Cusco

Dyed wool
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I arrived back in Cusco after the Inca Trail and had a very welcome shower... it was weird being back in Cusco as I didn’t feel the altitude at all this time!  We arrived back on a Saturday night and had bit of a celebration dinner and the food was fantastic as usual.

On the Sunday I took it easy and wandered around the town and checked out the narrow streets, plazas and beautiful buildings.  As it was a Sunday a lot of the shops were closed and unfortunately the museum was also closed.  However Sunday is parade day so I saw a very odd parade around the main plaza, with people dancing with strange knitted masks on and heaps of military types also marching.  Most amusing were the male soldiers marching with massive guns and the female soldiers marching in high heels and handbag... good weapons though I suppose.

Let´s go down to the market and look at naked hens

Lots of colour
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Even though many shops were closed I did find one special gift for myself..  My Nana passed away early last year and I wanted to buy myself something special with the inheritance I received.  I found a beautiful gold Incan cross necklace which was the most important symbol of the Incans and it is actually a representation of the Southern Cross constellation.  It seemed appropriate as my Nana loved that I travelled and kept all my postcards, she was also a religious woman and well, we’re Australian!

Cusco at night
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Cusco is a beautiful town though, it has colonial buildings built on top of the Incan foundations, which you can see as they rise above the ground.  The more impressive buildings have Incan bases that have no grouting, just perfectly placed and shaped stone on top of stone.

The city has a great feel to it, lots of travellers of course, but also great restaurants, bars, cafes, etc.  Everyone moves slowly here and it is all very relaxed, no doubt due to the altitude - you simply can’t move any faster!

Where the dyes come from
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Joke of the day  (as told by one of the Inca Trail guides):

What did one chick say to the other chick?

Let’s go down to the market and look at naked hens.

(Yeah, I don’t get it either)