South America Day 53 - Cuzco

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We finally reach Cusco just before 6 am. It has taken 24 hours, 3 taxis, 2 buses and a ferry. We are tired, hungry, thirsty and smelly so it’s a relief to check into our hotel.

After we have regrouped, we go for a wander round Cusco. It’s very pretty with cobbled streets, plazas and plenty of old churches and other buildings. But it’s hard work dodging the hundreds of touts and vendors. Especially as my back has not coped well with the 17 hour bus journey.

I go to a pharmacy and ask for something for backache. I am offered some huge pink tablets that look like they could tranquillise an elephant. She’s disappointed when I opt for just Paracetamol.

In the afternoon I retire hurt while the old man goes off to do important chores; laundry and the purchase of ice cream.

We round the evening off with dinner at Hanz Craft Beer which scores highly on TripAdvisor. It’s good food and good beer but the prices are more than I’d pay in the UK - £10 a pint! What’s that all about? There is a man at the next table who has Luke Skywalker tattooed on one arm and Darth Vader in the other. He can put his arms together and make them fight.

We walk back through the Plaza de Armas. The atmosphere is buzzing. A succession of folk dance groups performs with hordes or tourists stopping to watch, whilst dozen of vendors try to sell their wares. The old man can’t resist a woolly hat. We return to the hotel with me pretending not to know him.

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