Day 18: Cusco, Peru

Today we had a brief scare regarding our train reservations to Macchu Pichu, when we learned that the trains no longer leave out of the nearby station per our reservation, but instead now leave out of another station in a different town. We also realized that we only had e-vouchers that needed to be exchanged for actual tickets and to make things trickier today was Sunday... After doing as much research as we could online, we set out in search of the PeruRail office at the original train station only to find it completely closed. A friendly guard there explained that we had to take a taxi to a third train station right away because PeruRail had offices there that were open only for another hour. We grabbed the first crusty cab we saw and were successfully taken to the right spot, where all was sorted and we were given the actual tickets we need. We found out that we do need to leave from a totally different train station than our evouchers stated, but luckily our hotel has arranged a taxi for us in the morning so we should now be all set. Just a small travel adventure...

With that crisis averted, we then wandered around town some more. This is one of the streets that leads to the main plaza, called the Plaza de Armas or the Plaza Mayor.




Here is an example of the Spanish-influenced style of balconies that you see all over but particularly in the main square.




From our hotel room this morning, we noticed a large crowd in the Plaza and heard loud band music. When we inquired, we learned that it was a weekly Sunday ceremony that revolved around the raising of the flags for Cuzco and Peru (pictured below). The celebration involved a lengthy parade and everyone seemed to be dressed up in black or navy suits and in groups representing different schools and organizations.




We had lunch in one of the restaurants with balconies overlooking the main plaza and from there I was able to get a picture of some of the women and children dressed in typical Andean costumes who constantly pester tourists, offering a photo with them (and usually a baby goat or llama too).




In the afternoon, we did a "City Tour" which mostly involves sites outside the main town area. At an Incan site called Saqsayhuaman, our group was surprised by a random hail storm that appeared out of nowhere after hours of beautiful sunshine. Which is why you will see Frank wearing his handy hood in the following photo. Needless to say, we did not stay long at the site, which was unfortunate.




Another site, called Pukapukara (below) was probably a stop along the communication system that involved runners who traveled with messages and then passed them off at stops such as this one.



Driving around the mountains surrounding Cusco gave us some excellent photo opportunities. Below is a good example of the stunning views with sometimes snow-capped mountains in the background.




When we got back, we had dinner at a fantastic Italian restaurant and were given the best seat in the place, right in the window overlooking a small plaza. For some reason, there seem to be more Italian restaurants than South American restaurants in South America...

Tomorrow we get up early and head to Machu Picchu, which should be an exciting day.

I should probably reassure everyone who was concerned that Frank was kidding about the underwear business in his last post. He does only have 5 pairs with him but we have now done laundry twice.

And no, Dougie, we did not eat the cuy (large wild guinea pig) - we just weren't brave enough. We did have some interesting dishes though including a stuffed hot pepper and something made out of potatoes and meat that tasted like a samosa.

Thank you for all your comments, everyone. Keep them coming!

Oh, and today's blog is dedicated to my parents who are in Ronda, Spain today visiting some of the spots that will be appearing much later in this blog. They are touring the south of Spain for 10 days and are hitting a number of the places we will be in late June, including Sevilla, Ronda, and Granada.

ILM