Sad to leave Arequipa but Machu Picchu beckons
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2008
1
86
122
Trip End
Dec 17, 2008
Cuzco,
Peru
Friday, August 29, 2008
Chachani Village Kids 2
. The flipside of this is that it is very probably the most touristy place I have been on my entire trip ... it is absolutely rammed with tourists , tour agencies , restaurants and artesania shops. In the centre of the city you cannot walk much more than fifty yards (if you are lucky) without someone trying to sell you pictures , postcards , massages , tours , restaurants , drugs and more ... it does get a bit irritating after a while even though I appreciate they´re just trying to make a living as best they can. As I´m starting my trek to Machu Picchu at the unearthly hour of 4am on Saturday morning my plan for Thursday and Friday in Cusco was just to take it easy , having a gentle look around the city , catching up on my sleep and getting all the various bits & pieces together I need for my 4-day Inca Trail expedition. On Thursday night I met up for dinner and a beer with Ulli , the German friend who I met on the boat from Panama & travelled with in Colombia for a while ... Ulli has reached Cuzco the other way round from me via Venezuela , Brazil and Bolivia ... good to catch up and exchange travellers tales & tips. I´m excited to be heading on the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu , if a little wary of the forthcoming demands of the trek. There are two 4am starts , one 5am start and a 6.30 start so sleep will be at a premium I think. The trek is about twenty miles or so over the four days so it´s not massive distances but the altitude and the gradient in places are supposed to make it more challenging , aswell as the cold nights with temperatures dropping to close to freezing. I´m conscious that I´m falling behind with the photos on the blog - when I come back from the Inca Trail trek I will set some time aside to update with photos from Lima , Arequipa , Cuzco and Machu Picchu. 
