Day 5: Sunday 22 May travel and training day

I’m currently writing this blog looking down at the Andes from my window seat on Air Peru. Aisle seat is always awkward to try and look out the window. I always feel like the person sitting at the window seat feels I’m staring at them. I’m not.

Flying today from Calca back to Lima, our original city of stay in Peru. I think the current count is 7 flights in 5 days. I’ve never considered an airplane or airport my second home but I may have to on this trip. Usually it’s the volleyball gym as my second home. We’ve played 2 matches and will have had 3 training sessions in 5 days. I’ve never traveled so much in such a short period of time.

Totally worth all the traveling to see the sights we saw today and yesterday (and to play in the presense of the Peru fans). We arrived in Cusco yesterday lunchtime and then had a 1 ½ bus journey through the Andes, on a narrow dirt road, to get to Calca. The views were amazing. We passed through the Sacred Valley and many other little towns with houses built from what looks like mud. Each town had a significant purpose. I don’t know the names but I do remember that one town harvested the largest corn, another breeded pidgeons, and one was home to wild life including llamas.

We arrived in Calca in the early afternoon, not giving us much time before our game at 6pm. However, our new home for the night was a rustic cottage like hotel at the base of some of the most gorgeous mountains. The Sacred River ran through the back of the hotel which provided the only noise in the area. Can’t complain about the sound of rushing water! Oh wait, I did here some sheep baaaing but that’s besides the point. Only nature surrounded us.

Our match was moved to 6:30pm due to our (us and the Peru NT) late arrival to the capital of Calca region.

We arrived at the gym to be once again greeted by mobs of Peru fans. There was even a Union Jack being held by some fans! 5,000+ fans cheering the whole match. Our tiredness wore off on our arrival to such an impressive turnout of fans in desolate mountain town.

We lost. It wasn’t our GB performance and we are more than pumped to play Peru again tomorrow night in another city. That means….another flight tomorrow. Maybe I can rack up some air miles to come back??? We were only 100km away from Machu Piccu while in Calca...