Claire sat down while I wrapped bodhi in his manta and tried to rock him to sleep. No chance. I stomped around up and down, round and round, in and out of the ruins and covered EVERY bit of hillside that place had to offer. I was pulling my hair out. He was KNACKERED! but you know when they just won´t sleep, overtired, that was today!

Eventually...he fell sound asleep...the little...

We carried on and explored the rest of the ruins and started to walk along the narrow path toward the other section of ruins.

"Mick"
"Yes, Claire my dearest?"
"I need a wee...."

lmao! Stuck half way up the mountain on a little path, baby asleep in the blanket, no loos and claire needs a wee! Eventually we found ourself at the other side of the mountain where there were less people.

"Mick, keep an eye out!"

Off she pops, into an ancient and sacred place. Whips down her trousers and whoosh transforms archeological importance into a WC! well...it was her birthday I suppose!

All in all the afternoon was really nice and I´m glad Claire spent her birthday in a unique place, which hopefully she´ll never forget. We finished the afternoon looking through the market and then headed back for showers and to get ready for Claire´s Birthday meal.

Once we were ready we headed downstairs, Bodhi fast asleep in his pushchair, and had dinner. I ordered a nice bottle of wine and we chatted and laughed and generally had a lovely evening. Then, the lights went out. Out came 2 of the cooks with a massive birthday cake complete with 2 candles and the singing began...
"Buenos Compleaños para tu....buenos compleaños para tuuuuuu....buenos compleaños para clairrrre...buenos compleaños para tuuuuuu!!" I couldn´t tell in the candle light but I´m sure she blushed? The folks in the restaurant began clapping and soon the sounds of ´ahh´and ´bless´ and applause filled the room. As it turns out the ´cake´was a load of pancakes sndwiched with toffee sauce and the whole thing covered in cream. It was lovely! I think claire liked it. Claire then began to offer cake to complete strangers who´d just happened to choose this restaurant to eat at tonight. It wasn´t long before we were chatting to various people, including 2 girls who do the event planning for the Playboy mansion...yes, THE playboy mansion - how mad is that!? Another bottle of wine was ordered and we enjoyed the night. We managed to finish it off sat, me Claire and Bodhi, on the rooftop terrace. Watching shooting stars and chatting the night away.

Happy Birthday Claire XXX