17. Wednesday 4/8/99 Machu Picchu Lives Up To The Hype 

Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu, Cusco ,Cusco ,Cusco Those stupid gringos all go to the same place. 

But then it turns out , because it is really special. Beautiful mountain scenary , loads of historic ruins and the intriguing Inca mystery, How did thery build all these amazing , buildings and why ?.   

Sunday - Moved onto Moquegua..strolled around the market etc 
Monday - bus to Arequipa  Tuesday - took a guided tour of the historic rich girls Monastry ..pretty good ..they had a house each and only 4 slaves 
Wednesday - got off the night bus in Puno and went straight to the docks and too a boat to the Lake Titicaca island of Amantani ... Met up with some girls and ended up staying at one of the locals ..taught the kids to play backyard  cricket. 
Thursday - Went out to the Inca ruins... looks like a basketball court to me ...Nice view though 
Friday - went across to Taquile island... tourist city ..but a nice view 
Saturday - take the train to Cusco , Gringo city or what ..I have never seen so many backpacks in one place as on this train 

In fact I tell my students to improve their English they must practice and one of the best ways to practice is to go to an English speaking country like the UK, but now I can tell my South American students just to go to Cusco. they can hear English all day
Sunday - I took a cheap guided tour to some of the local ruins....Can you believe there were 30 other tour buses. Now I know two things ..in a group you´re as slow as the slowest person and it takes twice as long if you do the tour in English and Spanish. 

Monday - walked around the town checking some of the historic sites including the main temple whose walls were covered in gold  . I hadn´t been intending to do the 3 day hike to Machu Picchu called the Inca Trail , because it sounded too touristy. But so many people recommended it  
 

 

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