First place on the tour was Sacsayhuaman. This is a large Inca ruin above the city of Cuzco. Typical Incan stone work but some massive blocks. Including one at 30 feet.
Note the Incan flood lights. How advanced were they?
We then walked down into the old town part of Cuzco and saw where the Spanish destroyed the Incan temples but then built over them. You can see clearly the remains of the Incan building at the base. Still after the 1650 and 1950 earthquakes it was the inca buildings which were still standing. We also saw the 12 angled stone which when you consider what tools they had is quite a feat. ( sorry no picture taken on the phone taken ).
About midday we had a briefing from 'Hector' our guide for the Inca trail. Few of the group are starting to get a bit anxious about the climb on the second day and about what bag to take :-)
Lunch at our, now, favourite coffee bar.... Well now is not the time to experiment with food. It seemed most of the group felt the same way as they slowly joined us.
We spent the rest of the afternoon continuing our cultural tour of Cuzco finishing off as the sun went down with a large Cuzquena beer, sitting in one of the numerous small squares. Here we met Angela. A 12 year old who, like many adults and children, try to sell the tourists various craft items. She was a real character. She knew who our PM was and the name of our queen and the capital of England was London. Her English was better and clearer than some teenagers we have met in the UK. Yes we did fall for hers sales patter and spent a whole 5 soles ( £1.25). She left us with a smile and moved on to the next table of Brits who were not so easy to charm.
After a quick stop at the supermarket for essentials for the trek (chocolate, energy bars and toilet paper) it was back to the hotel to pack again. A small bag of essentials to last 5 days weighing no more than 7kg and the rest stays locked up in the hotel until our return.
- Posted from my iPhone
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