Advertisement
Published: December 15th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Sacsayhuaman
Why pay for ruins when you can see them for free? First of all, before my mother goes off to phone the British Embassy, it wasn´t really a kidnap. It´s just an over the top headline to grab your attention and make you keep reading. And it worked didn´t it? Good. Let's continue.
The night bus from Arequipa to Cusco was apparently really noisy and uncomfortable. I'm having to go on what Beth said to tell you that, as I slept throughout the entire journey. When I awoke at around 6am, we were just pulling into the old Inca capital city of Cusco.
Our rooms weren´t quite ready upon our arrival at the hostel, so the morning was mainly spent watching films and playing pool. It turned out Mike and Ellie from Huaccachina were still here, so it was nice to catch up with them again. They were heading out for a roast dinner at the English pub, and it seemed rude not to join them, especially as I hadn't had a roast since leaving home. Sadly, it left a lot to be desired, the Yorkshire Pudding especially was a write off. However, they did have their own home brewed beer on draught, and this was very pleasant, so it
wasn't all bad.
The evenings activities consisted of quite a lot of rum, which meant the next mornings activites didn't consist of very much at all! By late afternoon, and after a restorative plate of chinese rice (strangely, one of the most popular dishes here in Peru) I was ready for a wander up the hill with Beth to Sacsayhuaman, an Inca ruin just outside Cusco. Being cheap sods, we didn't pay to go in, but instead walked up a nearby hill to get a free view. As well as the ruins, there were also fine views over Cusco, so Beth sat down to draw. This made us a bit of an attraction for Peruvian schoolkids who were up visiting, and 3 separate groups came up to get their pictures with the gringos.
The last group offered us a lift back into Cusco with them, and as it was getting cold, we accepted. However, it soon became apparent that this wasn't their course at all, as we headed further and further away from the town centre. Eventually they stopped at the bus station, which is a fair way out of town. We thanked them for the lift anyway,
Jesus statue
Who needs to go to Rio anyway? and got a taxi back the way we came.
The following day, we set off to book our trek to Machu Picchu. We'd eventually decided on the Salkantay trek, and prepared for a hard slog of going into different tour agencies to get the best price. Beforehand, the best price we'd heard of anyone getting was the entire trek for $180, so imagine our joy at the first place we went into offering us the trek for $165. With the trip paid for, we headed off for our next destination, Tipon, to try the local delicacy, guinea pig...
...Or not. Beth decided she'd rather go after the trek than before, so instead I headed into the market to try another Peruvian speciality, ceviche. The plate I got was heavily spiced raw trout, served with rice and beans, and I have to say it was absolutely delicious. It has a bit of a reputation for unsettling stomachs, so I was a bit worried with the trek starting the next day, but fortunately I came out fine.
In the evening, we went for a briefing about our trek, and met our guide Fabian/Pio, who was to lead us hopefully
Cusco
Arch on Plaza San Francisco all the way to Machu Picchu. After a run round the supermarket collecting essentials such as water and Inca Energy bars, it was back for an early night, we were expected to be up and ready to be picked up at 4:30am!
To find out whether we made it, or whether I just slept through the alarm, and missed Machu Picchu altogether, you better read my next entry.
Stewart
Advertisement
Tot: 0.117s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 15; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0626s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb