Cusco
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2005
1
19
65
Trip End
May 11, 2006
Cusco,
Peru
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
For all the "stuff" that was in the desert, huts, outbuildings, farms, car tracks, foot prints; I saw very few people. At one point the desert as far as the eye could see was dotted with small square huts with flat roofs -I had no idea what they were for, too small for houses and no one around at all.
The desert was grey sand and grey overcast sky, not how you would imagine a desert to be. After traveling along the coast for some time we headed in land, completely surrounded by desert.
At some point after dark we headed into the mountains, The Andes. I was glad for the dark, it masked the huge drop that was always to our left or right, depending on the last turn we took. Car headlights 100's of meters below us on the same section of road confirmed the great height we were at, our own headlights hitting the rock faces in front, how steep it was.
For 15 hours we zigzagged up and down mountain. As dawn broke we got great views of the Andes, our bus passing in and out of clouds that surround the mountains. And I got to see how precariously the road clings to the mountain side. "In Driver We Trust"
We arrived in Cusco around 10am. I booked into a hostel that overlooks the main square; I have a great few of the city from my window. I have reserved a place on the Inca Trail -even though my cab driver said it would be impossible- I set off on Friday morning.
Charlie and Lewis are in south Bolivia, a couple of weeks ahead of me I think, but I want to try to catch up with them so we can spend a bit of time together before they leave. PEN15 club. May have to miss out most of Bolivia -Lewis and Charlie don't rate it much- and just head straight for Argentina.
Think I have a bit of the old Bird Flu so I hope it clears up before I have to do the Inca Trail, don't fancy hiking up massive mountains when I'm not feeling great.
