We both slept really well, which was such a relief. We got up at 06:30 feeling rested and human again, if a bit stuffy and bunged up (as with a head cold) from the effects of the altitude (Cusco is 3,200m). We met the gang for breakfast at 07:00 and were impressed by the fabulous spread of food.
We left the hotel at 08:00 (or 07:60, as our lovely local guide José calls it!) and got on a coach bound for the mountains. It was hot! After about an hour on the coach we arrived at the Inca ruins called Tipón.
We had a bit of a climb which we found hard going. The effects of altitude are such that you can feel absolutely fine while at rest or walking on the flat but as soon as you walk up hill you get out of breath and it is really hard work. We looked around and our local guides told us the history of the site.
We then walked back down to the coach and, after a short journey, arrived at the Pre-Inca ruins called Pikillacta. Here, we had a tour of the site and looked for pottery shards from Inca and Pre-Inca times, and we found some!
We then walked back down past the coach to the banks of a lake where we had a fantastic lunch. It felt like being on safari!
The coach then took us back to the hotel where we chilled for a bit before dinner and packed our bags for the next 4 days.
At 19:00 we walked to a local restaurant where we ate fabulous food at an 'all you can eat' buffet whilst being entertained by local musicians and dancers.
At 20:15 we were checking the time on our watches as we were feeling tired and by 20:30 we were back at the hotel finishing our bag packing and going to bed as we had a longer trek ahead of us the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment