Blogs from Cusco, Cusco, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 56

Pictures from Cuzco, our hike through the Andes through various lands of the Cachicama community, and some of the areas around Cuzco (Ollantaytambo, Tipon, Pikillacta and San Geronimo).... read more

Well we hit Lima (well Mirafloes which is the posh suburb on the coast) and instantly noticed how lovely and fun all the locals were. The little guy on the plane gave me his card and home address and telephone number and said if we hit any trouble and needed a place to stay or help with anything just give him a buzz. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in style at a nice Hotel, where they gave us a top floor suite, and had dinner looking over the coastline while sipping on our Pisco Sours. Not to be beaten I ordered another Lemon/Lime Slushy and survived this time. For all those who questioned why you would order a lime slushy, it is not an artifical lime slushy that you get at the service station when ... read more

We were out of bed at 0830 and had to have a cold shower as I couldn’t figure out the electric heating system. We bumped into David - the Irishman we had met in Nazca - who was staying at the same hostel and between us we solved New Zealand’s and the worlds rugby problems. The sun was out when we finally decided to do something so we went to the ATM to get finds to pay for the backpacker train to Cusco US$100 each and our flight from Cusco to Lima US$117 each. Jo found a BNZ MasterCard by the ATM so we wrote a message saying to meet us at our hostel between 1200 and 1300 and left it by the machine. Everywhere around Plaza de Armas gringos are approached by “travel agencies”, people ... read more

Well, it has been a wild ride since arriving in Cuzco- acclimatizing to 10,000ft/3,400m, being pan-handled constantly and spending a night in the hospital have all been a part of the Peruvian experience so far. Connie arrived on Sunday 10/12 after 30 hours of flying on 5 different planes. The first day included getting oriented to the city, eating and going to bed early with a huge headache. Cuzco has the feel of a southern European city complete with tourist shops and restaurants for all types of travelers. It is uniquely Peruvian with traditionally dressed women selling their artwork and traditional food. Acutally, it seems as if everybody here had something to sell! There is a great local market in the center of town for buying fruits, vegetables, meats and handicrafts. The Peruvians are very welcoming ... read more

Before we reach ollytaytambo we did a tour thru the sacred valley....whichis a very fertile valley here with a lot of incan ruins...and apparently 3000 types of potato...altho susupiciously no one i asked could name more than 4... the main ruin in ollytaytambo is a sun temple...all the ruins here are in remarkably good condition...espcially since you are allowed to climb all over them....and there is nothing resembling a handrail anywhere... then after a nights nap we headed out to the lares trek... the lares trek is a 3 day trek thru the peruvian highlands...which basically consists of climbing a large mountain and then coming down the other side...it started off perfectly...amazing scenary, good lunch..but then we had to start walking...and let me tell you that walking up a mountain at altitude is not easy...not easy ... read more