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After returning to Cusco at 1.30am i went straight to bed (despite being tempted into a night out - see i can make a good decision every once in a while). Next morning, after a much needed lie in I headed off for more Inca ruin information. I had a city tour booked which start with a trip to the Qoricanca. These are old Inca ruins in the middle of the city that they have turned into a mini museum. It was all very interesting, but i was feeling a little Inca´d out at this point. Soon after we headed to Sacsayhuaman or "sexy woman" as us gringos say. These sit high on the mountain overlooking Cusco and are the remains of a large complex and important military facility. The walls themselves are built out of giant boulders that have been shaped to piece together perfectly without the need for mortar. The ruins also provide an excellent viewpoint for looking down onto Cusco. After i had filled the memory cards with some photos though i decided it would be a good idea to try and climb the 5m vertical walls.
At this point i was with Janis and Joy (from the Inca Jungle tour) who were not so confident in my ability to get to the top. However, after a couple of minutes i was only a minute from the top, and deep in concentration. So much so that i did not realise the small crowd that had no gathered to see what my fate would be. Despite the eyes bearing down on me i decided that the push for the very top was a little risky seeing as there was no easy route and i was a long way from the floor so i swallowed my pride and descended to safety instead to the disappointment of those around (who im pretty sure were expecting to see my cripply myself)!
The next stop on the tour was to 4000m above sea level and the old Inca holiday destination of Tambomachay. To be honest i was completely Inca´d out by now but there is some water there which is special...
Finally, we stopped off at yet anoter alpaca store where we were ushered into purchasing anything and everything. I resisted the temptations, but did manage to hold the vicuna skin. The wool of the vicuna is the most expensive in the world and a baby hide, with no treatment at all fetches at least 200pd per piece. If you want it manifested into an item of clothing then you can be talking anywhere up to 800pd per piece!!
B ack in Cusco there was only one way to deal with all the Inca information, so i hit the bar and then the town with Janis and Joy and co.
The next day was a lazy one as i still hadn`t recovered from the 2000 steps for Machu Picchu (or the alcohol). The day was spent playing table tennis, in internet cafes and eating more and more food at Jacks restaurant. In the evening i headed to the market to buy a baby alpaca jumper as i seemed to have lost my hoody somewhere. That evening i caught an overnight bus heading to Arequipa and with that the Cusco adventure was over!
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