Cusco

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In order to avoid the 20 hour bus journey to Cusco, we decided to pay a little extra for a flight from Lima with Aero Condor - "another reason to fly" or so their motto goes. Over and above the snack trays, we soon found out that the "other reason" was the breathtaking views of the Andes from the plane window and the landing at Cusco airport. The plane passed the runway, looped back on itself and seemingly touched the tree tops as we touched down. Its hard to break at altitude so we seemed to slide along the runway for quite some time!

Cusco is really different to other Peruvian towns - paved streets, fountains in every square and roofs that are actually finished with terracotta tiling rather than the usual open roof or temporary, corrugated iron covering. It really shows what tourism can do to a local economy - particularly when there is a nearby tourist attraction such as Machu Picchu and the Inca trail. Cusco isn´t just geared up for backpackers and adventure seeking travellers but is a lovely place to stay if you are a little richer, possibily older, and wanting to visit Machu Picchu by train and in comfort. For us, the late night bars (Los Perros is a favourite), cafes and English speaking tour operators have meant that the town has been a good base either side of our Inca trail.

As Cusco was the administrative centre for the Incas (as well as the Spanish) there are a number of archaelogical sites in the surrounding hills which provide a teaser before visiting The Lost City. The principal sites are;

• · Tambo Machay - where water from a natural spring still flows across channels etched in the rocks by the Incas.
  
• · Puca Pucura - "Red Fort" because of the colour of the stone which was used to build this military outpost.
  
• · Q´uenqo - "Zig Zag" because of the shapes that were carved into the stonework to allow blood from sacrificed animals to run down the structure.
  
• · Sacsaywaman - "Satisfied Falcon" which is more modernly known by the mnemonic "Sexy Woman"! This military and religous fortress site was mostly destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors.

The walk back into town from these sites gave us a fantastic view of Cusco which stretches across the valley. We hoped that all this walking would prepare us for the Inca Trail - it wasn´t to be...!

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Photos

Looking Down on the Andes
Flight from Lima to Cusco

Plaza de Armas
...with Cusco´s impressive Cathedral

Demonstration in Cusco
A protest against Yale University for keeping Inca treasures discovered in Machu Picchu by Hirham Bingham

An Urban Zone!?
On the road to ruin

Puca Pucura
Inca doorways aren´t really built for 6´4 Yorkshire men!

Channels for Sacrificial Blood
At the site of Q´enqo

Q´enqo
Just a nice picture

Comments

[The Taylors]

Fabullous
Hello. Pictures from Inca Trail look AMAZING! So good to talk to you and see you. Speak to you soon Harriet wants to say something. Hello Well I am pleased the weather over there is good. Hornsea has been terrible. We have got a day of school (maybe onwards) due to the school flooding! In the DT Block there was 8 inches of water! The rain hasn't stopped all day! It's been absolutley awful! Hope you are all fit and well. Looking forward for to the next blog Take Care The Taylors xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx