After the inca trail a few days relaxation in Cusco was just what I needed...and Cusco was the perfect place to chill out. It is apparently South Americas oldest continuously inhabited city and has a culture very different to modern 20th century life. They city is surrounded by more inca ruin sights, but you really dont need to stumble much further than the beautiful cobbled streets of the city itself to apprecaite the history, tradition and legend.

To be fair I was a bit "inca-ed out" after the inca trail so we spent most of the time frequenting the eating establishments and coffee shops of Cusco over the few days. Although the chefs did a good job with the food on the trail we were all craving some good food, fresh and typically western after so much rice and potatoes! And we weren't disappointed. I had some of the best coffees and most definitely the best piece of carrot cake I have ever eaten in my life - absolutely delicious!

But I did manage to find time to take in some of the culture of this lovely city. Of course there was plenty of shopping to be done, trawling the streets for bargain alpaca hats, gloves and all manner of other artefacts you just dont need...but all good fun.

And then I also spent a day exploring some of the other ruins outside the city but this time a few of us decided to do it on horseback. My horse was great, really speedy, although no-one appeared to know his name so we named him "Gonzalez" as he wasnt happy unless he was at the front of the group - even in front of the guide! But it was really nice to just get out into the countryside again and we certainly got to see some different kind of inca sites. Our first stop was at some caves that were apparently once home to both incas and dwarfs...now I'm not sure if something got lost in the translation there (?!) but theyw ere certainly small and we went crawling through on our hands in knees in the pitch black...so of course I had to sustain some sort of injury and hit my head on a rock in the dark, but I got away with just a large lump and a small graze! Then we spent the next few hours riding around to see other ruins, the famous Saqsaywaman (for us mere mortals its easier to remember the name of you pronounce it sexy woman!).

We also had a few birthdays in the group, which happened to fall while we were in Cusco. Another excuse to eat some good food...but also a chance to experience the nightlife of Cusco. We had been warned about the hangovers in Cusco being incredible due to the altitude, but it didnt seem to stop anyone enjoying themselves - beers, pisco sours, cocktails..and the list goes on...