Cusco (part one)

7th Nov – Day 26

We took a morning coach to Cusco, with Tour Peru. It`s great to shop around at the bus terminals for a good deal. 2 first class tickets for 50 soles each was a bargain. Waiting for the bus, a friendly old Peruvian man sat and chatted with us. His conversation was a strange mixture of being really happy to really solemn, he was hard to understand and he kept talking about God. He was really thankful for the company, even though we couldn´t speak fluent Spanish, and said we had been sent by God! Bit early in the morning for God talk, but he was nice enough, and it passed the time.

It was great to see the land change again. This time the mountains were getting higher, and the forest was getting thicker on the horizon. Exciting change, meaning we were definitely getting closer to the jungle, and Machu Picchu!

Once we arrived we hunted about for a good hostel. It seems that many of the hostels are mainly dorm shares, and we´re still not sure about doing that yet? We managed to find a great habitacion matrimonial; basic, clean and comfortable, with a peaceful turqoise decor. There were also many Aztec style mirrors around the courtyard, a good find for two nights.

Cusco has so much funk, and a great energy about it. We fell in love straight away. It has many cobbled streets on steep hills and they serve lots of organic foods, perfect.

San Blas is a particularly Bohemian area that attracts many colourful and talented souls.

One of the many themed stonebake ovens they have, cute. 

8th Nov – Day 27

Our first day, and a real chance to explore! The Plaza De Armas is huge in comparison with the other squares we´ve seen so far, with the biggest Cathedral. Built by orders of Francisco Pizarro, a leading Spaniard of the conquest of Cusco, back in 1559. There´s so much life here, and so much to see and do in terms of museums, galleries, places to eat, groups to join for things like yoga, meditation, spiritual journying, Spanish classes, volunteering, cooking cladses and many many cool bars. For now we´ve made a note of all the places we´d like to go as we want to take it easy before the Inka Trail.

We went to a place called Jack`s for breakfast, as it is highly recommended; usually you have to queue for a while, but it was the best food ever and very well priced. We heard that Cameron Diaz came here many times when she was in town, there´s a photo of her on the wall, and even she was made to wait for a table!

Paddy´s bar in the evening was also a great choice, it`s the highest Irish bar in the world, serving all the old classics on tap (except Guinness due to the altitude) and a traditional Irish menu.. I missed having gravy and hot vegetables!

9th Nov -  Day 28

Today we moved into our new home, The Samay Wasi. The desciption was “a treehouse dwelling Ewok hostel, clinging precariously to the hillside.." Naturally after reading this we were sold! This is the first hostel with a great lounge area, and the views from the balcony stretch over the whole of the city. We´ve started to look into what`s best to do for our trip to the Amazon basin. A national park called Manu is looking exciting, but we may stick with Tambopata, Puno´s?

 

  

10th Nov – Day 29

 

In preperation for Machu Picchu, I went out to gather the supplies we needed and Leroy needed a bed day due to illness. Our hostel is high up, with many stairs. We thought this would make good practise for the trail that has over 100 flights of steps! Ouch.  I had such a good lunch at an Austrailian organic bar with lots of art. It was so good that in the evening I took Leroy back there for dinner. 

 

We met some lovely Americans and a couple from Lima. We had a great evening together, talking about Machu Picchu mainly as they had just got back. That evening was the Taurian full moon, a special moon for me, so I sat outside for a while and charged my crystals before bed. Hopefully this will bring good energy for the Inka Trail.

 11th Nov – Day 30

All excited we did the last of our sorting for the Inka Trail. We´ve got our sleeping gear packed (hired bags and mats), and the camera is all ready. That evening we had our meeting with Eco Inka, to meet our guide Jhon, the group  (though one couple didn`t make it), and to go through what we were about to do.  We grabbed some grub at a bar called Indigo, where we met the Dutch girls for the last time before they head off to Bolivia and we start our trekking mission. We then bought the last bits we needed and tried to get an early night!

                                         All the natural energy you need for the Inka Trail..

                                             Coca Leaves - Maca Cookies - Maca Toffee