Cusco!!!!

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Okay so out of all the places I went in Peru, this would be the one that I could live!!! Still a beautiful town with loads of history and things to do but also a fantastic nightlife and backpacker crowd!

3 days and 4 nights!

The train from Agua Calientes got us in at about 7.30pm so we decided to chill a bit before heading out to a local Coffee Bar. Nadine and me had bought a couple of industrial sized bottles of beer and not drank them the night before so the only thing to do was to try and drink them in the Cafe before heading out!! After cracking open the first bottle the staff got a bit wise and came over and had a mini Spanish rant at us.

Luckily my "excellent" Spanish came into use and I managed to say...Don't worry, we will eat!...then ordered some dumplings between the three of us and sat there until the beers were finished...sorted!

I also found out that it was Nadine's birthday and so the quiet night was thrown out the window and we headed straight to the nearest Irish Bar (they're everywhere!!!) for a few drinks before grabbing some free drinks from Mythology, a couple more free drinks from Mama Afrika and then spent most of the night dancing around the club.

+ Nadine managed to push a girl off the stage and then hide behind me so I got the brunt of it
+ Met a bunch of American guys who loved me because they thought I was a Yank...so I played along and for one night only I was from California
+ Met a bunch of York boys and a girl called Alex, who were a good laugh for a bit
+ Took Nadine home after the birthday drinking took it out of her
+ Proceeded to smash a full mammoth bottle of beer in my room trying to put Nadine to bed which left my room stinking the next morning!

Hello Cusco!!!!!

The next day was understandably chilled and we spent most of the day strolling around the centre and checking out the ruins etc in town. There was also a random parade in the centre that the local police were putting on which involved a brass band and a guy dressed up as a Disney style police officer!

That evening Rexy and me met up with the orhers from Larez for a goodbye meal and a few quiet drinks in the Irish Bar!

Day 3 I was determined to do something productive so grabbed Rexy and headed down to the Inca Museum. Some of this was very interesting, but having been told all about the Incas along the way, didnt add much new and looked a lot like a kids art project in places! Possibly would have been better if we'd splashed out for an English speaking guide, but hey...I'm poor!!

After this we headed down to a Photo Exhibition at Scotiabank which was actually really impressive and showed pictures of Machu Picchu when it was first discovered and people in Cusco through the ages!

After this I gave in to Rexy and we headed down to the local markets to check out the million and one ways to use Alpaca! Unfortunately, just as we got to the furthest point out of town it started to absolutely poor down!

Being typical tourists we were both in summer clothes, including flip flops and so tried to camp out in a shop doorway until it eased off...NEVER happened! After trying to hail several full taxis we gave up and headed back into town getting absolutely drenched in the process and having had all the locals staring at us like we were crazy. What made it easier was watching Rexy trying to walk the cobble roads in her shoes which had no grip at all. Probably should have helped her, but it was much funnier to watch.

Once the rain died off we decided to head to the Loki Hostel in Cusco to meet a few more people and find out what was going on that night. Immediately I loved being back in hostels...no security, loads of people and cheap drinks.

Within the first couple of hours we'd met loads of people....Rich, Neil, Irish Girls, Scot, Connor, Pete, German etc. (Hi!!!) and organised to meet up later that night to find the only Indian restaurant in Cusco!

Later on, things didnt really go to plan finding the restaurant and after a local Policeman tried to get us to go into his friend's cafe we gave up and picked the nearest place which happened to be a Chinese (in Peru...love it!). The food wads pretty awful, but also pretty cheap and so we got ut quick and headed to the bars and had a great night out.


+ Met a group of local Peruvians who'd been studying in the UK
+ Tried to convince a Peruvian guy I was from Bolivia
+ Took over the dancefloor in Mythology with some more great dance moves!!

The final day in Cusco was great...full breakfast, Peru style, at Jacks (great cafe and still cheap), chilling in the parks, and enjoying the fact that it wasnt raining!!!! That night we headed to Loki again for what was meant to be a quiet night, but didnt get in until 6am...we were leaving at 6.30!!!!

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