The city of Cuzco is in the south east of Peru and is steeped in history. It's name means 'navel of the earth' and originates from the fact that it was previously the centre of the mighty Incan Empire which encompassed most of South America, to include, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile.

Cuzco is the base camp for the Inca Trail (a 4 day mountain trek) and excursions to the lost city of Machu Picchu - that's the picture that was (and maybe still is) on all the bus shelters in Belfast before I left. The power of advertising eh!

The first thing you notice in Cuzco is their omnipresent regional flag - so close to the gay pride flag as makes no difference. The Incan culture holds the rainbow in high regard.

At 3300m above sea level, it's recommended that would-be Inca Trail Trekkers spend 2 or 3 days in Cuzco to acclimatise to the altitude in advance of the trek which tops out at a lofty 4200m and can induce altitude sickness.

Both the Peruvian and Bolivian soccer teams have a history of 'giant killing' as they host often far superior teams only to beat them as the opposition players struggle for air at high attitude.

To initially get our bearings, we decided to take a guided walking tour lead by a lad called Aidan. Originally from Donegal Town, Aidan has been living in the city from a couple of years. He had slightly modified his Donegal accent to extend the appeal of his walking tour to more than just Paddys but he certainly knew his stuff.

Lasting around 3 hours, the tour taught us a lot about the original Incan architecture with the old town taking the shape of a Puma (one of several animals sacred to the Incans), the influence of the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro who marched on Cuzco in 1533 and subsequent Manco Inca rebellion a few years later. These changes in power plus a few earthquakes over the years were all directly reflected in the appearance of the city with Spanish style Plazas, the adoption indigenous Quechua spelling of street names and archaeological ruins of Saqsaywaman (actually pronounced 'sexy woman' and meaning 'satisfied falcon') at the top of the city.

But the tour was more than just a history lesson. We took a walk through the large local market which had a butchery section that would test even the strongest constitution (particularly with a hangover!) - there were animal entrails, snouts with their teeth still smiling at us, live frogs, skinned cow heads...You get the idea!

We also learnt a bit about the local culture, the best spots for food and drink, the good and bad parts of town and of course got a bitta banter going.

Cuzco, me gusto!