Cuzco,The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu

Before we arrived in Cuzco we knew we would be spending a long time there so we decided to get an apartment. As there was 8 of us it worked out a lot cheaper than staying in a hostel. Because we had the apartment we were able to cook a few decent meals which made a nice change. The boys even managed to get hold of a play station for the week. We tried a few traditional meals in town including alpaca, which tasted really good and also guinia pig which looked quite scary as it arrived at the table complete with head, teeth and claws.

After a few days we decided to rent a couple of motorbikes and rode through the Sacred Valley with our friend Josh. It took 8 hours to complete the loop and the scenery was amazing. The only problem was arriving at the wrong end of the city in rush hour, but after a few wrong turns we managed to get back.

Once our week was up in the apartment we left for Machu Picchu on the Inca Jungle trek with 4 friends from the apartment. We began on the first day by mountain biking downhill through the Andean valleys to a small village where we spent the first night. On the second day we trekked for 8 hours and spent some time on the Inka trail through the mountains heading towards machu Picchu and finally arriving at some hot springs. The third day was spent climbing up a series of 30+ meter ladders and then hiking to the top of Putocussy, a mountain where you are able to see Machu Picchu across the valley. On our last day we awoke at 3.30am and began our trek to the top of Machu Picchu. We managed to get there for sunrise to beat the crowds of buses before the ruins were filled with tourists. It was amazing to see and although extremely touristy was well worth it. We also managed to beat the running tourists to book our tickets to walk up Wachu Pichu, a mountain which sits high up behind Machu Picchu as only 200 people are allowed up per day. The trip was alot of fun and everyone had a good time, the only down side was our guide who was absolutely useless. He didnt tell us anything while we were walking and didnt even walk with us most of the time. This along with him constantly trying to con extra money off us ment he was not getting a tip to say the least. But to top things off the company messed up some of the train tickets for the journey back which resulted in Dave missing his train and getting stranded there. The guide and the company also refused to pay for another ticket or to sort out transport back to Cuzco. As there where no buses Dave had to walk 5 hours back to the next town then hitch a lift on the back of a bamboo truck for 8 hours back, not exactly ideal. When he arrived back at the agency we did however get some money back.

Although extremely tired after the trek we wanted to get the motorbikes again but this time for 2 days. We hired a tent and rode through the valley to Lares, a village high in the Andes which has thermal baths. After a freezing cold and long ride we arrived in the village and headed straight for the baths, one of them was 30 degrees and another was too hot to even dip in, being nearly 50 degrees. The night consisted of cooking burgers by a fire and plenty of rum. That was about it for Cuzso, we were sad too leave after spending so long there and its definately one of our favourite places.

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