Carnival Cusco style

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Day 137 Saturday 25^th February

Woke up at 4.00am did the final pack and got ready and we jumped in a taxi at 5.00am to the airport which is about an half hour drive and $58 reals with no traffic. Our flight is with Taca International and was an airbus to Lima on the way we crossed the Atlantic Ocean leaving Rio, over the Andes and then the Pacific Ocean. Lima airport was a little confusing as there were no signs to the domestic airlines, we also had to deal with a new time zone and we had conflicting help on when our plane was leaving. At one point we thought we only had 15 minutes to get to our flight but after going through customs we worked it out and had over an hour before boarding the next flight at 11.15am.

The next flight to Cusco was on a smaller plane than the airbus but still fairly modern, this flight is only one hour so we were no sooner taking off before we were getting ready to land. The view out the window was amazing and I kept thinking of my grandparents doing this flight in the 1970’s with my poor grandmother locked in the toilet being sick with announcements asking her to return to her seat due to turbulence. Thankfully our flight was smooth as we entered Cusco the view disappeared and we were surrounded with thick cloud which is a worry knowing there are mountains out there, lucky there are radars. All of a sudden the cloud disappeared and we rounded a hill (that was so close I could see the fleas on the alpaca standing on it) to land at Cusco airport which is at an altitude of 3,300m, we collected our luggage and went out the front for a taxi. It is always pot luck choosing a taxi at the airport without official taxi desks, but a man approached us and said he would take us to the hotel for 30 Sols (about AUD $10), we got worried when he started leading us away from the main taxi area. We stopped and asked where he was leading us and he pointed to a minivan and showed us an official looking ID, which of course meant nothing to us but not to worry we got to our hotel safely. We settled into the hotel and about 2.00pm went for a walk up to the main square Plaza De Armas for a look around, this town is postcard perfect in every direction and clean. We had expected it to be more rustic and gritty so we were surprised. We started to walk up the hill beside the plaza and we both were affected by the altitude not bad but definitely you could feel the difference. When we got back to the plaza we stopped at one of the cafes overlooking the plaza for a bite to eat, the food was average but it had great views.

We headed back to the hotel and decided to have an early night as we were both exhausted by 9.00pm.



Day 138 Sunday 26^th February

Breakfast at this hotel starts at 5.00 and finishes at 9.00am quite early compared to other hotels we have been at where we venture down at 9.00 unless we have something special on. After breakfast we went for a walk not expecting anything much to be opened being Sunday, but as we got to the main plaza we saw large groups of people in costume and I had left the good camera at the hotel. We quickly walked back and grabbed it and asked the reception what was happening and were told it was the Carnival parade. Amazing we have fluked another carnival although this one is on a different scale than Rio and definitely adhoc, but everyone was enjoying themselves throwing water bombs, spraying foam and throwing the occasional bungers (fireworks). People were walking through the groups and getting photos taken with them and the only serious section was in front of the Cathedral where the judges were seated. We watched the parade till the end about 1.00pm there were only two small floats, 4 horses (that was 4 more than Rio) and each group only had about 30 people, but there were numerous colourful ones.

After the parade we went for a walk and checked out another square that was selling local food for the carnival, but it was so crowded we kept walking. By now we were hungry so went in search of food and found an Asian restaurant Bambu that did sushi and stir fries, this place is a winner the food is tasty and portions huge. We waddled back to the hotel and rested for the rest of the afternoon before going to the hotel bar to redeem our free Pisco Sour drink and watching some of Oscars on TV.



Day 139 Monday 27^th February

The room we have at the Taypikala Hotel is huge with a large bathroom with spa bath, which is all good except that it is a large space to heat and all we have to do the job is a tiny electric/oil heater. The temperatures at night here in Cusco drop to about 8-9 degrees so it has come as a very rude shock to us after the 26 degree nights of Rio. Thankfully our bed comes with a thick doona so we are able to keep fairly warm through the night but it is hard getting up. The coffee at breakfast is a bit of an odd one and it comes out like thick syrup that I then need to water down before adding milk. The first morning as I started to pour it an American behind me said “I am unsure if you like your coffee strong, but you are probably best to add some water to that. We have been here a couple of mornings now and we still haven’t perfected the formula for a perfect cup”. Luckily I’m not too fussy with my coffee and I am starting to get better at the morning mix.

After breakfast we skipped out the door to spend the day looking over the town. The place is incredible, with just about every laneway lined with the ancient Inca stonework. Just around the corner from our Hotel is the huge remains of an Incan temple to the Sun and Moon, which we are putting off for another day, but we walked up the laneway every time on our walk into the centre of town. It sort of seems weird to be just strolling past these incredible walls in urban surroundings. In the centre of town is the Plaza de Armas, which is ringed with ancient churches and colonial era buildings. Most of the churches were built on top of the remains of the Incan buildings, and you can clearly see the difference between the two types of stonework. The churches all have a very steep 25 Sol ($9) each entry fee, which adds up if you enter several so once again we have opted to leave that to another day before picking which ones may be worth it.

From the Plaza we took a hard hike up the hill around some of the more “touristy” laneways. This at least gave us a chance to check out the souvenir shops, which there are hundreds. They all sell almost exactly the same stuff, Alpaca fabrics, silver jewellery, T-shirts, etc, etc. All of them put on a huge hard sell, to the point they are almost pleading with you to buy stuff, and you really do start to feel sorry for them because you just can’t see how they can all make a living. After taking a slow “hassled” walk up the hill we found ourselves at the Plaza San Blas, where we found a quiet spot to sit beside the church under a tree and to take a rest. Before we knew we were set upon by jewellery sellers, guys flogging paintings and kids wanting to shine our shoes. Finally a woman sat in front of us and proceeded to weave a belt for us, which of course she had plenty of others to sell to us. All this is done with smiles and none are aggressive but it can start to strain your patience.

Headed back down the hill and passed by Cusco’s most famous Inca wall that contains the legendary 12 sided block. Most of the Inca walls we had seen contain the weirdest assortment of interlinked shaped and the 12 sided one is one of the largest and weirdest. It is really remarkable stonework but I still can’t understand why anyone would bother going to all this trouble and not just make all the stones the same uniform sizes. At this most famous of walls it was a bit of a tourist circus and after a quick photo we were glad to scamper. Back down at the plaza we thought we might look at getting a tour out to some of the nearby Inca sites when we happened to bump into Bryan and Shirley. They are an Australian couple who are staying at our hotel and are in the process of riding a motorcycle from Ushuaia to Alaska and then onto Europe and Africa before going home. We probably spent nearly an hour chatting to them about their adventures and what to do in town and they gave us a tip on a good tour company so when they took off to do a bus tour we walked on to the tour company and booked a couple of tours for the next two days. After booking the tours we wandered back to our hotel a different way and stumbled upon more amazing Inca walls and scenic views.

Went for dinner at the same restaurant as yesterday and tried different stir fries, while we were there some other tourists were raving about the sushi so we may try that next time. On the way back to the hotel we passed through the main square which was all lit up with the hills behind dotted with lights it truly is a beautiful town.

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Photos

Cusco
Group of women in the parade

Cusco
A moment of thought

Cusco
Parade of hats

Cusco
Colourful dancers

Cusco
Cusco Diva

Cusco
Happy Feet

Cusco
One of the floats

Cusco
Getting a lift

Cusco
The four horseman

Cusco
Dancers

Cusco
Paraders being sprayed with foam

Cusco
Swirling dancers

Cusco
Parade overview and the second float

Cusco
Inca wall near our hotel

Cusco
The parade passing one of the plaza's churches

Cusco
Main door of Cathedral in Plaza de Armas

Cusco
Plaza de Armas

Cusco
One of the streets of Cusco

Cusco
Looking over the roof tops

Cusco
The 12 sided stone

Comments

[traudy glasencnik]

Looks delightful.
Very pretty, romantic too. Love the colours. I like small towns nestled with in the mountains. I agree, why wouldnt you cut the stones to similar sizes? Does look arty thou. x