Arriving in a foreign country during political protests, particularly at the airport where i was arriving at was interesting to say the least. The road blockades and subsequent diversions around the outskirts of Cusco, made for an awesome scenic tour..haaa. They were not protesting about tourists, in fact when they saw we were, they let us through. Their gripe is with the Peruvian President not delivering on election promises and the cost of living. I support their plight.
Cusco is an amazing place. My Hotel (Kenamari Hotel) went out of their way to ensure every moment of my short stay went smoothly. Even to the point of coming and collecting my bags and me from a blockade and scurrying us to the safety of the hotel on foot.
Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire which lasted until those nasty and violent Spanish conquesters came and destroyed it. Gone are the Spanish now and back is the spirit of the Incan.
As I always like to do, i walked the back streets, up the steep and steps filled roads to get lost to find my way again. The people are friendly towards us Gringos as tourism is a massive income for this relatively poor country. The plazas around central Cusco are full of life, i recommend walking to other plazas as there are more locals there and less tourists.
The tourism and the operations are run perfectly, and Australia should take a note of the processes and interpersonal ways that Peruvians approach their tourism. And I work in the industry back home!!
I thoroughly recommend doing the Cusco City tour, which I thought was going to be a boring tour of even more boring Spanish churches ( note previous comment about Spaniards of old). However I was mistaken 100% and was guided through the older Incan cities and temples that are in and around Cusco.
The Temple of the Sun is in central Cusco however the other temples are located above Cusco between 3500-3800 metres above sea level. These were used for ceremonial purposes and as the gateway to the Sacred valley.
Machu Picchu was simply a must, and its easy to see why it is the signature tourist destination for Peru. Its awe inspiring and if it is not already on your bucket list, put it on it. The transit to Macchu Pichu in itself is worth the trip and I recommend paying the little bit extra for the Vistsdome. The town at the base of the mountain is quaint and the bus ride up the 20 or so hair pin turns is a laugh ( or cry, depends on what you are like with heights)!!
Cusco wasn't originally on my itinerary as my focus was the Amazon, and clearly my thinking in this department was wrong. Thanks to my Boss (Dom) for info and insight from his travels here. I already want to return, ill put my leave application in asap ;)
Off to Lima and then into the Amazon Jungle on Saturday morning!!!
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