After the interesting journey to get to Cusco we afforded ourselves the luxury of a lie-in for the first time on the trip. We had purposefully left a few days extra in Cusco to relax and prepare for the Inca trail. And good thing we did because 'soroche' struck again. This time it was me who was affected. Constant nausea and not being able to breathe after ascending the slightest incline dampened the initial excitement of being in Cusco. What joy when it finally passed.

Cusco itself was a bit of a shock after La Paz and seemed very slick and touristy. It even boasted a Starbucks, MacDonalds and KFC on Plaza de Armas, the main square next to the impressive churches. However, further up the hill, away from the tourist trail and the constant offers of 'masajes', little cobbled alleyways awaited with carved balconies and stone door frames. San Pedro market offered everything from fresh (or maybe not so fresh) meat to flowers and the usual curios. Walking through the fruit section was particularly interesting and we bought a few of the unknown varieties (afterwards we had to ask at the hostel how you actually ate them). In general the fruit or rather the fruit juices were amazing. And of course the Inca presence everywhere in the stonework and remaining foundations was really interesting. We even managed to see Sunday processions in the name of the Virgin by different local groups. Although in the name of the church many of the costumes and dances looked traditional.

On the day before the Inca trail, we managed to squeeze in a morning visit to Saqsaywaman (the old Inca fort) which sits just above Cusco. The ruins are amazing and we really got a feel for the size and magnitude the place must once have had. The building work of the fitted stones is incredible (see my many pictures of it :-)) The Inca walls survived Cusco's recent earthquake with hardly any damage. They really knew how to build!

The next morning we were picked up at 06:00 and driven to the start of the Inca trail. We had assumed that a short visit to Ollantaytambo would be included as we passed through it but sadly that was not the case and we only got a brief view of it.

Our group turned out to be really small, only four of us, the other two an Australian couple. We also discovered that they had very sensibly hired a porter to carry most of their things. Hearing this, I got a sinking feeling when I considered my pack and the fact that we now also had to carry our sleeping bag and mat! Well there was no time to think about it. Off we went...

*Steph