Cusco again due to strike / Leg healing nicely
Trip Start
May 13, 2009
1
10
17
Trip End
May 31, 2009
Cusco,
Peru
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
One of our crew was supposed to take a bike back to La Paz today, but couldn;t get through, so he will need to leave tomorrow instead. Also, none of the tourists got out to Machu Picchu and I expect some may have missed it altogether if they had no flexibility.
Today we visited another cathedral, built on top of Inca ruins, then hit McDonalds again - I had the local version "The McNifico" (pictured) - interesting but decent.
We also managed to take a quick trip to the market where the locals shop which was just amazing. Susan picked up her favorite - 2lbs of Peruvian coffee, for 10 Soles ($3.30) and a 2lb bag of Cocao beans (also 10 Soles) used for making chocolate.
On the way through the market we found a hot chocolate stand and just couldn't resist. Now I know why they say that Peruvian chocolate is extremly good.
Last night we actually bumped into some people from Santa Fe, NM, who told us about the market and the chocolate - what a small world it is.
There must be more cabs in this town than in New York and they are small, so as to make it through the quite narrow streets. Basically anywhere in the city is 3 Soles ($1), so we are saving our energy and splashing out $1 into the local economy everytime we head out of the hotel.
Tomorrow we are on the bikes again (strike is over) and heading to Aguas Caliente overnight and then up to Machu Picchu at around 5am to beat the crowded train from Cusco. I am told there is no internet in Aguas Caliente so I will update when we get back to Cusco the next day, unless I can find something.
Comments
Re: Good to hear the legs mending !!!!
Tom, Great to hear you made it back safe. Yes the strike is causing some issues. Leo is taking a bike back to La Paz today and has to try to nsneak around to another border crossing at Bolivia - the one we came through is now CLOSED. The strike has ended here but is rolling through various parts of Peru and Bolivia - the next week could get a little trick (maybe some river crossings?)