Our bus from Ica was an overnighter. It was an hour late (standard Peru time) and took an hour longer than planned. We were on the bus for 18 hours in the end. It felt like longer. This was another airplane-esque experience, with our own TV screens, offering a variety of rubbish films, music and internet that didn't work. We'd booked vegetarian meals. Our evening meal arrived with one dish that had ham in it. When we explained this to the man, he shrugged and said there was no other. When breakfast arrived, it appeared to be an olive mashed up in a roll. The man also claimed that only one vegetarian meal was ordered. We swifty proved him wrong with our ticket and he eventually corrected this. Whilst the bus was cama, it wasn't terribly comfortable. Plus we were travelling overnight and up into altitude again, so why the bus kept pumping cold air at our legs all night long was a bit of a mystery. Having said all that, we made it to Cusco safely, the blankets kept us warm(ish), and the food kept us going
We nabbed a map from a chap at the bus station, and met another chap who gave us a variety of tips about Ecuador and Colombia in quite an intense fashion. We were half asleep so tried to soak in the information, but sometimes this can be difficult. We took a taxi to the centre, Plaza de Armas, where there were many costumed people dancing in the street. Ken went around to find us a decent and reasonably priced hostel. Jayna drank coffee and tried to stay awake.
We were due to start our Inca Trail trip on Wednesday 15th April, and had to get to Cusco at least two days beforehand, to pay for the trip. We decided to get to Cusco in plenty of time, to be doubly sure. This meant a few days to get re-adjusted to the altitude, relax, and get prepared, before the long trek.
Ken found a well priced hostel that covered the basics, near the centre, plus it had a great view from the top floor over Cusco. We checked in and went out into the city to get some food and our bearings. We wandered for a little while down the streets, before retiring early to get some well needed rest.
On Sunday 12th, we went to the main plaza to go on a free walking tour, which the tourist information assured us was running that morning. No-one showed up, but we found another free walking tour instead. There was a Canadian man on the walking tour who Ken had met on top of a hill in Copacabana - travelling is a small world sometimes. For the tour, we went up to a church high on the hill, San Cristobal, for a lovely view over the city, followed by a walk around the partying San Blas area. We stopped into a music shop and had a demonstration of some of the traditional Andean instruments. We went to 'the shop which sells everything you need' and were given a free gift (a pan-pipe brooch). We went into a hotel which houses a private monastery, and snuck into the chapel to look at the ornateness. This hotel houses the only cedar tree left in Cusco (the rest had been cut down to make the ornateness of said churches). Finally we went to a chocolate museum and had free tasters of hot chocolate and chocolate pieces. It was a good free tour!
We decided to get some lunch and located a vegetarian place recommended in the Lonely Planet. It was very reasonably priced (for Cusco) as well as delicious. We decided to go to the San Pedro markets to purchase some more coca leaves for our Inca Trail, and on the way met a very nice New Zealand couple who had just finished theirs
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| Cusco, gateway to Machu Picchu |
Plaza de Armas statue. Our mission for coca leaves was a success and we decided to wander back towards the centre. We ended up at Qorikancha/ Inglesia de Santo Domingo. Qorikancha was the most important site for the Incas, even more important than Machu Picchu. It was a site covered in gold - until the Spanish conquistadors arrived. The Spanish turned the site into a church (Inglesia de Santo Domingo), so you have Incan walls topped by a catholic church. We went inside for a wander around, and there was a Salvador Dali exhibition on the top floor. It was a strange mish-mash of Incan history and stonework, Castilian church, religious paintings, and art work. Plus pretty views over the city.
On Monday 13th, we had to pay the balance for the Inca Trail trek, so found our way to the booking office. Here we met some others who were also leaving the same day as us, and had a minor altercation with the booking lady when we pointed out that their website is entirely misleading about conversion rates from US dollars to Peruvian Nuevo Soles. Unfortunately the US dollar rate was working against us. We had a chat with a guide, who informed us that, due to bad weather and landslides, they were altering our itinerary. We were still due to cover the same amount of ground, just with less time in which to do so. The final campsite was no longer an option, so we were going to stay in Aguas Calientes instead
Gateway on the way to San Pedro market. This also meant more expenses for us as we had to either walk an additional 4-5 hours, on top of the trek, or pay for two additional buses and possibly a hostel as well. We couldn't fight the weather but we could definitely grumble about it making our trip harder than it had to be.
After the booking office, we found a nearby vegetarian lunch spot which was super cheap and again very nice. As soon as we settled in there, loads of locals came in for lunch - I think we were not the only people to recognise what a good deal the place was giving. We wandered up Calle Loreto, the street with the highest remaining Inca walls, and found the neatly fitted 12 sided stone in the wall on Hatunrumiyoc (this stone features in the local beer's label). Next we went to the Museo Inka, which was filled with pottery, stone work, carvings, metal work and textiles. It had a room filled with mummies, which were placed in large pottery jars and alcoves. We sat in a couple of plazas until it started to rain, then we retired to the hostel for a little downtime.
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| Cusco, gateway to Machu Picchu |
On Tuesday 14th we packed and realised that our medicine kit had gone astray in the previous weeks - disaster! This included the pink stretchy stuff which would save our feet from blisters, plasters, medicine tape, and all kinds of other useful things. Ken did a dash around various local pharmacies, who surprisingly didn't know what a blister was, and weren't stocked for what we needed. We bought lots of plasters in the end and hoped for the best.
We were being picked up at 4.30am the following day, so tried to get some rest and get prepared for the forthcoming trek. Next stop - the sacred Inca Trail to Machu Picchu!