Cusco, Peru. Dogs, altitude, cannons and steps...lots of steps
So we managed to survive our last night in LA care of Popeyes chicken and a reasonably secure lock on the motel doorway. Having realised that the room was cheap for a reason we listened to our shuttle driver and stayed indoors until we left for the airport again!
Hurrah! Time for South America! Taking note of the schedule we were pleased to see that the flights were reasonably short and felt this leg of the journey would be a breeze! Not quite as we expected. Three flights, 24hrs and the craziest taxi journey to date we arrived at our hostel. The advice when arriving at altitude is to rest, not a problem for us! With very little sleep in the last 36hours we wanted to crash out as soon as possible. Introducing the smallest double in the world. Coordinating sleeping without actually crushing each other was a task!
Having read a lot about altitude sickness and being the worry wart that I am I was expecting that I might find the air a little thin. I was not wrong. Robs lungs of steal saw him quickly acclimatise whilst I could barely walk up a set of stairs without feeling like I'd run a marathon! Having had very little sleep we crashed out at 7:30 and decided we would explore the city more then following day.
The next day we headed out for a wander to discover a festival taking place in the main square, Plaza De Armas. Exciting, I head you cry! Well it is until you realise there is a festival most days involving lots and lots of cannon fire! We meandered through the streets and found ourselves at the Chocolate Museum! I say museum, it was two rooms and a cafe with some information on how the cocoa bean is turned into chocolate. Still feeling rough as guts, we headed back to the room so I could take a nana nap. That night we sat down for some traditional Peruvian food. We declined the guinea pig, local speciality but rather decided on a chicken dish that was delish!
The next day we headed on a free walking tour around the city. We walked around a variety of settings with our guide giving us great information on the Inca and Spanish control of Cusco and Peru. We met and had our photos with an Incan descendent who then tried to sell Rob his pipe music CD for 10 soles. We tasted an amazing ceviche before heading back to meet with a bus rep to organise our journey onto La Paz. Turns out strikes and road blockades are frequent and as a result she wasn't sure if our bus would go or not but we could always "just see". Given the time frame we were on we had to quickly devise another plan to get into Bolivia. Hours on the phone to various people we eventually managed to reorganise our trip and could start to prepare for the Inca Trail.
Dinner that night was like nothing we had quite experienced before. A local eatery we decided to have something small. The waiters frequently exited the restaurant to source the ingredients for our meal and had to take the menu to identify which ingredients they needed. Hands down the nicest meal we had eaten with the weirdest circumstances.
Rebekah and Janko had encouraged us to take a walk up to Christo Blanco at the top of the Cusco for a great panoramic view and as good training for the Inca Trail. They had warned us that they had ended up clambering through someone's garden and to take the road route instead. We asked our hostel manager and he pointed us in the direction "no problem very easy maybe 15minutes". Following our hosts instructions we reached the road where a local said "no no this goes to Saqsayhuman no go back and take those stairs" cue scrambling through an old ladies back garden past her llamas. My mediocre Spanish managed to get us to the top and an amazing view over the city. It was definitely worth the trip up. Now to prepare for the Inca Trail....
