Cuzco, Peru

When I arrived in Cuzco, Peru (after flying from Santiago to Lima to Cuzco), I was met at the airport by Henry, a guy who works at the hostel. Once at the hostal, Sami Wasay, I got checked in and got a warm cup of coca tea to help with the altitude. Cusco itself sits at about 3,000m (or about 10,000 ft).

After I showered and got unpacked, I asked Henry what I should do for the next two days, since I was going to be alone in Cusco until I started the Inca Trail. He told me that while I only had part of the rest of the day, I should walk around and explore the city, maybe visit some places and do some shopping.


[Church at the town square in Cuzco]


[Small streets in San Blas, where my hostel was.]

I walked down from San Blas, where my hostel was, to the main square and stopped in some shops on the way. There were a couple of things that struck me immediately about the difference between Peru and Chile. For one, things are definitely a lot cheaper in Peru - especially the souvenirs. But another is how pushy the Peruvians are! Walking around a market, they would all hassle you to buy their things, and haggle; two things pretty rare in Chile. I did end up getting some cool souvenirs for the family and some friends for pretty good prices, but not without being pretty annoyed while shopping.


[Ruins in the city that had been modified by the Spanish]

The next day, I took a tour of Incan ruins that were around Cuzco. In the end, I think I payed to much for the tour, since I had to pay for the pass to get me into all the ruins plus the tour. We went to one ruin inside the city that had been modified by the Spanish and turned into a church. But because the Inca construction was much better than the Spanish, the ruins are visible again after a big earthquake ruined all the Spanish architecture.


[Me in Sachsaywaman, ruins on the outskirts of Cuzco]

Sachsaywaman, which is pronounced like "sexy woman," are other ruins that are on the outside of Cuzco. The down side about being on the tour was not being able to explore the ruins for a longer period of time. On the other hand, I'm not sure how I would have gotten to the ruins without the tour bus.


[ruins outside Cuzco, a temple to the water Gods I believe]


[View of Cuzco at night]