Advertisement
Published: September 3rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
After what was a pretty average bus ride from Puno to Cusco we quickly got a cab to our prearranged hostel. The first thing we did we head for the shower. Well needed after a long journey and the cold showers of Copacabana. Finally we had decent hot showers. This is very much a luxury in South America. After a quick bite to eat we went out to see Cusco and to see if we could arrange a tour. This is where we ran into a little bit of trouble. By we I really just mean Manuela. After booking her flight for the 26th she had now come to the realisation that she wanted to come with us to Machu Picchu and do the trek there. Turns out that she must be in love with us as there is no getting rid of her. If you read this Manuela I kid. So this involved us having to see if she could change her flight. After firing off and email and a short call we left that to run its course and went out to see the Incan ruins sorrounding Cusco. Cusco is the former capital of the Inca empire so around
Cusco itself and even within Cusco there are remnants of it's former owners.
Deciding we had been at altitude long enough and wanting to exercise a bit we decided to walk up the hills to the first set of ruins. On the way we ran into a guide who does horse tours of the surrounding areas and ruins. Manuela was very keen to go on a horse tour but Clinton and I were content to save some money and walk. So we parted ways temporarily. The first set of ruins is Sacsayhuamán which is an old fortress of the Incas. What makes it special is two things. Firstly it's shape. It is a massive zigzag wall which makes it incredibly hard to assault. The second thing is the stone masonry. Typical of Incan stone work the stones sit perfectly together with absolutely no mortar to hold them. It is rather impressive to see especially as the stones are all different sizes and some weigh up to 5 tonnes.
From there we followed the road to several other Incan ruins. The others aren't as impressive as Sacsayhuamán but it was a day well spent. Most of the ruins are
not complete as they were largely destroyed and looted upon the arrival of the Spanish. A shame really as it would be impressive to see these in their former glory. With legends of the jewells and gold of the Incas it must have been an incredible site to witness in the new world. But all in all it was good to get a proper taster of Incan ruins and culture before heading on our trek to Machu Picchu. That night we did what we do every night Pinky............ah sorry that is drank beer and had some food. It also came with the good news that Manuela had changed her flight and was therefore free to travel with us to Machu Picchu.
The next morning we set off to see more of Machu Picchu and also to book our Inca Jungle Trek. We had decided the day before which comapany to go with. We decided to use Liz's as she was slightly excentric and gave us a good deal. Unfortunately she was closed that morning so we had to wait a bit until we could book it. So we decided to walk around Cusco itself. The town is very pretty
Sacsayhuamán
with randoms. with several plazas and many churches and sites to visit. We decided to visit the former main Incan holy site. Which the Spanish had conveniently decided to build a Church over. It was rediscovered in parts after an earthquake and has since started to be excavated in parts oddly with association of the church. While it holds none of it's former glory it was a nice place visit. So after that was completed we headed back to Liz's to get our tour. So once that was booked we went to quickly grab the cash needed to pay for the tour. Again money problems for Manuela. While we did find a machine to take Maestro it ended up clocking her card for a wrong pin entry. Again Clinton and I had to spring to the rescue of the poor little German girl. With tour booked we headed back to the hostel for a bit of relaxation before the four days of trekking.
That night we had a few beers and a decent meal. But mainly spent the time playing some boardgames and having a chat to a nice Brazilian guy we met at our hostel. We all headed to bed
I forget.
But one of the other ruins. relatively early for the big trek coming over the next few days.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.087s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 10; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0449s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb