Blogs from Cusco, Cusco, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 25

The flight to Cuzco is only 1.5 hours so we never reached a very high altitude and you could always see the beautiful clouds, mountains, and valleys down below. It was a truly breathtaking flight. We arrived by 8 a.m. and got conned by a taxi driver at the airport to not only pay him way too much to get into town, but also to stay at his hotel for $20/night. Looking back, I would’ve walked outside the airport parking lot and hailed my own taxi and gone to whatever hostel I wanted to. Tips for other travelers. So, we checked into his hotel and immediately got to work trying to schedule things for a trip to Machu Picchu. The lady at our hotel, also the owner’s wife, wanted to book everything for us (city tour ... read more

We are in Cuzco, Peru now and it is WAY better than Lima. It is a pretty cool little town that is in a very scenic valley up in the Andes. Unlike Lima, which seemed to be filled with wealthier travellers looking to go shopping, Cuzco is full of young backpackers looking for an adventure. It is a pretty neat little city with steep hills, coblestone roads, old Spanish cathedrals, and scenic views. However, Cuzco doesn't really seem like a place that people come to hang out at as much as it is a hub to plan an andventure. There are literally hundreds of tour guides here in the city offering anything from plush jungle lodge stays to white water rafting adventures. We hung out in the city today, mainly just wandering around and exploring. We ... read more

Monday 28.6.2010 day 257 Cuzco and the Sacred Valley We had a very early flight so we got up at 2:30am and got the taxi to the airport at 3am. When our flight was ready to leave they announced that the flight was delayed due to bad weather. Our flight eventually left 2 and half hours late. We had sent an email for a taxi pick up but they said they did not read it till it was too late. So we got a cab back to our hotel and checked in and had some special high altitude tea. As we were feeling a little excursed after our tip. We talked to the travel agent at the hostel and found out the number that we were given by the travel agent in Lima was missing a ... read more

Trying desperately to catch up on this blog before my next big adventure (in the jungle!) ... Here we go: 23/06 (continued..) The colectivo from Ollantaytambo dropped us off in Plaza San Fransisco (a bit off of the tourist part of Cuzco and filled with ice cream and other food vendors) and we made our way toward our hostel. Our path was blocked by a parade that would make the thanksgiving day parade look like a funeral procession - it was the day before Inti Raymi, which takes place on June 24th. In case you are a bit rusty on your international pagan festivals, I´ll fill you in. Inti Raymi is officially a reenactment of the Inca ritual worship of the sun god. It takes place on the winter solstice (the Incas put the winter solstice ... read more

hola amigos! cuzco is just so damn cool. i walk around and it hits me that this place is unlike any other and i love it for that. yesterday was the really important and huge incan holiday of inti raymi and celebrations started wedensday morning and ended late last night. there have been outrageous, colorful, loud, incredible parades for over 24 hours with different groups and places around the city represented in traditional clothing, playing their specific music, and doing traditional dances. there was even a dance off in the plaza de armas of traditional incan dances. all of the towns and schools prepare their own march and it was saweeet. it was crazy busy and more people packed into one street than i have ever seen in my entire life. on thursday- the offical day ... read more