Cusco, Peru

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My journey from La Paz to Cusco took two days because I made a stop overnight in the town of Puno on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca. The journey from La Paz to Puno was fairly short at around six hours, which included quite a while at the border. We had to walk over the river that represents the border on foot, which gave it a sense of occasion. On the Peru side there was a long row of tables with parasols and under each sat a local woman in traditional dress offering a change of currency.

After the formalities were dealt with we returned to the bus and continued to the unspectacular Puno. I hadn't heard many good reports of the place but I wanted to break my journey so I stayed there anyway. I stayed in a plush guesthouse in a private room, which was a nice change from staying in hostel dorms. I took a short stroll after dinner down to the side of the lake, but I didn't hang about too long as there wasn't much to see and an unpleasant odour to smell.

To get from Puno to Cusco I took a tourist bus instead of a normal bus. This bus took the whole day to get because it included a number of stops to visit a museum, a church, a restaurant, a viewpoint and the ruins of an Inca temple. The tour was interesting and the stops broke up the journey nicely so it did not seem like a long journey. I have now travelled from Ushuaia to Cusco exclusively by road; a trip of over 150 hours and half the length of the continent.

To the Incas, Cusco meant "centre of the world" and this name reflects the fact that the city was the centre of the Inca empire. The city was built in the shape of a puma, but it now spreads out much further than its original area and it has lost its puma shape. The way into the town was not pretty and I was a bit disappointed to see the city that was to be my home for the best part of two weeks. The centre, fortunately, retains much more traditional architecture and this makes it a very nice place to stay.

My hostel is a large, 400-year-old building on a hill overlooking the centre and there are some great views from the window. The roofs of the buildings are all terracota tiles and the low buildings and green hills remind me a little of Tuscany in Italy. The centre of the city is a large square called Plaza de Armas that is surrounded by grand buildings and filled grassy areas, benches and a fountain. This makes it a nice place to sit and relax.

There are several nightclubs around the main square and I had a few good nights there with some folks from my hostel. On one night I was on the balcony of one club that overlooks the main square and I got talking to a Swedish guy who had been to Edinburgh last year. He had gone to the Edinburgh derby and he had picked up a few songs. He was a bit drunk (unlike the rest of us, of course!) and he starting singing "Mixu Paatelainen, what a f***ing signing, da da da da, da da da da". This was a bizarre and funny thing to hear somebody sing in the middle of Peru.

Tourism is big business in Cusco and most of the centre is filled with travel agencies, shops, restaurants and bars. When you walk through the streets you are continuously approached by people offering massages or trying to sell paintings. Crime seems pretty low though and you feel safe; especially given the large police presence.

I spent one day of my stay here on a tour of the city's banks in an attempt to send US$ 1100 to Ecuador for my forthcoming trip to the Galapagos Islands. This took about five hours of running around numerous banks in order to get together the dollars in cash and then arrange for them to be dispatchecd. The rest of my time has been spent lazily wandering around the town, sitting about the hostel or going out at night. I have to admit that I ate three times in an Irish pub and twice in a British pub, which was hardly sampling the local culture. The British pub did offer imported baked beans though!

I went to watch Cienciano versus Bolognesi in the Copa Libertaores - the South American version of the Champions league - on my last day. This interfered with my plans to post the things I had bought home, but it was good to get to a competitive match. The quality and atmosphere wasn't great; however it was good enough to jusify the two pounds I paid for a ticket. The home side won 1-0 so most people were pleased. They had a bit of fortune though as Bolognesi twice hit the crossbar. Bolognesi were criticised by the radio pundits after the game for their negative style so perhaps Cienciano did deserve the victory.

Four days of my time here were spent on a tour to Macchu Picchu, which was fillled with activities and the subject of a separate blog. I have taken it easy the rest of my time here because I knew the tour would be busy. Please see the other blog for more on the tour and please look at the following link for photos of Cusco:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29586&l=8b92a&id=603086503

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