7th Juy 2012: Arrival in Cuzco:

Just a quick heads up. Have arrived in Cuzco after a gruelling series of flights from Joburg. +11 to Buenos Aires, Argentina, +5 to Lima Peru +1.5 hours to Cuzco. 2+8 in transit. Have managed to get very little sleep, but am good.

Currently 7:47 am, and the temperature is 5 degrees Celsius. Weather was really overcast earlier on, but it seems to be getting better. Hotel Marques, where am residing is quite a cozy and rustic place. Very quiet, which I like.

Altitude-wise, I've started taking 125mg of diamox every 6-7 hours since yesterday. I don't seem to have any shortness of breath. That being said, I haven't engaged in anything challenging so far, and my rest heart rate has jumped up by 25 bpm. Some of it can def be attributed to fatigue, some to my recovering from that crappy thing called flu and some of it to altitude. Will have to rest a bit, and see how that evolves...

Just need to have a well deserved hot shower, before I head into town for a walk and a meal...:)
Before that, few pics of the Hotel, and of the nice Peruvian lady @ Work in the yard, weaving some  garments.

7th July 2012: Mini hike

First day mini hike...after morning checking out the place...set off for lunch, and armed with a stomach full of food, attacked a mini hill from which you have a gorgeous view of Cuzco from an elevation...quick hike down, and follow that up with a wild goose chase to get water purifying tablets...end up getting some, but the tiny pill is for 20 litres...!!!! Ava bizin fer coma dan second, fer fraction...!!!! And to finish off the day, what better than a freshly squeezed melon, peach and passion fruit juice....prob the tastiest freshly squeezed juice I've had in my life...!!!!! And they also sell sandwiches and burgers and open till midnite, and literally a 5 mins walk from the hotel...assuming I don't get lost...:P
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=200321359511111245655.0004c44476025f800ea70

Streets of Cuzco

 Plaza De Armes (Main Square in Cuzco)

Cuzco from top of the hill

 Views from Top of the Hill

Views of Saqsayhuaman

 The locals with Llamas - Had to pay each 1 Soles for taking pics...!!!

Saqsayhuaman

More streets of Cuzco

Square very near to Hotel (You can see the Jesus on top of the hill)

8th July 2012: Cuzco to Puno

1. Travelling alone isn't all that bad. In fact, it can be quite refreshingly interesting. Amazing how time flies in the company of complete strangers, with whom you have a surprisingly good time just chatting away.
2. Learn Spanish before you come visit Peru...!!!!!!!
3. Have managed to behave by not overspending on food...wonder how long that will last...:P that being said, all the food I have ingested have been decent...
4. New camera is a star...!!! Still learning it's subtleties, and am sure I must have messed up a couple of times, but it's just such a flexible tool...!!! Hope my eyes are not being deceived by the tiny on-camera screen....

So, early start to the day. Cuzco to Puno in coach. 10 hours including lots of small picturesque breaks.
1. Old Inca church with lots of frescoes @ Andahuaylillas. No Pics allowed unfortunately in the church... :( But pics from the annexed Inca museum...:)

Contraption to distort the cranial shape. Used only by the people at the top of the social ladder.

Inca sacrifice, child usually drugged, then killed either by smashing a sharp stone in the head, or suffocated by blowing crushed coca leaves into their lungs...!!!
Only higher up people would have their children sacrificed, and they would consider it an extreme honour if their child as chosen...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Note the hole at the centre of the skull...!!!!

 Twin Trees in the Church yard

2. Rachi  Inca ruins...I could have spent all day there just taking pictures. Sadly we were given only 15 mins to roam freely...:(

 Inca Stone steps

3. Stopover at a tiny Peruvian village for lunch. Treated with to live 'authentic' Peruvian music. Food looked great, but taste was a bit of a letdown. tried to eat some Alpaca 2 ways, in a stew and some sort of stir fry. Got a feeling that they overcooked the meat, cos it was dry. No comment on flavour, it just tasted like the spices that were used to marinate it.

4. Quick stopover for a leg stretch, and chance for the tourists to buy some souvenirs in the countryside.

5. Penultimate stop in an agricultural village, Puka Pukara, where some rare Alpaca-like animals called Vicunas. (tail and ears point down instead of up tor the alpacas) can be found. There are apparently only about 10,000 of these animals left, virtually none in the wild. They've been hunted down for their silky soft wool, which fetches up to 700 usd per kilo of the raw stuff...!!!!!

Inca Mummy...

6. Final stop, Puno by lake Titicaca. Met up with guide who brought me to hotel Quasalaya. Was about sunset, so as soon as I got the room, dumped everything, bar my camera gear, and headed straight to the highest publicly accessible floor. for info, this hotel seems to tower all of the other buildings in the immediate surroundings (11 storeys if I'm not mistaken), so perfect place for pics...:P
Stuffed by ugly looking window panes...!!! So I rush to the first hotel personnel I could find, and beg him to grant me access to the roof, which he surprisingly easily does. Opens up a metal door, leading to a dark set of stairs with pots of paint and maintenance eqp scattered along the way. As soon as I emerge outside, I'm greeted to the sound of a big bang coming from a piece of suspended metal pipe hanging on the roof, banging on my forehead..!!! I blame it on extreme excitement of having just had access to possibly one of the best shooting spots around, with the very thin air that enhanced the sense of euphoria....:P but it's too late for sunset...:( missed it barely...start taking some pics nonetheless, since view is quite stunning...and guess what??? battery dead...and left all the spares in the room... so pack all the expensive stuff, and rush down 4 flights of stairs to my room, and back up again, and shoot happily away...:)

Once it got too dark, there was no point staying any longer...too much light pollution for star trails, and underexposed sky makes for ugly top.

Dinner on the cheap in a pizzeria. and back at the hotel. Bit scared to walk alone at night in this place...

Tomorrow off to Amantani islands, and no internet access for the next couple of days....

So far so good...:)