The lost city of the Inkas

Here we go!
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Hola amigos!

Well I finally made it! 24 hours from the time I left Windsor to the time I arrived in Puno.  First mistake, do not fly into altitude!  I was suppose to do Puno at the end of the trip but due to strikes I did it at the beginning.  When I landed I had suffered from altitude sickness, a pounding headache and nausea,  Instead of going to bed I decide to take a walk around town.  It felt like someone had put a plastic bag over my head.  I was panting, thought I was having a small heart attack. Here I thought it was because I was lazy and out of shape!  I took a boat tour of Lake Titicaca, very cool.  There are floating islands throughout the lake, straw and mud islands that people live on.  Very weird.  Got up early the next morning to take the Andean Express from Puno to Cuzco.  To think it took me 9.5 hours to travel from Halifax to Lima and 10 hours to travel 400km by train to Cuzco!  The trip is well worth it, highly recommended.  The scenery is breathtaking and my headache disappeared as I went to lower altitude.  Things got a little hectic once I arrived in Cuzco.  They drive like crazy people here, the streets are narrow cobblestone.  The rules of the road are there are no rules of the road, even the stray dogs know when it's safe to cross! The cars have the right of way and they honk when they think you are in the way.  There are street vendors everywhere!  Everybody trying to sell the same stuff.  I went on a city tour and saw some fantastic ruins, the next day I went to the Sacred Valley and toured more ruins.  If I leave South America without a broken ankle I will be extremely blessed.  There are holes in the sidewalks, uneven stones in the streets and the ruins have some very narrow, steep paths.

Puno
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On Thursday the whole country of Peru went on strike.  Cuzco was not too bad as they want the money from the tourists.  Despite the riots in the streets and  armed guards everywhere I felt pretty safe!  I just got back from Machu Picchu.  WOW!!!  Words cannot describe what it is like up there.  It was a perfectly clear day and the mosquitoes were out in fine form. The day was long. I got up at 5am took a 7am bus to Ollantaytambo, then took a 1.5 hour train to the base of Machu Picchu.  I then got on a bus for a 25 minute drive up this zig zag road.  When you get to the top and have the first look at the Inca City it takes your breath away.  After a few hours up there I did the whole ride back to Cuzco arriving at 9pm.  Very tired but excited.  On the way down, you see some young boys in these yellow costumes.  You don't think too much of it at the time as they wave to you.  A few bends later you see another kid waving on the side of the road.  Then again and again.  This kid races you down the mountain  and greets you at several points.  It took us 25 minutes to get down this crazy steep mountain, when you get to the  bottom, the bus follows him into town.  Unbelievable.  He does this for only a few soles.  1 Sole=0.30$ USD.  Totally nuts.  Tourists just love it, this kid earned his tip!  If I had to do it again (in a heartbeat) I would stay at the base of Machu Picchu and take an early bus up.  There is a hike up the main mountain that face the city that is suppose takes 40 minutes.  I think that is hard to believe, but they say it is well worth it!

Train ride from Puno to Cuzco
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Got on a flight to Lima where Rocio's friends picked me up.  The 4 of us went on a city tour and out for a nice seafood lunch on the ocean.  I spent the night with Cecilia and Adrian, they took me in as one of the family.  The next day Rocio´s brother Martin and his wife Berta took me for day showing me the sites of Lima.  We went for a seafood dinner at their tennis club on the ocean.  Amazing.  There was so much food, I was full from the appertizers.  We had to bag up my main meal for left overs!  The whole family and I went for supper, I was still full from lunch.  I don´t know how they do it!  EAT, EAT, EAT!!  Rocio´s family and friends made my stay very memorable in Peru, I love it there!

Sacsayhuaman
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THANK YOU!!!!!!!