Cuzco - City of the Inka Empire

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Cuzco was once the centre of the great Inka empire and as all tourists who are visiting Machu Picchu pass through Cuzco at some point or another, it is needless to say it is very touristy, but we still liked it. It’s a beautiful city built on the foundations of the Inka city, so you can see some examples of the impressive stonework within the city. There are a number of tours of the sacred valley to see various Inka ruins offered, but as we were both suffering from altitude sickness riding around in a bus didn’t sound all that appealing to us. Instead we just spent our time there wandering around the little cobble stoned streets, it wasn’t hard to fill the days, especially if you like shopping! We especially enjoyed looking at all of the art. We thought it was cute when one little boy walking around with his portfolio introduced himself as Pablo Picasso, however we soon learned that either he wasn't very original or there are an awful lot of Pablo Picasso's living in Cuzco as almost everyone selling art introduced themselves this way. We also spent much of one day taking pictures. A lot of people in Peru are unemployed, so they just make their own jobs, one of these being to dress up in traditional clothes and pose for pictures with tourists. We soon discovered that pictures with children or animals (which you will notice they also dress up) cost more - so Tim’s picture with the two little girls, the baby goat and the lamb cost us a small fortune (8 sols ~ $3) I think they scammed us but, oh well!
Cheers!
Tim and Meagan

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Photos

Meagan with Lama
Nice hat!