Post Picchu

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Phew! We have returned, tired but very relaxed and happy, after our three night Inca Trail to the ruins of Machu Picchu. It was just awesome and we are really looking forward to our next "big walk" when we reach Milford Sound in New Zealand.

We were amazingly lucky as we were the only two people to reserve with the tour operator, so had the guide, the enthusiastic and ardent Marco, all to ourselves. This meant we could take a break when we wanted (very important on the second day where you climb to Dead Womans Pass at 4,200m!) and had time with Marco to really get to know about both the Incas and the modern Cusquenian way of life. We were very surprised at the food on the trek, something we had not given much thought to beforehand. Three course breakfasts, lunches and dinners cooked up by the chef, Juan, on a calor gas stove. The man is a magician.

The views on the trail were stunning throughout and MP itself is almost hypnotically beautiful as the mist clears early in the morning. Later, bus loads of tourists start to overwhelm the ruins so the 4-day trek to see them when only a few poncho-wearing fellow trekkers are there is well worth it. After a full morning exploring the Inca ruins, we said an emotional farewell to Marco and headed to Aguas Calientes, the nearest town, for a much, much, much needed bath in the hot springs before getting the train back to Cusco for clean sheets and a warm bed.

Cusco is a lovely city. It is less polluted then the others we have been to and, despite being very touristy, manages to remain authentic and charming. We have had a fantastic 4 nights at either side of the Inca Trail at a lovely quiet hostel (o, middle age!) and last night, Halloween, enjoyed seeing the local kids runing about in their costumes trick or treating. One desperate little vampire accepted our cold chips as treats which he added to the spoils in his overflowing pumpkin. Bless.

Oh, we had an interesting journey to Cusco as, just outside the city, the villagers are revolting! Meaning the local campesinos have barricaded the road in objection to the building of a big energy plant in their beautiful countryside. Our bus from Arequipa took us to Puno in the south of Peru instead of Cusco. Thanks for telling us! We decided not to risk what could have been an ardous and very, very long bus journey from Puno to Cusco that day but teamed up with a really nice German and Swiss couple to review our options. Luckily, they had better Spanish than we do! We decided to resort to the credit card and flew to Cusco or we may have missed the chance to do the Inca Trail. A wise decision which we have not regretted and our first "mini adventure".

Tomorrow is Day of the Dead and we will be on a bus to Puno (again!) where it is much, much colder due to a higher altitude. We will hopefully get to spend some time on the Islands of Lago Titicaca before heading to Bolivia.

We are having a fantastic time; friendly and fun people, food, company (most of the time!) and weather.

Sorry for lack of photos again. If anyone has any clues for these luddites as to how you upload piccies to this site, please let us know!

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