Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hola!
Last time we left you in Nazca, about to embark on a 14 hour overnight journey to Cusco. Well, the 14 hour journey turned out to be a 17 hour journey, but at least the coach was comfy! Fully reclining leather armchairs, pillows, blankets, veggie meals (including chocolate cake for breakfast) and a few films... not bad at all! Joel, having overcome his coach-sickness with an impressive cocktail of herbal and pharmaceutical pills, had a rude awakening, however, at 6am on Sunday morning when all the men on the coach were hauled off in order to shift rocks from the road, caused by a landslide. The first time the road was covered in football sized rocks which were cleared by the 20-strong team in about 5 minutes. 15 minutes later however, they were confronted with a rock the size of a Mini, and another half the size. After some impressive engineering, involving pivots and levers, the road was clear. Nothing like a bit of early morning exercise!
Once our coach had wound up the treachorous mountain snakepaths (at certain points, we actually had our heads in the clouds), we arrived in Cusco at lunchtime and were quickly hit by the altitude (despite taking altitude sickness pills along the way!). Our hopes of having a restful afternoon to get over the dizziness were dashed, however, when we arrived at the hostel that we had reserved online, only to discover that it didn't exist and the hostel in its place had no record of our reservation! Luckily, we managed to talk our way into a private room, complete with luke-warm showers. This hostel gets a 6/10 on the 'Official Joel and Mel Hostel Rating Guide' which uses a complex algorithm taking into account facilities, staff, location and cost. For completeness, the hostel in Lima got an 8 (comfy and friendly), the one in Huacachina got a lowly 4 (dark and stuffy), and the one in Nazca also scored an 8 (cheap and cable TV showing Spurs). We do charge a 10% booking fee if you choose to book with us. Disclaimer: STA do not endorse these hostel ratings.
Cusco is a very busy, artistic tourist-centre and pretty much everyone here is on their way to or from Machupicchu. The streets are FULL of old women dressed in full skirts, bowler hats and brightly coloured shawls, trying to sell their peruvian hats and ponchos to the many tourists! The city thrives on its inca connections and every other shop is aptly named: for example, InkaFarma (the local pharmacy), InkaWash (the launderette), InkaSpa where you can get an InkaMassage or an InkaMani/Pedi... the list goes on. Our guidebook pointed us in the direction of a famous 12 sided-stone near our hostel. After walking past a stone wall a few times, we discovered that it is merely a stone with 12 sides. Not very exciting and further proof that Cusco is simply the gateway to Machupicchu.
We did a day-trip to Machupicchu yesterday, including a 4 hour train journey each way, plus yet another winding bus journey up a very high snake path. It was worth it though... the views of the mountains and ruins were spectacular and the ruins themselves were dotted with resident alpacas, who really did stroll around as though they owned the place!
Tomorrow we're heading south to Puno and Lake Titicaca... we love reading your messages and comments, so keep them coming :)
Lots of InkaLove
Mel and Joel xxxxxxx
- comments