Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We were looking forward to Cusco, the capital city of the Incan empire, which stretched from Ecuador to northern Chile. We arrived from Arequipa, with our friends Adam and Sarah joining us ready for the inca trail. We checked into Millhouse hostel a short walk from the plaza des armas ready for a bit of culture, a catch up and a fair bit of partying.
We started off in cusco with the now mandatory free walking tour. It started with the chocolate museum which although a bit naff, we learned that Peru has some of the best chocolate in the world (and decimated their samples). After meandering through the windy side streets of cusco we went to saqsaywamán, the large Incan settlement perched on a hill looking over cusco. It actually means head of a hawk, with cusco designed in the shape of a puma. The penultimate stop on the tour, which was a bit random, was a plant museum. The guide, a bit too enthusiastically talked about hallucinogenic plants, along with more normal things such as quinoa and corn. It was interesting to see some of the group perked up at that. The tour ended in a bar, as every tour should, with demonstrations on how to make pisco sours and a free one as well. Not a bad start to the day.
The following day we went rafting in the sacred valley on the river Apurímac. After Arequipa with grade 3+ rapids we had high expectations of the grade 4 on offer and were not disappointed. At one point Adam dramatically fell out. I heroically and promptly grabbed him back into the boat. It was only when watching the gopro footage back that we realised I knocked him out in the first place. It was funny however, to watch Sarah in slow motion at the back of the raft shouting ADAM when he fell out.
In the evening we headed to Inka Grill on the advice of the hostel and had yet again delicious alpaca. I could get used to eating it. Afterwards, after heading back to the bar from the walking tour and going through the local cocktail list, we headed to Mama Africa on the main square for a bit of gringo nostalgia. Although rated in the top 20 things to do in Cusco, it was basically a poor mans Fez, albeit a good laugh anyway.
Returning from the Inca Trail we treated ourselves to a spa hotel in the San blas area of Cusco. Absolutely shattered, sweaty and more than a little bit smelly we checked in, had a much overdue shower, food and crashed.
After a day of recovering, including massages all round, we went quad biking in the Sacred Valley. Going through local villages, stopping at the Moray Incan ruins, and driving to the Maras salt mines was a lot of fun, well until I broke the quad bike. The group carried on oblivious and didn't realise for a while. Once they triggered that I was stranded, they started thinking I'd fallen off a cliff. Once fixed and back on the road, we took in the sunset driving through the valley and returned in darkness with nothing but our headlights on. An unforgettable experience.
Cusco is swarming with tourists. Which, although you bump into gringos at every corner, also means the food and restaurant scene is booming. One such place that is a must for lunch is Jacks, with huge sandwiches, french toast and pancakes. I'm getting hungry writing this. Also, Bodega 138, an Italian restaurant with wood fired pizzas and delicious pastas satisfied our hunger for less exotic food.
The last two days were spent taking in the culture. On the penultimate day, with Adam suffering from a mixture of man-flu and altitude sickness the three of us decided to hit the museums. I strongly discouraged the others from one museum as it would be full of pots, only to go to the pre-Colombian museum and it to be full of you guessed it. I had read it would be full of phallic pottery, celebrating virility, only to later discover that was Lima, not cusco.
Our time in Cusco was finished off in the Kilometre zero bar ordering their own take on a Long Island iced tea. These consisted of 8 different shots of alcohol and a dash of coke. Needless to say a couple was more than enough. The next day, with a few hazy heads, it was time to say goodbye to Adam and Sarah and their Peruvian adventure. Sad, so sad.
- comments