Wed found gringo alley in Puno very cosmopolitan compared to anywhere in Bolivia. THis does not prepare us for Cusco though. Its like going through a time warp.. there are 5 star hotles everywhere. No rubbish. Gringos everywhere. Eating establishments that could be anywhere in the world. And nice food too!
Wasting no time we check out the famous alley with the crazy
Inco walls. Huge stones interlocking in bizzarre ways are indeed a sight to see. We are hounded by kids and touts for souvineers, massages etc. And a couple of cute young fellas explain the ins and outs of the walls. The significance of the 12 sided stone, and the stones that form the shape of a Puma (if really using your immagination.) They also show us a crazy photo of Machuu Picch on dusk on the June solstace. Totaly freaky.. look at the mountin behind it sideways and it looks EXACTLY like a human face!!!! It only happens once a year, and is evidently why they chose that sight in the first place... We give them 5 soles and they actualy have the gaul to complain that its not enough! 
In quite the opposite fashion though our restaurant decision for the night takes on controversial proportions. We are accosted by touts who literally bid agaist ewch other for our custom, each ofering more free drinks than the last! Saying good bye to the Italians as we retire is all a bit emotional really. They have insisted all along that we meet them in Venice in a few months. The wolf is a boat builder and will take us to canals that no other tourists see. They say good bye giving us a written token for the ride, and a couple of bracelets. Genuinely touched I grab a Maori bone carving i made years ago and have been waiting to give to someone. Its the classic hook, and the wolf is stoked, being a fisherman and all. We look foward to meeting in a few months.
The next day (today) is unfortunately only cemi productive. We get some boxes to send excess stuff (ie warm clothing) to Italy. We wont need it after Machu Picchu when we fly to the low lands. The pricec DHL and TNT are terrorfying. Literaly several hundred US dollars. We will have to go with the local post instead. Fingers crossed..
Its been raining all night, but it stops for most of the day, starting again in the eve. The rainy season it appears is actualy here. This was exactly what we were hoping to avoid. Especialy here. We have barely seen a few drops until now..
For the reasons of rain, and others we have decided not to do the Inca trail. Its expensive, and everyone does it (and raves about it), but we are somehow not motivated. Instead we are going to embark on the "sneaky Gringo trail". This will get us to Macchu Picchu, also taking four or so days. But it will involve lots of bus travel to non gringo towns, crossing a river with a dodgy flying fox, and many kilometers of walking (and not with porters carrying our stuff).
The only official way to get to Macchu Picchu as a gringo os either to catch the tourist train ( a rediculous $67US!!) or do the Inca trail walk (minimum $350US). We found this alternative concept on the Lonelyplanets bulletin board "the thorn tree." It is not in any guide book, supposedly costs $8US and is pretty dubious. We buy our ticket for the first leg of the journey, to Santa Maria, at 1pm tomorrow. It will be an adventure at least..
We also have an ultimately unsuccessful adventure trying to pick up some dodgy ISIC cards. They are a dime a dozen in Thailand or Istanbul, but even talking to the dodgiest looking tatoo artists we find doesnt work out. Evidently there are "too many checks nowdays." pity, cos the discounts for having one here are pretty good!
The Inca museum we visit is vast, with loads to take in. Somwhat scarey are the deformed skulls of the old nobility. THey used to squeeze them with metal braces etc. Grim.. Of more amusement is the "Urban Virgens" exhibit. Old Christian paitings with white women as the models being replaced with photos of local Indian women instead. Politicaly correct??? Mmmm
Wasting no time we check out the famous alley with the crazy
Inco walls. Huge stones interlocking in bizzarre ways are indeed a sight to see. We are hounded by kids and touts for souvineers, massages etc. And a couple of cute young fellas explain the ins and outs of the walls. The significance of the 12 sided stone, and the stones that form the shape of a Puma (if really using your immagination.) They also show us a crazy photo of Machuu Picch on dusk on the June solstace. Totaly freaky.. look at the mountin behind it sideways and it looks EXACTLY like a human face!!!! It only happens once a year, and is evidently why they chose that sight in the first place... We give them 5 soles and they actualy have the gaul to complain that its not enough! 
In quite the opposite fashion though our restaurant decision for the night takes on controversial proportions. We are accosted by touts who literally bid agaist ewch other for our custom, each ofering more free drinks than the last! Saying good bye to the Italians as we retire is all a bit emotional really. They have insisted all along that we meet them in Venice in a few months. The wolf is a boat builder and will take us to canals that no other tourists see. They say good bye giving us a written token for the ride, and a couple of bracelets. Genuinely touched I grab a Maori bone carving i made years ago and have been waiting to give to someone. Its the classic hook, and the wolf is stoked, being a fisherman and all. We look foward to meeting in a few months.
The next day (today) is unfortunately only cemi productive. We get some boxes to send excess stuff (ie warm clothing) to Italy. We wont need it after Machu Picchu when we fly to the low lands. The pricec DHL and TNT are terrorfying. Literaly several hundred US dollars. We will have to go with the local post instead. Fingers crossed..
Its been raining all night, but it stops for most of the day, starting again in the eve. The rainy season it appears is actualy here. This was exactly what we were hoping to avoid. Especialy here. We have barely seen a few drops until now..
For the reasons of rain, and others we have decided not to do the Inca trail. Its expensive, and everyone does it (and raves about it), but we are somehow not motivated. Instead we are going to embark on the "sneaky Gringo trail". This will get us to Macchu Picchu, also taking four or so days. But it will involve lots of bus travel to non gringo towns, crossing a river with a dodgy flying fox, and many kilometers of walking (and not with porters carrying our stuff).
The only official way to get to Macchu Picchu as a gringo os either to catch the tourist train ( a rediculous $67US!!) or do the Inca trail walk (minimum $350US). We found this alternative concept on the Lonelyplanets bulletin board "the thorn tree." It is not in any guide book, supposedly costs $8US and is pretty dubious. We buy our ticket for the first leg of the journey, to Santa Maria, at 1pm tomorrow. It will be an adventure at least..
We also have an ultimately unsuccessful adventure trying to pick up some dodgy ISIC cards. They are a dime a dozen in Thailand or Istanbul, but even talking to the dodgiest looking tatoo artists we find doesnt work out. Evidently there are "too many checks nowdays." pity, cos the discounts for having one here are pretty good!
The Inca museum we visit is vast, with loads to take in. Somwhat scarey are the deformed skulls of the old nobility. THey used to squeeze them with metal braces etc. Grim.. Of more amusement is the "Urban Virgens" exhibit. Old Christian paitings with white women as the models being replaced with photos of local Indian women instead. Politicaly correct??? Mmmm
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