The Inca Capital

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Arriving in Cuzco at the Cruz del Sur office we again encountered the usual scene. With my patience wearing thin with the taxi drivers in Peru we both weren´t in the mood for their games. We were going to Incama hostel, they started at 10 soles which we knew was way overpriced, fair enough they can ask high, but when the guy tried to tell me the hostel was "muy lejos" or very far away (even though it is only a few minutes in a cab) I was ready to strangle him. I left it to Deb to bargain down to 5 soles while I tried to keep my hands in my pockets. Our hostel was only quiet and in a nice location, a nice owner and we even had a nice room with fresh flowers, thanks to Siobhan for the recommendation.
We have to admit our time in Cuzco itself has been great, as touristy as it is it was much better than we had been anticipating, a lovely plaza, narrow cobbled streets, a lively atmosphere and still the ambience of an Incan capital. We have arrived just outside of peak season so we have been told it gets even busier, our first day we wandered the streets and had a lovely breakfast sitting on a balcony overlooking the streets, many of the buildings here, including the churches have a reddy tinge to them, similar to the mountains and hills in the surroundings. We had some nice meals in Paddy Flahertys, and Deb even managed to have a couple of Ciders.
The second day I went up to Saqsaywaman (for people coming you need to buy the tourist ticket 130 soles, around $45 for 10pass for one week or 70soles, around $26 for a smaller pass which only lasts one day). Deb decided not to come, I guess the climb up there and the expensive of the ticket meant she preffered shops and flat ground to Inca ruins and hills.
The ruins of the fort up on the hill were much bigger than I thought, the most amazing part is the three tiered fortifications, the stones used for the walls were massive, and intricately carved and shaped to fit perfectly, giving us the Inca walls we all know of. It had other parts of the ruins including a ceremonial rock which looked more like a slippery slide, after a wander around I headed to the next couple of sites not far away, including Quenqo. They were hard to make out as they looked like large rocks that had been carved. A large storm brewed above and the ice begain to fall as I headed down the streets of Cuzco, my shoes filled with red mud, trying to work out how to get back, through the maze like cobbled streets but I really felt like I was in the real Cuzco seeing how the locals live, with small stalls and shops, kids coming home from school, and the women carrying children on their backs. In the evening we booked our trip to Machu Picchu and decided on the Inca Jungle route. For 4 days and 3 nights, this would give us a bit more variety as it involved bikes on the first day, hot springs and basic accommodation rather than camping and a lower altitude for walking. (For other travellers - we heard range of prices $165 - $210 for the same tour).

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