Cusco - A haven in Peru

Helen, Ants, Leigh and Jo in Cusco square
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Monday 6^th August – Cusco

Thank goodness for Cusco! The town is very beautiful, European like and once the Capital of the Inca empire. It is set around a huge, clean, buzzing square and is really well set up for tourism. It was just the type of place all 4 of us needed. With ATM's, a ton of great places to eat, and again clean. We decided that today was an administration day. Firstly we confirmed our Inca Trail and received our first briefing. We then went and paid for our nights accommodation in Aguas Caliente. We are unfortunately paying a lot, but it will be nice to finish the walk in a nice place with supposedly hot showers (we will believe it when we see it). Feeling hungry we went and had brunch. It was nice as we were able to sit on the balcony over looking one of the main streets towards the square. The brunch was massive too, with pancakes, fruit, yoghurt, cereal and a full English for Leigh!

Inca foundations which the Spanish built on top of
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As Cusco is not all that big, we bumped into Ants and Helen and decided to head to the pub for a few drinks! All the nice places are set around the square so we quickly located an American style biker bar, with great views over the square. We rolled out the cards and had a great afternoon, lots of drinks and laughs. We had worked up a bit of an appetite for dinner, so Leigh the chief negotiator got us a deal in a restaurant which included 2 free Pisco sours each, and a plate of Nachos for the table. Leigh is totally in his element here - negotiating with every restaurateur, playing them off against each other! We had a lovely Mexican meal but starting to feel the pinch of the days drinks we headed home!

Leigh getting weighed before the Inca Trail
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Tuesday 7^th August - Cusco – Pisac – Saqsaywamen (know as sexy woman)

We woke up to find that our French friend Damian had arrived from Arequipa and we were all stoked that the plan with meeting up with him worked out. Today we had decided to get out hiking again. After another massive breakfast, we headed firstly for the Inca ruins of Pisac and then onto the massive ruin of Saqsaywamen. We all boarded a local bus (much cheaper than a recommended tour) and headed off. The scenary on the trip was amazing! We headed down a very steep hill into the sacred valley and eventually arrived in Pisac. As usual we were greeted by tour touts, taxi drivers etc.

In the ruins of Pisac after a steep hike
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The ruin of Pisac is a true hiking test. It is perched on the very top of a vertical hill. We started the walk through the local market and on leaving the road just gets steeper and steeper! Man it felt like we were totally unfit! The steepness combined with the high altitude was really tough and we were only a third of the way up! We hiked for over and hour up and up, but upon reaching the ruins they were breath taking! The sacred valley stretched for miles and this was not even the Inca Trail! We had fortunately taken the non-tourist route so did not see many people on the way up. But when we reach the summit we had caught up with all the lazy people that had taken the taxis up! It was unfortunately really busy but still did not detract from the ruins. The masonery work of the Incas is amazing. Firstly how they got the stones (which are gigantic) up the mountain and secondly how they used them with out altering the shape. If you were to see a pile of the rocks used you would not think they would fit together, but they were laid like a jigsaw puzzle. It is completely different to the Romans, who used precision cutting to form blocks.

The crew having a break
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We wandered around all the sites and then decided to hike down. Being so steep the walk down was no easier than the assent, although quicker we were all hurting just as much. We then spent half an hour wandering though the market before jumping back on a bus to the ruins of Saqsaywamen. The bus drops you off around 8kms from Cusco so you can visit a couple of ruins on the way and pass through a few villages until reaching the MASSIVE ruin of Saqsaywamen. Although the Spanish destroyed a large percentage of the site, there is still a huge amount remaining allowing you to get a feel for the size. The biggest site is a 2 story structure believed to be made in the shape of a Jaguars teeth. Some of the stones used to build this massive structure are over 130 tons and again not cut to shape. It was simply amazing that all these awkward stones are slotted together so beautifully. Funny enough there was a HUGE condor flying around, taking much of the attention away from the stones. This bird was bigger than most dogs you will see and had to take a huge run up before taking off. It kept the crowds amused until its trainer decided that it was time to leave. We left the site and headed down the road back to Cusco.

Leigh surrounded by the cleverly crafted landscape to avoid slips during earthquakes
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Unfortunately we had booked another Hostel, so we grabbed out bags and checked in. Fortunately it is only round the corner from Helen, Ants and Damian, so we do not feel miles away. We met up for dinner which didn't include much of the usual banter as we were all so exhausted! Our new place has cable, so we enjoyed a restful night with an English movie.

Wednesday 8^th August – Cusco

All the plans were in place to head to the ruins of Ollantaytambo, but with the looming treks for Helen, Ants and Damian the following day and Friday for Leigh and Jo, we decided not to hike and have another more relaxed day in Cusco. We buzzed around a few local markets with Leigh buying a broad brim leather hat, very cowboy style and a few things for our trip. After lunch we headed to a WI-FI Cafe for a little more admin. After completing our tasks we headed to meet the others. Our highlight of the day was collecting our washing. After talking to Helen (who speaks fluent Spanish), we realised that we were over charged by one Sole per kilo. Helen caused a storm and not accepting the price given managed to get us the correct price! The owners were not at all pleased with her and amusingly told her never to bring washing there again! We went out for dinner still chuckling and then said our goodbyes to Ant's, Helen and Damian. We have been traveling solidly with them for nearly 2 weeks so was sort of sad, but we will see them in Aguas Caliente in a few days time. We returned home to watch some more English TV and enjoy a very quick hot shower...oh how we are enjoying these treats.

Thursday 9^th August – Cusco

As we are going on our 4 day trek tomorrow we decided to totally relax today. After breakfast we searched the internet for flights from Central to North America (just like being at work again!) We made a booking for £100 inc tax – Cancun to Dallas, spending the whole day there to visit the JFK sites before catching a late flight from Dallas to Seattle. Stoked with our bargain we then went out for lunch, which unfortunately was not that great. We did a bit of shopping before heading back to our hostel to start packing for our trek. After chilling we bargained for a waterproof light jacket for Jo, which cost about £5 and went to our favourite cheap restaurant for dinner which included 3 courses for a few quid. Was so nice! Eventually we headed home to get to bed in time for an early start the next day.