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Published: January 5th 2007
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Stepping off the plane in Cusco was interesting, to say the least. We had no idea what to expect, with the altitude and everything we'd read about. The altitude itself we didn't really notice until our pick-up dropped us off at the bottom of a hill with lots of steps leading up to our hostel. 118 steps, and we had to rest at about every 7... The hostel still served breakfast, which helped a bit.
Formerly the capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco is a mix of Inca and colonial buildings. On the main square (Plaza de Armas), the conquistadors executed the last Inca ruler (Tupac Amaru), in 1572. Today it's a third of the size it was in Inca times, but still quite an impressive sight.
Our hostel - Loki - wasn't really what we expected, and reminded us that we're not 22 anymore. Full of early 20-somethings (or teenagers even), with our room just under the bar, we had a hard time sleeping the first couple of nights. Back from the Inca trail (see separate post), we got a different room, wich improved the situation a bit. Still a bit damp though.
We spent the first
Cusco
from Loki Hostel couple of days walking around Cusco, making last-minute purchases for the hike and adjusting to the altitude (2500m).
Back from the Inca trail we took a one-day bus tour to see a few sights in the Sacred Valley. The quality of the guide was lightyears away from the amazing guide we had on the Inca Trail. This was certainly a true tourist trip, completely different from the hike. We saw some nice sights though (Pisac, Intihuatana, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero), but nothing can really compare to the experience of the Inca trail and Macchu Picchu.
All in all, Cusco is an OK place to prepare for the Inca trail, and a general visit for a few days. Other than that, disappointingly, not that impressive.
(BTW, you know that you can view pictures in a larger format by clicking on them, we hope.)
Det var minst sagt intressant att kliva av planet i Cusco. Vi hade ingen aning vad som vantade oss, forutom hojden ovet havet och annat vi last om. Vi markte inte riktigt av hojden forran vi blev avslappta nedanfor backen upp till vart vandrarhem. Backen hade 118 trappsteg, och vi fick lov att
Plaza de Armas
in Cusco. Notice the cross on the hill on the left and a Christ statue on the hill on the right. vila vid vart sjunde ungefar... Vandrarhemmet serverade fortfarande frukost, vilket hjalpte lite.
Tidigare huvudstad i Inkaimperiet, Cusco ar en blandning av Inka- och kolonialbyggnader. Pa stora torget, Plaza de Armas, avrattade conquistadorerna den sista inkaledaren (Tupac Amaru) 1572. Idag ar det en tredjedel sa stort som pa inkatiden, men anda ganska imponerande.
Vart vandrarhem - Loki - var inte riktigt vad vi hade vantat oss, och paminde oss om att vi inte ar 22 langre. Fullt av 20-aringar (sakert en del tonaringar ocksa), vart rum precis nedanfor baren gjorde det svart att sova de forsta natterna. Val tillbaka fran inkaleden (se separat inlagg) fick vi ett annat rum vilket forbattrade saken lite. Fortfarande lite fuktigt dock.
De forsta dagarna gick vi omkring i Cusco, gjorde nagra sistaminuteninkop for inklaleden och anpassade oss till hojden (2500m).
Tillbaka fran inkaleden tog vi en endagstur med buss for att se nagra sevardheter i den heliga dalen runt staden. Kvaliten pa guide var ljusar fran den fantastiska guiden vi hade pa inklaleden. Detta var verkligen en ren turistresa (jfr Sallskapsresans promenad i staden med kvinnorna som virkar dukar!), helt annorlunda mot inkaleden. Vi sag nagra fina sevardgeter dock (Pisac, Intihuatana,
Pizza
from the oven at Sara Wasi tasted just fine. Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero), men ingenting kan tavla med upplevelsen pa inkaleden och Macchu Picchu.
Allt som allt, Cusco ar ett OK stalle att forbereda sig for inkaleden och att besoka i ett par dagar. For ovrigt inte sa imponerande.
(Forresten, ni vet val att ni kan klicka pa bilderna for att se en storre version?)
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