Day Sixteen ... goodbye Machu Picchu and on to Cusco

I woke at 4.00 am today ... coughing my lungs out! Thankfully the roaring sound of the river outside our window drowned me out so Ian was able to keep sleeping. By 6.30 am he was awake ... and looking at me like I was dying (which to be honest ... I felt like I was!). I had a long hot shower ... for my bruises and deep tissue pain and to hack up the gunk on my lungs. (If you are ready to stop reading ... stay with me).

We packed up ... 2 minutes when you travel with a backpack only ... and headed down to breakfast. The lovely lady looking after the breakfast in the hotel made us a lovely fresh omelette (ham, tomato and cheese) and with a couple of coffees for me ... we were all done and ready to start the day. I totally failed to take any photos of breakfast  ... seriously need to pick up my game.

We headed to the station ... just a short 5 minute walk from our hotel through the market. The market ... at 7.58 in the morning was all closed up so we were glad we had a walk through it last night. Some of the stall holders were just opening up and I imagine that by 9.00 it would all be open and bustling.

We easily navigated the station, found our waiting area and then watched the super efficient staff herd the wild tourists. It never ceases to amaze me that people cannot follow simple directions and signage, or those who think the "rules and procedures" that everyone else is obeying just don't apply to them.

As we waited a large group arrived and began praying ... bible readings, the Lord's Prayer, lots of amens. Fairly intrusive in the waiting room ... but it was only the start of the adventure.

We boarded the train, found our seats ... a single pair of seats facing forward which was good as we didn't need to chat with anyone sitting opposite. I know that sounds rude ... but I actually have no voice ... just a little croak, so Ian would have needed to make all the conversation which would have been tough for 2 hours.

Our carriage, which was carriage F, was the recipient of the large group who it turns out were part of a Nativity Pilgrimage tour group from Texas. Now for my dear sister-in-law and darling US friends ... please don't read this next bit!

The only words to describe this group is LOUD and totally unaware of their surroundings and any other people they were sharing the space with. The volume of their conversation was ridiculous. You could hear everything they said, or that they shouted down the train to each other. The loud hysterical laughter (shrill from some of the women) and men who slap their legs when they laugh ... lordy, lordy, lordy ... it is enough to make me start to pray ... for silence!

So we tried to phase them out and enjoy our journey. The river, the mountains, the small villages, the rocks ... the sheer immensity of this landscape. Absolutely beautiful. 

We arrived into Ollantaytambo on time,  visited the banos before exiting the station and meet up with Arturo our transfer guide from 2 days ago. We then headed to meet our car and driver for the drive to Cusco. 

Now a word about drivers and their cars. Every single driver we have had here in Peru has been perfectly groomed, has driven with skill, and has been kind and thoughtful (especially with keeping us safe when entering and exiting the vehicles). The cars themselves ... well vans really ... have been so clean! The drivers take great care of them ... wiping them down with cloths when we are away at a site visit or a walk. The interiors are pristine ... and wiped out to remove the evidence of our dirty boots. The drivers often go overlooked ... but they can make or break a transfer.

As we drove from Ollantaytambo to Cusco we passed through many small towns and it was a great opportunity to see life as it happens. As we drove we saw older folks sitting chatting or walking the streets carrying their shopping. We saw roadside shops selling bamboo, wood and bricks for construction; fruit and vegetables; and roasted guinea pigs on a spit.

The ride was great ... so much to see. The roads were windy at times and with driving in Peru being you can overtake whenever you think you can ... it was at times also hair raising. 

We passed a lake where there are adventure style camps on the lakefront where you can ride a small paddle boat, go fishing or ride on a Ferris wheel! We also saw fields of corn, quinoa,  broccoli and cauliflower. 

We arrived into Cusco just after one and Arturo and Ricardo our driver bid us farewell and headed off to the airport to collect a new arrival.

We went into our hotel hoping to be able to check in. We did all of the check in process but our room was not ready yet. The staff gave us some Coco Leaf tea ... which helps with altitude sickness while we filled in the paperwork needed. We then switched out the back packs again and headed to a local bakery to get something to eat for lunch. 

Organika is a beautiful bakery and we selected two empanadas ... one beef and one cheese and ham. We took our freshly heated bundles to Plaza Regocijo, a small city park just half a block from our hotel. There we sat and ate those beautiful pastries whilst watching the world go by before heading back to the hotel to wait for Yuder to arrive for our afternoon tour.

Yuder arrived a few minutes early for our afternoon tour of Cusco. We strolled down the narrow street from our hotel, dodged cars across the intersection, and past our lunch park to reach the corner of the massive Plaza Mayor (main square). But before the history lesson begins, we find a Botica for Jacqui's cough. Loaded up with legal drugs ... back to the square.

Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire, right in the middle (navel, belly button) of its domain. 3 rivers converge at Cusco (one of which now runs under the road by the square), and the city's old layout was a crouching puma - believe me, it makes sense on a map. We traversed the square - gardens, fountain, statue of Inca King, sound stage, police drills, souvenir sellers and beggars. The ladies in traditional costume with small fluffy llamas were the highlight.

First stop, Cathedral del Cusco. Part museum, part active church, but no photos allowed so you're getting a few pics of Google. Yuder gave us the history of the short Inca empire, and how a people of 9 million were defeated by 160 Spaniards with 86 horses. (Classic pincer move from Alexander the Great. Pizarro knew his war strategy). So having taken over the Spanish built their Catholic cathedral over the top of an Inca building. Only to demolished by earthquakes in 1650 and 1950.

Inside ... gold and silver everywhere. Cedarwood carvings. Stone figures. Marble. 20 chapels. Baroque influence. And 500 paintings, some as large as 6m x 4m. Barely a blank space on the walls. Special mentions. 1. The painting where the young man has to choose between paradise, purgatory or hell. 2. The chapel which looks super full until you realise there is a bench seat and a steering wheel for the priest right in the middle of it. 3. Painting of the Last Supper. The plate in front of Jesus has BBQ'd Guinea pig on it. Did Da Vinci get it wrong?

From Google...

After about 45 minutes we emerged for a few external shots. Past more police and down a narrow street to the old town and Piedra de los 12 Angulos (the stone with 12 angles). Fun engineering fact: To withstand earthquakes don't build walls with equal size bricks in horizontal lines. Use large stones with 4, 5, 6, ... 12 corners. This distributes the pressure more evenly, and while there may be some chips at the corners the overall structure remains intact.

Down a few more lanes, looking down even narrower ones, past high end hotels in grand buildings, to come out at Qorikancha - the Incan sun temple. Once again, multiple earthquakes mean that were dealing with restorations, but it has a beautiful courtyard surrounded by Incan temples and a gallery on an upper level. Rainbow Temple, Lightning and Thunder Temple, Temple for the Constellations, etc. More history about the Inca's connection with the world around them, characterised by peace, respect, oneness. Good people, but as we saw earlier, not great on the battlefield.

About 5pm Yuder turned us for home, at which point we gave him an early mark. Navigation back was pretty easy given that we started on a street that led straight to Plaza Mayor. But we did get sidetracked at the square were groups in traditional costume were lined up for a parade. We didn't stay for the parade but still got to see a lot of colourful and musical dancing. Happy times.

Checked in to our room at 5.45pm - only one chandelier and some ornate light fittings. This place has the feel of a Moroccan riad with the rooms off a central multi-layered courtyard. Straight out again for dinner (back at Organika) as we're both exhausted and have a 6.10am pick up tomorrow morning. So that's it for another day. See you tomorrow.