Cusco may be a bit touristy but it is without doubt a wonderful city. The central plaza is certainly one of, if not the, prettiest we have seen to date. Then there are the numerous cobblestone streets & amazingly constructed Inca walls. As night had already fallen when we arrived in Cusco we quickly went about finding a bed for the night. We checked into a dump for 1 night, slept well mind you, and checked out the following morning. Whilst our 2nd accommodation in Cusco was better it was a tad too reminiscent of Happy Days in La Paz, i.e. if you returned after 9pm you would have to ring the doorbell and wait while the owner 
unlocked the various locks and chains that held the door secure. He would then stand there in his pyjamas with a discomforting grin on his face. We stayed 2 nights. Our third bowl of porridge….I mean….our 3rd accommodation in Cusco was just right! Our days here have been filled with visiting the various museums, and, via the neverending steps, the Inca sites around the city. Sachayhauman (no one ever seems to tire of calling it “Sexy Woman”) was our first and most impressive stop, however, the sites of Qénko, Puca Pucara, and Tambo Machay were also well worth the
effort. Not really being of the museum going ilk, but having purchased the Cusco tourist ticket, which gives you access to all the ruins plus numerous museums, we decided we might as well avail. Put it this way, we haven´t been converted. We also looked into the possibility of doing longer treks with some of the countless local agencies. As the actual Inca Trail is booked out months in advance, particularly at this time of year, the Salcantay trek was our next best option. After much deliberation (with Claire insisting all other treks were for losers) we came to the following decision: as we are now in Peru & have yet to see Ecuador and Columbia before turning south again for Chile and Argentina we could swing by again when we are “in the neighbourhood”. Hence, we are now booked to do the Inca trail on the 30th of October. I wonder if the Inca ghosts come out to play on Halloween?!
With regards to our travels, and in order to get ourselves back moving in the right direction we bit the bullet yesterday & booked a flight to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast of Columbia, right up the very north!! It means that once we touch down we will be heading in one direction and one direction only…South.
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