Saturday 16 January

Lima to Sacred valley via Cusco

After the early breakfast, we were on the bus at 6.40am.  At the airport were another two Scenic groups (one had been on the Amazon and the other had arrived from Australia – all were doing the balance of our journey).

At the airport we had a 250m walk from the bus to the terminal then we joined one of the many check-in lines for the 56 counters, almost all of which were very busy. Our arrival over 2 hours before our flight time was due to the number of people at the airport (ie. over 500) and that South American airlines overbook their seats by 50 percent. (Qantas is 10 percent). 

At Cusco (at 3,360m/11,200ft) we were onto buses and off to Sacred Valley. 

In Cusco the traffic lights tell you how long you have before they change.

Local markets in Cusco

People don't finish their houses - they pay more tax for completed homes, and they build only what they need at the time, adding on as they need it.

Some homes are fancier than others. Many in rural areas are built of adobe , mud bricks) (pronounced 'adobee'), such as the wall to the left of this house. Some are not well made and deteriorate in the wet season.

Scenic always provides bottled water, but today we had to drink lots due to the high altitude. Oxygen and puffers were available on the bus for those affected by altitude sickness – shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, difficulty lifting legs etc. We all felt woozy, and some of us took advantage of extra oxygen, Lesley included. She doesn’t think that she is suffering much from the altitude though, except for the headache – rather it is a combination of tiredness, getting land legs back (sometimes felt as if the ground was shifting under foot). 

Overlooking the Sacred Valley

Some locals in the Sacred Valley

We had late lunch at a lovely hacienda (Hacienda Huayoccari) in the Sacred Valley. The owners have the largest private collection of Incan artefacts in the country, so we enjoyed looking around this. 

Here we also had a demonstration of village weaving by the local Chinchero ladies, in their colourful dress. They showed us how they make the different colours, all natural, and how they set each colour. Then they showed us how they wash the wool, then spin it, then dye it, then weave it, with the most intricate patterns, each one with a meaning. Lesley bought some items.

There was lots to choose from!

In Peru there are eucalypts. It feels strange to see trees so familiar to us in an unfamiliar setting! The locals use the timber for building and fires. The hacienda had many such trees.

In the Sacred Valley we saw many ‘tuk tuks’ (don’t know what they are called in Peru). They are motor bikes with one front wheel and two back wheels, and a little cabin all around it. The driver sits in the centre at the front and two passengers can sit in the back. Some owners take great pride in their vehicle’s appearance, one even having an aerofoil on it!

 

 

Sacred Valley is at around 2900m/9,500ft, and we are suffering the effects of high altitude (ie headache and dizziness) which together with lack of sleep over the past 3 nights is catching up with us.

Our hotel in Urubamba in the Sacred Valley, Tambo Del Inka, is considered one of the top 10 hotels in the world. Indeed it is very nice - 6+ stars. The staff are so obliging. Most of us either ate nothing for dinner or had only something light – we had delicious corn soup and bread. A special tea, tasting of peppermint, for some has helped with the effects of the altitude.

Not long after dinner, we retired to our room, copied photos across to the laptop, had showers then fell into bed.