Home Sweet Home-Mirador Cusco

... on the Altiplano of the Puno region.

Cusco is the most cosmopolitan city located on the heart of the Andes and where the center of the Inca culture was located and finally include a nice and well organized trekking from the Andes to the high jungle following the impressive Inca trail network known as “The Inka Trail” to the historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, considered “The Lost City of the richest Inca civilization” ...

Arrived in Cusco today at 11.30am-ish after one-hour flight from Lima. We all immediately loved the look of Cusco which is real Peru with cobbled streets and a square and surrounded by the mountains.

Oh, met Davy at Lima airport this morning too for the flight to Cusco. The hostel is lovely with a roof-terrace again and clean and tidy. The views with the mountains are amazing and we have been spending the day roaming around, enjoying ...

... wir uns mehr schlecht als recht im Pflügen mit Stieren (nein, es waren keine Ochsen) und belohnten uns mit einem Sprung ins kühle Nass.

Q'epu liegt in einem unglaublich fruchtbaren Tal. Jegliches Gemüse, Orangen, Avocado wachsen hier auf unglaublichen 2700 Metern. Ein besonderer Leckerbisse war die Tuna, die Frucht eines Kaktuses... aber Achtung beim aufschneiden! Die feinen Stacheln der Tuna (sie heissen Q'epu, wie das Dorf) sind heimtückisch!

... 1501; השני חותרי 01; רוב היום אך באחד מתרגו 00;י ההתהפ 99;ות נתקעת 97; מתחת לסירה. ישר עלו בי כל הפ ...

... of my travels today, so I decide to hit the grocery store to stock up on snacks for the big bus trip to Puno tomorrow, and then up to a little shop I passed earlier in the day to get a Peru patch for my collection.

Back at the hotel, I find one a handful of the group chilling out in the lounge and Aaron, one of the Kiwi crew already 3 bottles into a 6-pack of cerveza. I decide to dump my things in my room, do a little pre-packing for the next few ...

... of smoke, there were dozens of guinea pigs (a local delicacies) running around the floor, corns hanging from the ceiling and a young boy peeling potato's in the corner. After a few minutes I begin to realise that these people had everything they needed in one room, they didn't need large open spaces filled with plasma tv's, PS3's, dishwashers etc, they were content with what they had and who was I to be judging them.

After the house we were then given some free time ...

... 2am, still a bit knackered from the walk, but Eugene the big party animal continued on until about 4.30am, a bit hard for a 9.30am check out of the hostel the following morning but was managed.

Today is a night bus to Nazca, our most expensive bus ride yet so we are hoping for a nice comfortable ride. Still undecided whether we will do the flight over the lines, so check in soon to see whether Eugene managed to get in the small plane!

... night. With my horrible spanish, I never did truly understand what was wrong or why the doctor decided to operate. She said 10 people were operated on that day. Maybe cateracs (sp?) ???

So not hot water and being stared are miniscule things compared to unexpected eye surgery! I have my health, air, water & food. Everything else is icing on the cake!!!

Hope everyone has a super groovy day =)

... cold beer, as well as hot showers ($1.5) and toilet facilities. A short trail leaves from the southern end of the hostel to the ruins of Wiñay Wayna. The name in Quechua means ‘forever young’ and is named after a variety of pink orchid which grows here. The ruins comprise magnificent agricultural terraces set in an impressive location. There are also many buildings of good quality stonework and a sequence of 10 baths, suggesting that the site ...

... or hold the group up.

I needn’t have worried because we made camp each night before sun down.

Turns out the Chachapoyas Trek was way more intense; mainly because The Incas, they have the good road building techniques. It’s up and down but at least the footing is even all the way along.

So we boarded a bus of other sleepy looking characters. All quietly contemplating the experience ahead of us, and a few no doubt contemplating why we ...