A Peruvian cultural festival takes over the Plaza de Armas today... Not since the Galapagos Islands have we encountered as many tourists as we find in Cusco. And many of them are American. That isn’t a bad thing, but from personal experience you know you are in a mature tourist destination (as opposed to ‘off the beaten track’) when you are surrounded by large American tour groups. The … [Read more...]
The Sacred Valley of the Incas, Day 26
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We could spend several days exploring the Sacred Valley of the Incas, but with an arduous trek along the Inca Trail in the offing we reluctantly limit ourselves to a one-day highlights tour. At the height of the Inca Empire the Sacred Valley, a lush agricultural area , supplied Cusco, the Inca capital, with much of its produce, including maize, fruit, and vegetables. Even today the … [Read more...]
Santo Domingo cathedral, Cusco, Day 27
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Christi’s feeling a little ‘soroche’ today (where’s the Diamox?), so we have a very relaxing morning – or at least as much as is possible considering the cleaning staff like to meet outside our room at 6:30am to chat. Once we surface, we have money issues to deal with. One problem with traveling for a year is getting your hands on all that cold hard cash you’ve squirreled away. Although we’re … [Read more...]
Saqsaywaman, Cusco, Day 28
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Christi’s still not feeling that great and much prefers the idea of reading and checking out the latest gossip on Facebook to exploring more local Inca ruins. Indeed, she warns me that I’ll be Inca’d out before we even reach Machu Picchu. Perhaps, but who can resist a site called Sexy Woman (officially, Saqsaywaman), which is located on a steep hill to the north of Cusco. This fortress was … [Read more...]
The clash of modern and traditional Cusco, Day 29
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Today we experience the clash of modern and traditional Cusco. We begin by wandering along the back streets of Cusco – just for the hell of it. It’s a hot lazy morning and we’re delighted to find a hole-in-the-wall joint selling freshly-squeezed OJ. The juicers even pose, albeit shyly, for a photo. More by luck than judgment we then stumble across the offices of Cruz del Sur and purchase our … [Read more...]
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