Our hotel in Pisac

Some pictures of the outside, the view from our balcony and the lounge/bar.

Cuzco to Pisac: Part 2

We drove on through windy roads into the Sacred Valley and the small town of Pisac and up to the ruins of the Incan town.

The ruins are famous for their massive agricultural terraces that allowed the Incas to farm on s massive scale.

After we had planned to hike down a trail from the Incan city to the modern town but unfortunately heavy rainfall this year had made that trail unsafe.

From Cuzco to Pisac: part 1

Several stops today.
First some handicraft factories near Saqsaywaman. Then unto a refuge for animals. These included vincuns, condor, puma, various monkeys and a baby bear. Most were rescued from hunters or from people who had them as exotic pets.

Cuzco Evening

Our last night in Cuzco. Tomorrow we head towards the sacred valley. We will come back to Cuzco to recover after the trek to Machu Picchu.

Views over Cuzco

From Saqsaywaman.

Above Cuzco

This morning we set off early this morning to visit the remains of the original Incan city of Cuzco. We had seen some of the original stonework the previous evening in the side streets near the hotel.

The site we visited today, Saqsaywaman, was the perched on the hills above modern Cuzco and was the centre of religious worship in the Incan capital.

Everybody is coping with the altitude. Finn felt a little nauseous early in the day but that gradually passed. However, climbing a few flights of stairs in the ruins left everybody breathless.

Cuzco at night

More pics

Safe in Cuzco

We made it this time!

Lima to Cuzco: Round 2

Peru is a country with multiple climates crammed close to one another. Lima is kept cool by Pacific currents but is kept dry by the Andes - if rain is going to fall it is over the mountains.
Cuzco is at high altitude and so has weather that operates independently of Lima. Being closer to the damp, jungle side of Peru it also gets affected by the inland Amazonian climate
In short - just because it is mild and sunny here in Lima right now tells you nothing about the conditions in Cuzco :)

We are booked on a flight around 1:30 PM to Cuzco!

(Plus some photos of our Lima Hotel)

Lima tour photos

Before our failed flight to Cuzco we had a tour of Lima. Some photos:

Change of plan

Our flight had to turn back when it reached Cuzco airspace because of bad weather... And so we returned to Lima and our hotel.

Lima then Cuzco

Met the other families in our group last night, as well as our trip guide Raoul - who is from Cuzco.
This morning we have a tour of Lima and then fly to Cuzco.
I am a bit concerned about altitude sickness because I have a mild chesty cough from the jet lag etc.
We are all taking altitude sickness medication in preparation.

Just hanging out in Lima

We meet the rest of our party tonight but today we have just been hanging out. We walked through the backstreets of Miraflores until we reached the cliffs that overlook the beach. Built into this part of the cliffs was a posh shopping mall. All the big brand name stores. We stopped for lunch which was pricey but nice, with an excellent view.

Laundry day

We fly to Cuzco tomorrow, so this morning needed a trip to the launderette.

More cats

Parque Kennedy cats being fed near the church on Good Friday.

The missing luggage returns

A couple of days late but neatly wrapped after an extra stay in Argentina.

Museo Larco

The Museo Larco.

Home to ancient Peruvian treasures.

A vast collection of Peruvian ceramics.

...and,

A separate wing dedicated to ancient Peruvian erotic pottery!