First few days in Cusco

We arrived here in Cusco on Tuesday morning, flying in from Lima after a 1 night stopover following our return from Nazca. We had decided just before we came away to fly rather than take the 20 hour+ bus trip through the mountains, and having spoken to a rather queasy girl who had taken the bus option we were very pleased with our choice. Not only did we avoid motion sickness, but also we were able to experience the flight into Cuzco airport where the plane literally flew through the mountains to land - mildly concerning but also totally stunning. You can, however, understand why the flights here are all in the morning!

The city is set in a valley surrounded by mountains, and the buildings creep up the sides of it in all directions. Unlike Lima it is a very pretty place, and before we had even landed we knew that we had made a good decision to come here a few days earlier that originally planned. It was an added bonus that we could breathe perfectly easily when we got off the plane - altitude sickness has plenty of time to kick in as we go higher, but 3300m doesn´t seem to be bothering us too much. Our initial impression of Cusco got better as we were met at the airport by the hostel guy - we have booked in for 3 nights, before we meet up with our fellow trekkers in a different hotel. Henri (not sure if he is actually named after the footballer but he is a big Arsenal fan!) took us up through the winding streets of the city - more interesting driving - and right up to the high up area of San Blas to our hostel.

The views are quite simply amazing (photos to follow) and the room by far the nicest and cheapest we have had so far. We dumped our stuff, filled in the check in info (everyone here wants your passport number!) and sat out on the verandah sippng coca tea, reputedly the best cure for altitude sickness. After a few hours relaxing we wandered into the city centre and generally took it all in. We were able to get our bearings pretty easily, and despite the throngs of tourists and locals trying to sell goods on every corner, it is still a relaxing palce to be. Just what we need!

After a slow start on Wednesday (the altitude, obviously) we went on a half day city tour which also included visits to some archaeological sites within easy reach of the city. Within the city we saw the Convento de Santo Domingo which is a colonial church built on the Inca temple site of Coricancha - very telling that the Inca ruins have survived a few earthquakes whilst the more "modern" colonial architecture was largely destroyed. Won´t say too much about the places just out of town now as we will be revisiting in more detail when the group arrive, but very impressive stuff. You have to admire the Incas who dragged stones weighing up to 123 tonnes 7km down (at least is wasn´t up!) the mountains in order to build the fort of Sacsayhuaman, although I suspect that the labourers didn´t have much choice in the matter!

We had dinner with some Aussie guys we met last night (yes, they are everywhere - haven´t met any scousers as yet though!) and realised after a large meal and a few beers that climbing up steep steps at altitide can be a little more challenging than perhaps we realised. At least we won´t be near the many bars of Cusco when we´re trekking...

Some more photos to follow hopefully - few technical hitches right now. We´ll maybe have the chance to add a quick post before we start trekking (Saturday) but not too sure if we´ll have time as the group arrive at lunchtime Friday and will be spending time with them, assuming they´re awake after the 18 hour journey. We have lots to see and do this afternoon - about to go and see some of the many cathedrals, museums etc - there are 16 sites on our $12 tourist ticket so it sould be rude not to see them all. We´re out of town from Saturday to Thursday then booked on an overnight bus to Arequipa (10 hours) on Friday 22nd so have a bit of time left here.

Lots of love
Cath (& Andrew)