But it’s not so rosy for many other tourists in Cusco this week.Ĭuy asado (roast guinea pigs) Cusco Market Okay… we know when we’re beaten… we take the police advice and head back to Quinta Lala for a bit more acclimatising and socialising. On the outskirts of town, crowds are gathering with lots of police with riot gear. Unfortunately, the Peruvian National Union of Teachers (or some similarly-named august organisation) has different plans for us and blockades our route out of Cusco. We say our goodbyes and set-off to explore deepest-darkest Peru… or so we thought! After a few days of socialising and acclimatising we’re ready to move on.
Over a camp-fire we have a pleasant time catching up with Marc, his wife Barbara and others at the camp. This time we meet again with Swiss traveller Marc who we last met over a year ago in Salta, Argentina. Almost every overlander in the region seems to end up here, so you’re sure to meet like-minded travel-bods. Quinta Lala is the overlanders’ camp of choice in Cusco. I love the huge, varied market where locals lunching on their roasted cuy (guinea pig) blend seamlessly with gap-year kids buying knitted alpaca hats. Despite the obviously dominant tourism industry, I think it still retains an air of authenticity. Yes, I know, Cusco isn’t everyone’s cup-of-tea, but I have to admit to rather liking the place. Keen Cuthbert fans may recall we came here last year: visited Machu Picchu, hiked to Rainbow Mountain and climbed a 400m via-ferrata to sleep in a glass pod hanging off the cliff-face! This time we just want to rest and acclimatise to the altitude at around 3,400m/11,100ft. On the way we see battlefields, industrial heritage, some lakey-scenery and just the odd llama by an Inca ruin!įirst stop is the mega-tourist centre of Cusco. Now we head up to the Andes, Peru’s central highlands, for a long-awaited dose of cool, crisp mountain air.
Honest! For our third entry to Peru, we crossed the Brazilian Amazon into the (rather similar looking) south Peruvian Amazon. So is it all Incas and llamas in Peru? Well, okay… there are quite a lot of Inca sites and there are quite a few wandering llamas.
0 kommentar(er)
