Blogs from Cusco, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 14

Today was a free day with an available option to visit nearby ruins in Cusco during the morning. I opted for the ruins which included a visit to Saqsayhuaman, Q'enqo, and Tambomachay. The history of all three sites is fascinating but I'll try to keep it brief. Sacsayhuaman is a religious fortress overlooking Cusco. It has three walls shaped in a precise zigzag fashion. Much of the site was decimated by the Spanish after they won the battle at Sacsayhuaman in 1536. The original site had three large towers and only the foundations still remain. Only the huge stone blocks, some over 12 feet high, still remain of the once impressive site. Viewing the site was still awe-inspiring but also sad because this amazing site was lost to history. Q'enqo was a sacred site that has ... read more

After arriving in Cuzco last night, we hung out at the hotel where I proceeded to have a milk based coffee drink. Looking back on it, this was not to be a good decision. With today being our free day in Cuzco, I woke up with an upset stomach with a bit of diarrhea. However, not wanting this to ruin my day, I remained a trooper and set out with Kevin for some exploring. Having been to Machu Picchu yesterday, everything else we would see in Peru would be anticlimactic. We set out for one of the top attractions in Cuzco, the church of Santo Domingo that was built atop a famous Inca ruin called Qorikancha. All that remains of Qorikancha were some of the original walls that were once plated in gold as the Spanish ... read more

Gestern sind wir nach dem Frühstück von Bruno und einem Vanfahrer im Hostel für die Biketour nach Moray und Maras abgeholt worden. 10 km vor Moray sind wir aus dem Van und aufs Bike gestiegen. Wieder einmal ging es „Inka-flat“ durch die Landschaft auf ca. 3500 müm. In Moray haben wir die Labors der Inkas besichtigt. Hier haben die Inkas Pflanzen vom Meer oder Bergen für andere Regionen und Klimas gezüchtet. Als wir später durch das Dörfchen spaziert sind, haben wir in einer Chicheria halt gemacht und Chicha ("Bier" aus Mais) probiert. Das Mittagessen auf dem Parkplatz neben dem Van war sehr einfach, aber genau richtig für ein solches Abenteuer. Jetzt ging es nämlich Abwärts mit dem Bike. Wir haben die Schutzrüstung angezogen. Auf halbem Weg sind wir zu den Salinen gekommen und haben das salzhaltige ... read more

We have finally arrived in Cusco after 18 hours of traveling. With unlimited drinks and movies on the planes and average airplane food the entire ordeal was not too bad. We arrived in Cusco at 6:30am and it was a very chilly start. It was in the 50s and the cold air is just so fresh. Apart from the cold air, what hit us immediately was the 30% less oxygen because Cusco sits at 11,000 feet. Instantly you feel light headed and you can’t quite catch your breath. Luckily our doctors had given Kelly and me altitude sickness pills and we started taking them a few days prior to help us adjust. After checking into our hostel (EcoPackers – highly recommend) we took a much needed shower and had our first cup (of many) of coca ... read more

Anyone who follows me on twitter will have seen a serious amount of travelling was done Wednesday and Thursday! We flew with Delta airlines who were pretty good in fairness, they kept us feed and also offer a good range of in flight entertainment. Mahone had been telling me what a good TV series House of Cards was and thankfully this proved to be one of the rare occasions where he was right - I watched the first 5 episodes and Mags got in 6. Basically no sleep was gotten for the 48 hours bar the odd nap as airplanes and airport floors can be pretty uncomfortable (First time sleeping on an airport floor!) We had a slight problem getting our Peruvian visa (by slight I mean getting stopped at customs for 1.5 hrs) I dont ... read more