Blogs from Cusco, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 191

Hello again! We´re in Cusco, Peru. Otherwise known as the Gringo Capital of South America. This place is overrun with tourists. People from all over congregating here in this one South American city. Why? To visit lots of Inca ruins, of course. The Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, ruins within spitting distance of town. In just over a week it'll be even crazier for Inti Raymi (June 24th). As it is, one can´t walk around without being bombarded by people selling everything including: water, water bottle holders, finger-puppets, alpaca sweaters and hats, postcards, water color paintings, film, batteries, tours, books, restaurant services, photo opportunities, shoe-shine, etc. You name it, someone on the street is probably selling it. Walking around town is an obstacle course trying to avoid all the salesmen. We have been trying to enjoy the ... read more

Here are the details to go with the recent update. Friday 29th April 2005 : Last day in Santiago Went shopping as Deb and Owen were short of warm clothes. Bought Owen a jumper from a shopkeeper whose brother drives buses in Cambridge. Found Deb a fleece in a Ripley dept store on Avenida Bernardo O’Higgins. Very friendly service from two men. Had dinner in a pizza place complete with a large jug of beer as it was Friday. Saturday 30th April 2005 : Peru here we come Up very early to catch an 05:30 taxi to Santiago airport. Made it to Lima OK. Plane to Cuzco delayed but we arrived in good time. Ripped off by tax driver, probably because I refused to pay his car-park fee. Hostel more of a B&B, good room but ... read more

Arrived back in Cuzco last night after taking train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo. Spent today wandering the streets, went to a couple of churchy type places - Convento de la Merced, and Catedral del Cuzco (really big cathedral, heaps of gold leaf over cedar carvings, heaps of religious pictures, including one with the last supper, but with a Guinea Pig as the main meal). Also went to an Inca Museum. (It is wierd, in Europe the museums, churches, and art galleries are really crowded but here in Peru they are relatively quiet even though some of the art, history, and buildings are just as amazing as anything you would see anywhere in the world.)... read more

Cusco was one of the definite flag-on-the-map destinations for my trip. Visiting Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail was the entire basis for this South American adventure so it was a good feeling to be so close after more than 12 months of planning. After reading that it was a 12-15 hour trip from Puno to Cusco, we thought we had stumbled on a real find when a company offered a 6 hour service (in fact the roads and service have been improved). We happily jumped aboard and settled in to stare out at the impressive mountain country that we were entering. Not too far into the journey we ran into some sort of traffic jam and an odd French-Canadian girl wandered up to the ´cockpit' to find out what was going on. On her return ... read more

Amie and I went on a city tour of Cuzco. We went to Sacsayhuaman , which is the Inca Temple of the Sun. Sacsayhuaman is Quechua for “satisfied falcon,” but many visitors pronounce it “sexy woman.” This site is famous for their Inti Rayni, which is the dance of the Incas. Tom Cruise and Madonna have been to Sascayhuaman! It was ironic that right next to an ancient temple of the Incas was a larger-than-life white statue of Jesus Christ, known as Christo Blanco. We traveled to an Incan “Post Office,” and my favorite was the “Fountain of Youth!” After our city tour, Amie and I found ourselves again in the Cuzco airport. We caught our flight to Lima, which thankfully was a large airplane. While in Lima, we hailed a cab to take us to ... read more