Day 9: Cusco

After a horrible night on the night bus, an older, crapper version of our earlier luxury buses, we arrived in Cusco. With relief (and a hurried need for a wifi fix after 3 days in a wifi blackspot), we checked in to our lovely accommodation, the rooms centred around large, bright atriums. After setting down our bags and freshening up, we headed out with our guide Gino. We headed down hill towards the Plaza de Armas, the rainbow coloured flag representing the four corners of the Inca Empire, together with the Peruvian flag fluttered from numerous flagpoles around the square. This patriotism was then magnified by the sound of marching bands and the beginnings of a parade that would soon take over the square, and not just today but for the entire time we spent in Cusco! From the Plaza de Armas, Gino led us up to El Mercad De San Pedro. So much more touristy here, everywhere we were offered bus tours, guides, massages - you name it! We got to the market (slightly side tracked by the extremely enticing churros being sold on the street) and we had our first encounter with the juice ladies. Women at stalls, each identical to the next except for the ladies' names at the bottom of each identical menu, piled high with exotic fruits, shouted and waved and did their damnedest to pull in customers. Not knowing which lady offered the better product, I randomly selected an eager young lady and ordered chirrimoya with milk. As I waited she peeled, pitted and blended my bespoke fruit shake and served me from the height of her stall to my stool in front of all her fruit. With a bright, friendly smile, she entertained my presence as I made my way through the delicious drink, before we were marched off to the next section of the market. Again, more stalls, all offering similar products, this time breakfast feasts for a pittance. Me and one of my travel buddies, the lovely Holly, made one bewildered circuit before settling in for a bite to eat. I was halfway though my very tasty omelette when I felt immediately unwell. Not wanting to put anyone off their breakfast I made a speedy exit. A false alarm it turned out to be, but enough of a warning to say that after a sleepless night on a night bus, a week of over indulgence and strange food, it was time for a time out.

We headed back to the accommodation (seeing the parade in the square now in full flight on the way - adorable children dressed in army-like attire marching passed the cathedral to the music being pumped through the speakers) and took a much needed nap. My head hadn't touched the pillow and I was out for the count.

An hour later, groggy and with a strong desire to stay in bed, I dragged myself out to get ready for the city tour. Together with the girls, Holly, Shan and Anja, we waited in the lobby before being picked up by a guide. We were taken go to the cathedral where we discovered that the already pricey tour did not take into account entrance fees to the different sights. United in indignant refusal to pay up and beyond what was originally offered we stomped away, b****ing in agreement all the while. Food was required. After lunch (lured in by free pisco sour) we wandered around at our leisure. The fact it was Sunday scuppered our original plan to head to the Inca Museum, and after that it became clear that the sites in town weren't easily accessible... maybe we should have taken the tour after all!

Refusing to abandon seeing the sights of this pretty town, Anja and I guided ourselves around the sun temple, or at least what remains after the damage done by the Spanish conquistadors, called Qoricancha in Quechua. Positioned in a pivotal location within Cusco, once the centre of Inca Empire, other sacred sites (Wakas) radiated from this temple. All that remains of the original Inca structure are some of the meticulously crafted stone walls. The level of perfection, baring in mind that this work was carried out without mechanical tools, is mind blowing, which makes the destruction of it all the more tragic. Not really knowing or understanding what we were looking at, we cheekily eavesdropped on other guides and gleaned what information we could! We learned about the gold that once covered the surfaces of the temple and the Inca interpretation of the Milkey way. For good measure, we saw a few people, standing in one of the former sun temples, seemingly in a trancelike state. Theses (what's the politically correct term here?) nutjobs (yes, I believe thats right) stood with their eyes closed, hands gradually rising above their heads. One lady, lead nutjob I'll call her, was in full blown freak attack mode with her hands above her head shaking violently. Anja and I just shared a glance, raised eyebrows at each other and respectfully moved on.

After the tour we had our briefing for the upcoming treks (Inca and Lares respectively) before heading for dinner in Fuegos. Not ready to turn in, a handful of us found a bar on the way back to the hotel. More pisco sours and a few hours of terrible pool and Shan was convinced that we had to go dancing... not wanting to let the side town (despite looking like we just stepped out of the gym) we headed back into town to Mushrooms and then upstairs to Mama Afrika where we tore up the dance floor. I've met my match! We managed to pull ourselves out about 2am and skulked back into the hostel with the grey danced off ourselves. Good times...

Accommodation: Cusco Plaza II
Weather: optimistically I put on shorts when we got to Cusco - it was a poor choice. But the afternoon was warmer but once again, bloody cold in the evening!