We didn't return to Cusco until about 11pm by the time we caught a train to Ollantaytambo then a bus to Cusco. We had a bit of a sleep in as we were still pretty tired from the preceding days.

We wanted to get around and see a few more things in Cusco since we hadn't achieved much the previous time with Fergus being sick and having to get ourselves sorted for our Trek. We made our way up the hill behind Cusco to visit Sacsayhuaman, a fairly well known Incan site due to both its proximity to Cusco City and the similarity in the sound of the name to "sexy woman".

The ticket was quite pricey as the only option was for us to purchase a pass for 4 sites, even though we only wanted the 1. Even past the ticket booth we still had to walk uphill quite a way, finally reaching the entrance.

The site, used as a kind of military fortress with a perfect vantage point over Cusco, it is built from enormous boulders cut to fit perfectly together. The largest of the blocks is estimates at over 120 tonnes. While still really impressive, only about 20% of the original site remains since the Spanish removed the rest for building churches etc. in Cusco.

It was while we were exploring this area that the altitude started to affect Fergus once again. We had walked through most of it, so decided to head bark down the hill. We wet to a veggie restaurant to rest, have some water and food. Fergus ordered quinoa soup, the same meal he had miss out on the last time altitude sickness had struck. He only managed half.

After lunch Fergus decided he had regained enough energy for us to visit the Machu Picchu Museum at Casa Concha. It contained artefacts excavated from Machu Picchu in 1912 by Hiram Bingham, the North American Professor responsible for the modern day scientific discovery (or rediscovery) of Machu Picchu.

What was perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibition was old photos taken in 1911 when Bingham discovered the Lost City of the Incas, with the local farmer and his son that showed him where it was. Photos of the 1912 expedition he made with archaeologists, geologists etc. were also displayed.

These photos answered questions that we had pondered while at Machu Picchu. What did the site look like when it was found? Was it overgrown? Has there been much reconstruction? The photos showed that the walls had crumbled and the jungle was reclaiming this land. A lot has been done to carefully return Machu Picchu to as close as possible to its former glory.

The next day Fergus still wasn't feeling great, but we had a couple more things in Cusco to see. We had by this point ruled out the prospect of making it to the Sacred Valley, but we hadn't seen the famous 12 sided stone! Built into one of the walls of a building in Cusco, this stone is marvelled due to its complex shape. It even features on the bottle of Cusco's beer, Cusqueña.

But first, we needed a bathroom, so we forked out the entry fee for another museum, Museo Inca. We had a look through the museum, we had paid for it after all, and it did have quite an extensive range of interesting Incan artefacts, pottery, metal and fabric.

We made our way from there to the San Blas area, then on to find this famous 12 sided stone. Down a narrow street lined on both sides with buildings featuring Incan built foundations we may have missed it had a couple of people not been stopped there taking photos already! Needless to say it would have been more fun just buying another bottle of Cusqueña, and perhaps a few more, and admiring the glass recreation.

That pretty much finished the day for us as we had to return to the hostel then get to the airport. There was likely so much more to see in and around Cusco, but Fergus in particular was more than happy to be leaving. Our hostel owner believed that Cusco has an energy that results in a lot of people getting altitude sickness, even if they are fine in other places of similar or even higher altitude. Fergus thinks she is onto something.

LAPFWT