Cusco 8 & 9 April

Cusco - Days 1 & 2, Fri and Sat

On Friday 8 April we flew from Lima to Cusco.  We have no more flights now for about 10 days which will be nice.  Cusco is at 3399 metres, so we were told what to expect before we came here, and how to deal with it by resting, taking it easy when walking around, eating sweets and drinking lots of water.  Most of us have coped so far with only some light heads and the odd headache.  One guy had already been suffering with sinus and he is really suffering.  We have an ex-pharmicist on the trip and he gave him something for the sinus problem, but if that doesn't work they will have to call in a doctor, and that may mean evacuation to a lower altitude.  It seems about 30% of people are affected by the altitude.

 Mal unfortunately got a gastro bug  with diahorrea at 6am, somehow got to the airport and through the flight with the aid of drugs, but stayed in the hotel to sleep it off while Julie went on a city tour.  Julie had a dose of gastro in the Amazon so hopefully that is all for us.

The town of Cusco has 500,000 people and is spread over a valley.  The airport is in the bottom of the valley and the planes get cancelled (like yesterday) as the winds are too strong for them to land.  On the other hand Lima is in constant fog and mist for 3-4 months of the year, so we assume that there are cancellations there to - such an interesting place.  The streets of Cusco are very narrow in the old city and it reminded several of us of Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic with very narrow cobbled streets which do not even allow a small bus to go down. 
Cusco

We visited a couple of archeological sites on the tour and these showed Inca ruins and walls built above the town, as well as an ancient sacrifical site where they sacrificed virgins, llamas and guinea pigs 500 years ago.  They are slowly excavating and restoring the Inca walls in these sites, but it is likely that in the next few years you will no longer be able to climb up and down on the walls, but will have to view it from afar.

Lastly we went to a Monastry where the Spanish had built over the Inca buildings and they have uncovered these old walls.  Some of this came about because of a 7.4 earthquake in the 1950's which collapsed the spanish buildings.  They seem to have a fairly large earthquake about every 300 years, so we should  be OK. 

Then  it was lunchtime at about 3.45pm so we went to a very nice restaurant where for $15 aussie dollars you got salmon, alpaca, pork, and local fish and seafood which was really delicious.  There were also great views across the main square to the hills around the valley - really spectacular.  Back to the hotel for an early night.

Saturday 9 April

Both woke up feeling good fortunately, and there seem to be no issues with altitude with any of the party.  We spent the day on a bus tour around the Sacred Valley of the Incas, visiting llama farms, weaving shops, Inca ruins, and Inca temples.  The highest altitude was 3,800 metres, but it didn't feel any different from normal.

The people in Peru are very friendly, even the little kids who pester you selling postcards and kitsch textiles at every stop.  It was fun watching our driver manoevre through incredibly tight streets.  Julie bought a scarf for $A5 at a place where they breed guinea pigs inside a room.  There was even a pot of guinea pig stew bubbling away in there.  We are not going to eat this.  Back to the hotel at 6pm to find our laundry all done - 4.5 kg of clothes for $A9.  Prices are so low here.

We are up early tomorrow for the bus/train trip to Machu Pichu, but it appears we will stay at the Machu Pichu town at the base of the Inca site tomorrow and not go up to it until the next day.  Until then.