The naval of the world
Cuzco.....the naval of the world according to the incans.
A very pretty town full of cobbled streets, clay orange roof tiles and plenty of churches. Despite the aggressive restaurant touts on Plaza de Armas literally dragging you off the street to come and have free pisco sours at their restaurant, the droves of tourists (mostly american) and the hoards of children forcing you to buy finger puppets even though your own digits, including toes, are covered in them, it is a very beautiful naval.
We had a frantic time trying to organise a 4 day hike up the incan trail to Machu Picchu but alas, it wasn´t to be. Prior to leaving Oz we heard that there was a new regulation to limit the numbers on the path and that you must book at least 6 weeks ahead to guarantee a place. Although we knew this, a number of travellers advised that it was possible to turn up and book a hike within 2 days. Unfortunately the first hike we could book was in July so we had to make alternative arrangements to reach Machu Picchu. Disappointed but tried to console self that Machu Picchu was the highlight.
Anyway, there was plenty to do around Cuzco including exploring the surrounding ruins on miniature malnutritioned horses....a very frightening experience for both Dave and the horse. In between trying to coax the horses to walk faster than a tortoise we saw some very interesting ruins:
* Tambumachay: Incan baths and centre for the worship of water.
* Puca Pucara: ´´Fortress watchtower´´, a checkpoint and administrative centre
* Q'enqo: a labyrinth used for worship and ceremonies. Loads of carvings, holes and canals and underground chamber, and finally,
* Saqsaywaman: Pronounced ´´Sexy Woman´´. Enormous, zig zag shaped fortress in the shape of a puma´s head (the zig zag being its teeth).
Notes:
1. The walk from sexy woman to the centre of town was lovely with great views of Cuzco
2. San Blas area - great place for artsy stuff and cool cafes and restaurants. Note ecclectic bar ´´Fallen Angel´´ with bath tubs filled with goldfish and used as tables
3. Most of the tourists at our hotel had altitude sickness. Couldn´t help but feel relieved as Cuzco is the lowest altitude we have been in the past few weeks so we were absolutely fine!
4. Not game enough to try cuy (guinea pig) yet.....
A very pretty town full of cobbled streets, clay orange roof tiles and plenty of churches. Despite the aggressive restaurant touts on Plaza de Armas literally dragging you off the street to come and have free pisco sours at their restaurant, the droves of tourists (mostly american) and the hoards of children forcing you to buy finger puppets even though your own digits, including toes, are covered in them, it is a very beautiful naval.
We had a frantic time trying to organise a 4 day hike up the incan trail to Machu Picchu but alas, it wasn´t to be. Prior to leaving Oz we heard that there was a new regulation to limit the numbers on the path and that you must book at least 6 weeks ahead to guarantee a place. Although we knew this, a number of travellers advised that it was possible to turn up and book a hike within 2 days. Unfortunately the first hike we could book was in July so we had to make alternative arrangements to reach Machu Picchu. Disappointed but tried to console self that Machu Picchu was the highlight.
Anyway, there was plenty to do around Cuzco including exploring the surrounding ruins on miniature malnutritioned horses....a very frightening experience for both Dave and the horse. In between trying to coax the horses to walk faster than a tortoise we saw some very interesting ruins:
* Tambumachay: Incan baths and centre for the worship of water.
* Puca Pucara: ´´Fortress watchtower´´, a checkpoint and administrative centre
* Q'enqo: a labyrinth used for worship and ceremonies. Loads of carvings, holes and canals and underground chamber, and finally,
* Saqsaywaman: Pronounced ´´Sexy Woman´´. Enormous, zig zag shaped fortress in the shape of a puma´s head (the zig zag being its teeth).
Notes:
1. The walk from sexy woman to the centre of town was lovely with great views of Cuzco
2. San Blas area - great place for artsy stuff and cool cafes and restaurants. Note ecclectic bar ´´Fallen Angel´´ with bath tubs filled with goldfish and used as tables
3. Most of the tourists at our hotel had altitude sickness. Couldn´t help but feel relieved as Cuzco is the lowest altitude we have been in the past few weeks so we were absolutely fine!
4. Not game enough to try cuy (guinea pig) yet.....
posted by W at 5:40 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home