How could we forget to mention Cusco?

Cusco town square. A great place to spend some time.

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After the Sacred Valley we returned to Cusco for a few days. We stayed at Nino´s hotel which we thoroughly recommend. It is hidden behind an old green door and has a wonderful courtyard, great cafe and a fire! The rooms are simple but interesting and comfortable. Importantly, the hotel supports local children and their photos are a pleasure to see.

It was a real delight exploring Cusco´s historic centro, with its marvellous plazas, interesting shops and delicious restaurants.The old town has many remnants of the Inca culture and cobble stone streets. There are discoveries around every corner and a visit to the produce market and bargain bazaar was a sensory overload towards the end of our stay. We got some wonderful alpaca rugs in brilliant colours and modern designs, and some interesting massage stones from a Shaman's shop.

Brown water rafting in Peru!!!

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For my (Michael´s)  birthday we went back to the Sacred Valley and spent the day white water rafting down the swollen river.The scenery was amazing and we were all exhausted but happy as we sat down to a pic nic lunch by the river in the afternoon.

We left Cusco by air and were lucky to have a clear and still morning for our flight. The city is in a very high valley and flights are often cancelled at no notice if there is wind or low visibility. Our flight to Mexico City via Lima was fine.. but the US$ airport taxes at 2 airports along the way could not be avoided and left an unplanned hole in our budget plan.