Cusco/Cuzco

We were met at the bus stop by Arturo (at 2:00 am - nice chap) and taken to our hotel. Within seconds we were asleep.

Up in the morning, we were recommended to go on a half day city tour and we also booked a hotel for our third night in Aguas Calientes (the town right next to Machu Picchu). We had decided to splash out most of our hard won budget surplus staying in a v.posh hotel, but they could only fit us in for the two nights.

A taxi into Cuzco and we went to buy (overpriced, but there you go) Lonely Planet Guides for Peru and Ecuador. We found neither anywhere in Bolivia. Every other shop in Cuzco seems to sell them.

We then found out about travel to Lima and on up the coast and settled down to digest the information and some coffee overlooking the main square in Cuzco.

Practising in the square

Next stop, the city tour. Quite reasonable for 10USD, until you added the 25USD admission costs to the attractions we needed to visit. Hmmm.

We visited an old Inca site that had been turned into a Christian site and then turned into a museum. It was quite interesting except that the number of different guides all trying to make their voices heard over the others made it very difficult to work out what was going on.

Inca brickwork

They did have some flags up, the one on the left is the flag of Cuzco (either that or it is the biggest gay city in the world). The one on the right is the Amaraya flag (which I got when I was in Bolivia).

Indigenous flaggery

We then had to cough up three quid to visit the cathedral. Hmm. Then we went up to a place that sounds like 'Sexy-Woman' to see some walls (and llamas) and then to a fountain and then to a shop selling alpaca wool items. Our guide was crap and the whole thing was a waste of time. But there you go.

Wobbly wall

Up at 5:00am to take the posh train to Aguas Calientes and to check into our posh hotel. Woo Hooo.