Cusco

This entry covers 11 & 12 November

Our last night in Puno proved to be the final test in preparation for the Inca Trail…this hotel could not have been built on more than 50 square metres of ground but towered 6 floors into the sky, making it one of the tallest buildings in Puno! Rooming on the 1st floor was incorrectly taken as a blessing as meals where served on the roof level…a lift could not be squeezed into the architect’s plans. Fro some reason, the kitchen severely under catered for breakfast which made for an interesting meal of ham, cheese and jam on stale cake. Just the carbs I needed for the 7 hour bus ride to Cusco.

We settled into our new hotel (note the 12th unpack of the tour!) and met Wilbert who gave us a breakdown of the Inca Trail…what to bring and what to expect although no words could possibly describe what we experienced a couple days later. Once again, the 3 amigos were made roomies. I was awoken to what sounded like TV´s being thrown around the room…Peter (Selles) had made an attempted loo break around 1.30am and proceeded to knock over everything from water vases to cell phones to tripping over his hiking boots…needless to say he invested in a head torch in the morning! Carolina took us on a walk through Cusco which included the 12 sided stone known as Hatunrumiyac, Plaza San Blas (a plaza dedicated to Peruvian and Inca art), the Hemp Café, Soleta Saraninas (Pre-colonial museum), the Inca Museum, the Plaza de Armas. Iglasia La Merced (which houses the 2nd largest gym in the world…the grooming of many gold medal Peruvian weightlifters?, and Mercado Central (the local food market). For the 1st time in my life, I felt obliged to turn sideways to let people pass in the streets…a combination of broad shoulders and 3 foot wide pavements!

Feels like Xmas is tomorrow with the Inca Trail looming. Nothing like passing time with a smut session between the 3 amigos…