After a rather unexpected direct flight from Arequipa we arrived at Cuzco an hour earlier than expected. Due to the protesting and the attack on the airport at Juliaca which killed 5 people only two days ago they have stopped any flights which divert there.
Unfortunately for Phil this meant the nap he was hoping to get was a lot shorter than planned.

The airport at Cuzco. . wow. . I don´t think I have come across anywhere where the tourist agents are so full on. Once you get to claim your baggage there are just rows of tourist 'agents' just constantly calling out with ´free´ tourist maps (you get their details as well) and the tours available.

After negotiating our way out and determining that we had to sort our own taxi out as our organised one from the hotel was an hour away we bypassed the expensive black taxis and found one at nearly half the price. The ride into Cuzco showed us our first glimpse of the size of it. Lots of big open squares, big churches and old style houses. After arriving at Ninos hotel our room wasn´t ready, which wasn´t unexpected so we moved into their restaurant for breakfast.

Ninos Hotel was started by a Dutch woman who set the hotel up to help the street kids to get an education and skills. The restaurant trains them and a school at the back educates them.
The breakfast was nothing short of amazing. Great bread and blackcurrant jam all homemade with freshly squeexed juice and fresh fruit.

After whiling away two hours (they said 40 minutes but maybe they work on their own time) we moved into our room and a nap was in order. After 4 hours sleep the night before, the flight was damn early, we decided lunch was in order and we walked to the Plaza de Armas.

On the way in we found out that building repairs are done very differently here. They just concrete a 'post' into the road and lean it against the part of the building which is in need of repair to stabilise it. Got to love that.

As we entered into the Plaza de Armas we determined Cuzco was very different to other places we had been to in Peru. The amount of kids and adults trying to sell us items was so much heavier than anything we had experienced and they are quite pushy.

We are trying to work out if we got more offers for food or for massages. Clearly massages are a big thing here. I´m not quite sure if I can come to one yet.

Luckily for both Phil and I the altitude doesn´t seem to be a problem and the walking around is certainly helping us aclimatise for the Inca Trail.

The thing that surprised us the most was the number of brightly coloured striped flags. They were displayed from pretty much every restaurant window and every light pole or pole.
Turns out it is the flag of Cuzco and was made in the late 1970s to represent the arco iris (rainbow) sacred to the Incas.

After a stop for lunch we explored the plazas and determined that Cuzco doesn´t have a main market place, there are just hundreds of little shops (artesans) that turn into labrinyths selling everything. Also they like to put statues and little fountains everywhere. Pretty cool really and it definitely makes for nice little surprises.

A walk to another plaza and we came across a number of paper mache statues that had been used in the festival. These were pretty impressive and certainly done on a grand scale. I can only imagine what it would have been like to have been in Cuzco for that.

While I was on the internet and Phil was scoping out restaurants to meet Helen in, he even got offered drugs! It appears that everything is for sale. Needless to say he didn´t take the guy up on his offer.

Another amusing sight was the McDonalds and KFC restaurants in Cuzco. They have no signs to advertise them and the ´M´and the ´KFC´ are in black. Really odd but apparently it was done so that they could get them into Cuzco as they are the only two allowed and only one store each.

After a bit of shopping with the locals, we´re actually getting used to the language now we met up with Helen for tea before retiring to bed. After an early rise, due to as it turns out the school starts early and the fact the floorboards are incredibly loud, we headed back into town. The hotel itself is really nice though.

After attending at Llama Path, our Inca Trail company we learnt there are 10 on our tour and 8 of us are around the same age with one couple in their late 50s. Pretty happy to realise the complaining people in the office weren't on our tour. After learning from a couple who had come from La Paz about the protests in Puno we headed to an internet cafe to book some flights. Unfortunately they cost a lot more than we had seen only 3 days earlier but it is the best (and safest) option and at least we are now organised.

After wandering the streets and shops with Helen we had lunch at Jack´s Cafe, run by an ex-pat Pom. It is the first time we have come across a place where there was a waiting line. The food was amazing and the steak sandwich´s on par with the best we have ever had. Phil was particularly impressed with his lemon and mint juice and is going to try it our for summer at home.

As we were walking back down the alley way we had to wonder why there were people taking pictures of a rock wall. As it turns out it was of the '17' edged stone. Got to be impressed that the Inca's were that good that they could get the stone perfect to fit in with the rest.

Thought of the day:
How many times do you have to say no gracias to someone before they actually believe you don´t want the picture, lolly, doll etc?

Dinner was at Chez Maggy. I couldn't go past the name. Pizza's were good but we had to rush as our tour briefing was next. It would have been nice to sit and relax but I suspect we will have time for that later.

We meet our trek guide Flavio at the meeting. Seems like he should be really good. He's certainly keen and appears to love his job. After a quick explaination we are given our trek bags (for our porters to carry) to fill up to 7kg maximum. Then it's off for an early night (didn't happen - too much organising) for our early start in the morning.

We have decided to look at the museum's and church´s when we get back from the Inca Trail as we will need to buy a ´boleta turista´(tourist ticket) for some of them and we need to determine what we actaully want to see as well as go into the Sacred Valley.