Cusco With The Boys

We got to spend two days in Cusco with the boys before they left for the Inca Trail. It was a beautiful 1.5 hour flight over the Andes Mountains from Lima to Cusco. The city is a common stop for people travelling to Machu Picchu and it is a wonderful city. Very clean and friendly city in the canyon surrounded by mountains. Due to the height above sea level, the weather is very strange, as it could be 20 degrees during the day but like 3 degrees at night. I found we were constantly taking off and putting on clothes depending on whether we were in the shade or sun and the time of day.

The first day we toured the Cathedral, Main Square, the Temple of the Sun, Saksawayman ruins, Q'enqo, Tambomachay, and stopped at a local shop to learn the difference between alpaca, baby alpaca, and fake wool. I splurged and bought a gorgeous baby alpaca scarf!
























The next day we had booked an all day excursion around the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Unfortunately Andrew's mother woke up with altitude sickness/food poisoning and had to stay behind. We drove all through the mountains viewing the landscapes and enjoying the culture. We stopped in Pisaq and enjoyed their market. We got to watch men fitting stones into handmade jewelry, which was really fun. They drove us to Urubamba and had a spectacular buffet lunch in this restaurant retreat, with alpacas and macaws and beautiful scenery. We then travelled to Ollantaytambo to see a spectacular Incan ruin where the Incans actually had to transport these giant stones, weighing many tons each, from the river many kms below, up the hill to this site.

 

We stopped on the way back in Chinchero, where local women showed us how they spin their wool to make yarn and then dye it in all colours. Every colour of yarn is made from some sort of natural colouring, it was really fun. That evening the boys met up with their Inca Trail guide for a meeting. It was nice to meet him and calm our nerves - I think I speak for both Penny and myself when I say it was nice to hear that he climbs the trail one per week for the past 17 years!!!!!

 

 

 

 

That evening we enjoyed our last meal with the boys and helped them pack up all of their things. It was pretty cute to see how excited they were. The Inca Trail for both Andrew and John has been a lifelong dream and we were happy to see them begin their adventure.

xoxo
Kim