The highlight of my time in Cusco

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Cusco itself is crowded, overpriced and absolutely rammed full of tourists.... no wonder it is overpriced as the locals have cottoned on to the fact that the many rich americans that come here can pay much more than they're used to. Unfortunately this has led to more street hawking than I've seen anywhere else in both Ecuador and Peru. You can't walk two steps without being offered the same hats, paintings, wooden carvings, massages and many more things that I really do not need, yet the locals insist I do!

Thus we havn't had the best time in Cusco, the only great place here in my view is the Real McCoy (an English pub) where we were able to sample real traditional English food, a little taste of home, even with English music in the background! Although I have come here to experience something different, it is nice to be somewhere a little more familiar to you sometimes.

The real highlight of being in the area though was when we ventured out to nearby Pisac, the market is huge, but each stall is selling the same handicrafts that are found absolutely everywhere in Peru. Once we realised this we ventured back to Cusco, stopping off at a roadside animal sanctuary on the way, and I am so glad that we did! It was really small with few animals but it was so nice to see that some people in Peru really care about the dia situation here with the black market. They have rescued condors which we actually got to get extremely close to, a somewhat scary experience seeing as they are the biggest bird of prey! We only got glimpses of them at the Cruz del Condor near the Colca Canyon, but here they were less than 20cm away from us at times. A surreal situation to be in!

They also have two pumas which were taken from a nightclub in Lima. Their parents had been killed and they were taken as babies, then drugged and used in nightclubs for tourists to pose with for photographs. Due to the drugs they were harmless, but how a tourist could think that was acceptable I do not know. Being a westerner myself I assume that others have the same sense as I do... or maybe they just don't care? Shouldn't they know better? The pumas are now unable to be released now as they never learnt to hunt. It was heartbreaking to hear their story.

Even more heartbreaking was hearing the story of the poor Coatis. The indiginous people in the rainforest believe that their blood can be used as a antidote for snake poison so one poor little soul had had his hands and feet cut off so he could not run away and was kept in the area, incase any snake bites occured. Similarly another had lost an ear as they had cut it off to draw blood from the poor thing. As much as I think it is amazing that some indiginous peoples are able to live their traditional lives in the rainforest without succumbing to modern life, but in this case I really wish they could be more educated!

The list goes on about how some poor creatures in the area are used in the black market for quick cash, to be sold for falconry in western countries, zoos, pets, and so on. As much as it was heartbreaking to see, it felt really good to be informed on these issues on a more personal level rather than just reading it online or in books, as well as to be able to actively give money to help these sanctuaries survive. The Russian volunteer Alexandra really made me realise that my future plans to volunteer at an animal refuge named Merazonia in Ecuador couldn't be more worthwhile!

Just a five minute walk down the road from this sanctuary is Awana Kancha, which is an alpaca centre. Although we've had many encounters with these beautiful animals, they have been brief and from afar, but this centre allows you to get up close with them and even feed them. They really are beautiful animals, but kind of scary when they're all charging at you in hope of stealing some of the grass out of your hands. Of course I freaked out and dropped the grass several times... yes I am a wimp!

It was nice to see the locals using the alpacas and llamas for tourism in a way that is both good for the animals and good for them. Unlike the young girls that take the weeks old llamas, sheep and so on down into cold cold Cusco away from their mother in order to allow tourists to pose for photographs with them. I saw one baby sheep shivering to death! At the centre they also take great pride in these national animals, telling you all about the different types... my favourite was the llama suri, whose wool resembles curtains, reaching right to the ground! They also show you how they spin the yarn, dye it, and how they weave it to create the beautiful clothes, bags and so on that you can buy all around Peru.

I must say I enjoyed this day much more than Machu Picchu ironically enough, seeing as it was free (apart from the donations we gave to both places). It was so peaceful there and allowed you to experience the culture more and speak to the locals about their way of life. I strongly suggest if you're in Cusco that you visit these little hidden gems!

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Comments

[Clare]

This review is fantastic- when I visit in June with my boyfriend I'll make sure we visit the sanctury. Thanks for some really great info and advice :)

[anonymous]

address???

[Jessica lb]

no idea... but the Llama sanctuary is listed in the guidebooks, so you should find it from them...