Our walking tour of Cusco began with a short walk up to the market of San Pedro.
At the market, Rom, our guide took time to show us some of the more unusual items to be found in the market, along with items that we may want to take home, like Peruvian chocolate etc.
We were given time to explore the market ourselves, which we adored and we, like many others in the group decided to sample a specially made smoothie. Made with the very freshest of ingredients and made to order with exactly what we wanted in it, the smoothie was absolutely delicious.
After some time in the market, we made our way on foot through the centre of Cusco, admiring the original inca walls as we walked. It’s just incredible how the ‘new’ building are built into the Inca foundations which have stood there since the 15th century. They still look brand new.
We visited the Temple of the Sun, one of the most important in the entire Inca Empire, where more incredible inca walls remained.
From here we continued on foot to the cathedral and Plaza de Armas, and enjoyed a group lunch together on the square.
I tried the local cuisine of Ox heart kebabs- oh they were so tasty! The food on this tour was absolutely exquisite. For sure, the best we’ve enjoyed on a GRJ tour.
After lunch, the group broke up so people could do their own thing, we chose to go to the museum of archeology of Macchu Piccu. This was a terrific way to spend an hour- a pre cursor to our trip to Macchu Piccu tomorrow. We learnt the story behind the finding of the site and saw lots of artefacts that were found there, many dating from the 1500s and in next to perfect condition.
We had a browse at the souvenir shops for an hour before meeting up with some of our group for a beer or two. We were enjoying Cusco a lot, but it had a more touristy feel than Arequipa for example and we were forever trying to shoo away people asking us for massages etc. But despite this, Cusco was a fascinating place to spend some time.
The mood was pensive in Cusco by our final night- we had seen so many wonderful things already, but the main feature, Maccu Piccu was creeping closer. I think we were worried it would be let down- such high expectations of what to expect. We had a quiet night, but managed to catch some live music – this time Peruvian Rock! before an early night- we had a 4am alarm for our trip to Maccu Pichu. No-one wanted to oversleep!
WanderLeefy 