Culinary delights in Cusco

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And so to Cusco. Following an indescribably good hot shower after our canyon mission we boarded a 10 bus to Cusco, home of the Incas and gateway to Machu Picchu.

To start with the bus was just dandy, following the same scenic roads as our bus to the Canyon had followed two days before. Then the sun woke up and we started to bake. And then to steam. And then to roast. Up the very front with no windows or air conditioning we sweltered as the bus' temperature gauge hovered its way to 40 degrees and beyond.

Hours later as the sun slipped behind the clouds the temperature dropped nearer to 30 and we began to feel more human again. Then the rain drops started and roads began to fade. From our point of view at the very top front of the bus the cliff edges looked very close... until we couldn´t see one anymore. At that point all passengers were pulled off the bus and we walked down the road as the driver and his cronies worked to get the bus back onto the road and to safety. Back on board we continued on our merry way, only to round a corner to find another bus headfirst into the river below, with crowds of onlookers gathered round. We counted our lucky starts and settled back for some lovely variations of Mariah Carey in Spanish (think Ken Lee only worse!) as we headed for Cusco.

Cusco itself is a great place. Despite the hills it is lovely day or night, centred around an ancient plaza lined with churches, the cathedral and any number of British/Irish pubs to keep the punters happy. We wiled away our days visiting churches, the cathedral, the markets, Inca ruins (Saksaywaman, go on, say it , say it out loud!), eating ourselves silly (try the Mexican menu at Chez Maggy or the hot chocolate at Jacks) and visiting our happy little juice lady for strawberry & lime juice...mmmmdelicious!

Then, once we had recovered from our aches and pains after the Colca Canyon, and completed our mission to have matching alpaca wool scarves, gloves and socks we were off, on another adventure and on our way to the ancient city of Machu Picchu!

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