Day 65 - Cusco, Peru

After breakfast today we have to do a bit of admin, namely going to pay a lady to send Amy her knickers (she had left them in the laundry when they were in Cusco), looking for some proper trekking gear and going for our Inka briefing. 

We manage to get Nat some proper walking trainers. Not quite her usual choice of footwear but just the job. 

After our briefing which gets us very excited about our trek we head to Cusco's Free Walking Tour, the same as what we did in Arequipa. This time they give more context that it is supposed to be a non touristy tour that shows you a different side to the city than the main tourist spots. 

The walking tour is good although quite similar to the last one. There was a gastronomy section where we tried Alpaca which was delicious and also, quite randomly Sushi. We also visited a cocoa place for a carbon copy tour as last time. 

Our tour guide was really good though and told us a lot about the history and culture of the Inka's which was really interesting. 

The main square in the centre of town. 

He also wins the award for most interesting description of a stone wall. It was fascinating as he explained how the Inka's built things, particularly how they cut these stones (all random shapes that fit like a jigsaw) 32km away. 

There is the shape of a puma in this one (the Puma is one of the Inka's sacred animals). 

Original barbed wire. This is on top of a wall - far more effective than the real thing if you ask me. 

We are then taken to a cool little music shop where this chaps makes all sorts of musical instruments and treats us to a few songs. He is impressive on his 16 string guitar. 

Nat naturally gets her hands on the instruments. 

After we head up into the hills to get a great view of Cusco. We absolutely love this place. It is such a beautiful town. It has a great buzz about the place and a great place to just get lost exploring the back streets which are a maze of gorgeous buildings and architecture. 

The statue of Christ overlooking Cusco. This one still has all his fingers in tact. 

Panoramic view. 

The steap walk back down. 

There were some very strangely dressed people on our tour. 

Exhibit A: the group of Romanians with the biggest flares and tight waist coat. 

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C: Apparently Toni Burrito has grown his hair, donned a women's vest top and gone Rambo on us! (for those that know him). 

After the tour we finish our shopping buying some "North Farce" (fake North Face) gear. Just hope it actually is water proof and warm! I also hire a rucksack too. 

That evening we go back to the nice little restaurant from the tour called Tinta for some more Alpaca. It is such lovely meat. Absolutely delicious.

Me with my new "technical" gear on. 

Nat has been begging me to take her here all week.

After, we treat ourselves to a dessert and a vino tinto in one of the nice hotel restaurants and head back to get packed for tomorrow. Very excited about the next few days. Less so about our 4am start!