Cusco Peru

Cocoa Tea to combat the affects of altitude sickness!

Had to be tried! Super sweet but tasty, could only drink one though!! 

We were lucky enough to be in Cusco during one of their many festivals.  We perched on the church steps & watched procession after procession of some very fancy & strangely dressed characters.  I'm sure some were telling a story but we couldn't quite figure it out.  Still good fun to watch on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

     

           

We also had some kids dressed in the same costume as the entertainment on our train back from Machu Picchu! 

       A shaggy Alpaca!

Cusco is such a pretty little place full of character & original buildings.  It is super busy with tourists as this is the gateway to Machu Picchu via train.  There is an abundance of artists selling their paintings, cafes & restaurants, lots of little market stalls, and many massage options.  There are many activity booking offices for the adrenalin junkies out there as well as many alpaca clothing shops. 

 

            

                         

                                                       

Up on the hills above Cusco for some horse riding.  The views were spectacular and the sun shone on us the whole morning!

        

Josh fuelling us up with freshly squeezed orange juice before our quad bike tour of the Cusco countryside!

                      

             

             

The Mara Salt Pans are ancient family owned salt pans which are fed by a natural warm salt water spring from the mountain.  There is an intrecate irrigation system which floods water to all levels of the pans.  

                

                                                   

Moray Inca ruins.  Built to perfection to assess the influence of different altitudes on crops.

                 

Sacred Valley bus tour.  We spent the day travelling through beautiful valleys and through picturesque villages to take in the sights of Pisaq, Ollantayatambo & Chinchero.  All truly spectacular in their own way & just so fascinating the work that went into these villages, terraces & forts with no machinery and some stone being sourced from other mountains!! 

            

    

               

           

              

         Many, many steps later we made Ito the top!!!

      

              

   

                                     

              

        

         

                                         

                       

     A collection of different leaves & plants used to colour the sheep, llama & alpaca wool for textiles! 

             

This little shepherdess must have been only 6yrs old but was solely herding her flock of sheep home! 

     

           Another village, another festival!!! 

                  The costumes are just so colourful with such detailed patterns! 

         

          

        Every village in Peru seems to be built on a hillside with some very steep roads/paths!!! 

                                     

     Toasting our last night in Cusco with the local Peruvial speciality, Pisco Sours!! Mmmmmmm!!!!!