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Cuzco was a quick hour flight
from Lima. Cuzco is a city at altitude (3500M) so the advice is
to take it easy here for a couple of days before doing any tours
and also have your Spanish phrase book to hand. Bombarded at
the airport for places to stay we managed to get a good deal on
a lovely hotel near the main square which was good for walking
to. The weather here is a burning sun, but as soon as you go in
the shade it is freezing like a ski resort without the snow.
It’s a lovely place and very relaxed, much safer than Lima
downtown and we sure have had to speak Spanish which has been
fun!
You see all the new people in
the town, walking around very slowly puffing for air. We felt a
bit like that, especially tied in with the time differences you
feel shattered. A few cups of the local brew “Coca Tea” should
sort you out so they say.
Cuzco is a place to do active
things so you see plenty of tourists with zip off khaki
trousers, walking or trail shoes and back packs. I’ve even had
many a kid comment on my snazzy new trail shoes that I think
need to get dirty… With what time we have planned
in Peru, this will be our base to do the three things we want to
do here. Go into the Amazon, visit Lake Titicaca (highest
altitude lake in world) and do some trekking to Machu Picchu.
Guess what we only saw another
religious procession on our second day here that went on for
hours and hours.
After our relaxing day in Cuzco
after the Machu Picchu trip we did our own trip to the Sacred
Valley. We caught a local bus to Pisaq about an hour away.
Being Sunday it was market day.
This is another high altitude
resort and the sun was hot but a great breeze. Huge great
market in the middle of the town. We wheeled and dealed for a
few bits and pieces and saw our first whole guinea pig cooked on
a spit! NICE!
We did the trek that took about
an hour up to the ruins which was cool. Another amazing sight
so high up perched on the mountainside. Funnily enough when we
got back down to base we had more coffee and cake. Good job we
did as the bus ride back was an experience.
The bus pulled up already with
the seats taken. Why did it stop? Well in Peru safety regs
don’t really apply. Plenty of room and everyman for
themselves. So we bundled on, standing room only. They packed
us on then set off. People even doze off to sleep while stood
up. One girl stood up just dropped her bag while standing and
landed on the headrests slumped in a deep sleep. Funny to see
people having to shake her awake. All back ok... |
