Arco Iris and Llama Sightings

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It took a border crossing and 18 hours on a bus before I made it to Cusco, a city of rainbows and llamas. Cusco isn't huge, but it has a lot to offer. Vegetarian restaurants, handmade alpaca wool crafts, parks, cafes, tourist attractions and the hawkers that come with them. The dining in Cusco is good, and there is a lot of Cuy available, though it will cost you if you choose to eat it. Cuy is something like a guinea pig which, as I know from past experience, is a tasty dish if prepared right. It is a lot like rabbit, so if you skip it then you aren't missing too much!

The Peruanos that I encountered were very friendly, easy to talk to and understand, and, when shopping, very willing to bargain. Speaking to them was much easier then speaking to Chilenos with their dropped syllables and pos. For the most part I had very positive encounters with them. Of course in every tourist area, especially one like Cusco that sees so much traffic, you run into people who aren't so happy with the foreigners in their city, but they are the minority.

We stayed in Loki Hostel, full of Aussies, Israelis, and a few French travelers. It is a fun atmosphere, perfect if you are looking for a party. As we were working on going to Macchu Picchu and managing the altitude sickness, we didn't spend much time in the bar. The food was good, including nachos made with Doritos (they know their crowd, don't they?) and Thai style curries.

We weren't in Cusco long as we caught a train the second day we were there and headed through the valleys to Aguas Calientes and the famous ruins.

**Apologies for the wait for my final entries, I did the thing I said I would not do with this blog and ignored the blog for almost 6 months. Oops. I will be completing and adding to the entries now, because I have time and photos from a recent trip to China!**

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