Cusco City and Inca Sacred Valley Tours
Hey everyone – long time no see – Sorry – Just been in the jungle and hiking nstuff but we’re back for one short night before we head off again for two more night. get a blog in before waking up at 5am again.
South America (well Peru) is awesome. Karina and I are really enjoying this trip and soaking it all up. We are loving the differences here and I personally am loving the culture, experiencing traditional food (a love of mine), and the crazy drivers. Anything goes here. Loving the Andes, the history, the Andean people, the little villages in the middle of the forests – it’s all just amazing.
Did you know that cars weren’t in Cusco until 1990 – that’s amazing!
We both have lots of air bellies due to the altitude and a headache here and there but other than that we are doing great – Slightly uncomfortable but generating lots of laughter upon release hahahaha. There is more wifi here than Europe – go figure.
We are running up and down the stairs to our hotel each day to see how acclimatised we are getting and I can tell it’s getting better every day.
We have meandered through Cusco enough and visited many sites and walked till we couldn’t walk no more. We pre planned a two week whirlwind tour that takes us through trekking to Macchu Picchu, hiking in the jungles, History city tours in Cusco and seeing lake Titicaca. I’ll break it up as good as I can and i’ll start with the City tour and Sacred Valley.
We spent two days in a car with a personal guide (sweeeet) exploring the Sacred Valley of the Incas and various other sites such as where all the tourist items are made and certain other historic sites of the Andean people. The Sacred Valley is a road that spans hundreds of kilometres made by the Incas for all various reasons. It is a long path that leads to the Jungle and also served as border patrol so the jungle Indians couldn’t enter into Cusco – the main heart of the Incas. The most fascinating for both Karina and I was Ollantaytambo – one of the last Incan towns to fall to the Spanish, much of Ollantaytambo is laid out in the same way as it was in Inca times and really cool to see – especially when a guide who was enthused as David was and really painted a great picture telling all the war stories and history of all the places. Some places were for bathing and hunting for the king, some for vegetation, some as fortresses and some for sacrifice and it was all very sacred and REALLY cool to see in the flesh.
We also took part in a chocolate making experience which was cool. We made our own chocolate and learned the whole process. We made traditional Mayan hot chocolate and the lady said the final ingredient to make it really traditional was 3 drops of blood from someone’s tongue. I really believed she was going to do it. It looked real – she had the gloves, pin and poker face to go with it – but it was a fun joke – I was willing to down that blood tainted drink but luckily it was a joke. There was a competition in who could grind the beans the fastest and make a fine chocolate paste out of the whole group – it was a close call between me, a Canadian and American but I won WOOT WOOT and was the recipient of a bag of cocoa tea – really nice tea too.
We also partook in a yoga class that was pretty intense with a lot of pushups (i know) and great stretches that I felt my body needed – Karina knocked over the incense bottle and the whole room stunk like lavender and my nose went all runny hahaha.
See the pics – HEAPS COOOOOL!!!! We are having a blast here in South America
One thing I can say about the photos is that they do it no justice – the terraces and Inca blocks are so massive you can’t imagine how the Incas did it.
Vanderpants Euro Bicycle Tour 2012 
Hi, great pictures – looks like you are having a ball (and getting plenty of exercise). Were Tim Tams made locally or imported?. Sounds like there is plenty of history about the place. – Meant to ask earlier how it was in the thin air (headaches etc), hope it hasn’t been too much of a problem – No, don’t need to know about gut problems and the aftermath though. Sorry we didn’t connect on Skype. Stay safe, continue to enjoy your holiday, will be hard to go back to work – love to you both XXXXXX
Helloooooooo over there. I tell you, watch that chocolate!! That Peruvian lady was very small. Smallness genes could be in the chocolate.
You know of course, I have never eaten chocolate and that is why I am rather tall.
A bit of blood in chocolate would not have phased me either Aidie!
(Can you tell I wasn’t as impressed by the majestic scenery as I was by the chocolate). I am saying chocolate a lot. Damn Weight Watchers!!
Anyway, you both look so healthy and happy. Miss you so much.
Heaps and heaps of love.