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Retun to Ecuador 1999

April 11th, Tuesday Arriving at Cuzco airport we were swamped with people wanting to take us to their hotel. I spotted my name on a sign and realized the woman at the Lima airport had contacted her friend in Cuzco to meet us. We had decided on the hotel we wanted to go to but went with her in the taxi she had available. Same price we would have paid on our own. We booked into the Hostal Suecia II at Teqsicocha 465. It had a nice interior courtyard. The room was not fancy but OK and it was very secure. It was also very near to the Plaza de Armas.

There are many places to eat both on Plateros and on the Plaza. The waiters come out on the street to entice you into their place. We succumb to a friendly young woman and go up the stairs to a restaurant on the Plaza des Armas. The food is good and we can sit at the window looking out over the Plaza

We go to the SAS travel agency to make arrangements for our trek on the Inca trail. We want to do the shorter two day hike. If we go with just the two of us it will be $95.00 Am. each. We can wait and see if more people want to do the short trek like we do and it would only cost us $65.00 each. We would get off the train at km 104 instead of km 88. We will spend one night in the hostal on the mountain. This will cost us $10.00 more.

We decide to wait until Wednesday to make our decision. We want a few days to acclimatize as Cuzco is around 11,000 feet and we can notice the difference, especially when we walk up hill

April 12th Wednesday
On Wednesday the agent at SAS tells us there are some other people who want to do the short hike on Friday. We decide to wait until then. There are many churches and interestong sites to visit so we can enjoy ourselves until then. There are internet places on the Plaza des Armas and we send e-mail home nearly every day. It is easy and cheap to do and they like hearing from us.

We decided to walk to the Sacsayhuaman ruins to-day. This was the site of an important battle between the Spanish and the Inca in 1536. It is also believed to be the head of the Cuzco puma, the figure in which the Inca Pachacuti is said to have designed the city.

We walked up through the steep streets of Cuzco. As we approached the outskirts of the city the sky opened up with a torential rain storm. Lucky for us we were right by the church of San Cristobal where we were able to find shelter from the storm. I had bought some food from a street vendor on the corner and forgot my map at the stand. I had to dash back in the rain to get it. The church was under renovation as most of the churches in Cuzco are, because of the many earthquakes in the area. There were other tourists, an English couple who had been in Bolivia, but because of the transportation strike there, had to come to Peru and then fly to Chile to go home. Some natives were also seeking shelter there.

As we struggled up the steep slopes two young Europeans passed us with apparent ease. There were quite a few tourist who had come on tour buses or cars up there. Some native people dressed in traditional outfits to take pictures of for a price. The site is huge.

Walking around the city we come to this old Inca foundation wall up a steep street behind the cathedral. It is a wonderful example of the Inca builders work. Huge stones fitted together.

Everything seems calm here in Cuzco with lots of tourists around. There have been a few demonstrations concerning the elections. There is a rumour that the elections were rigged in favor of Fujimori

Sent e-mail then had pizza at a cafe on Plateros. Nice little cafe and very good pizza. A group of musicans come in and start playing local music. We listen for awhile but are tired and leave for our hotel and bed.

April 13th Thrusday

We spend the day exploring more of the sites in the city. A young boy approaches me selling post cards. These children are all over the square doing this and I usually dont stop for them. This one caught my attention saying "My name is Tom Cruise". I could not resist and bought some cards and ended up giving the other boy with him some money too. I have read that some of these children are supporting their families this way.

Every afternoon a thunder storm seems to develop and pours rain for a short time. Hope it does not rain on the trail tomorrow.

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Retun to Ecuador 1999