Cusco, in Peru is such a cool city. It’s cooler than cool. It’s hot, and sexy and fun and adventure filled!  I love that place. Cusco means ‘belly button’ in Quechuan, the ancient Inca language that still is spoken widely in many parts of Peru.  This fantastic city was so named because the Incas once believed Cusco to be the centre of the world.

For any fun-loving adventurous traveller, Cusco may well become the centre of your world if you let it. There is so much to do here, and so many cool people to surround yourself with that you can literally feel like no place exists outside this small valley.
 
I stayed in Cusco for nearly 2 weeks, I just couldn’t leave the place. It’s aesthetically beautiful, with a gorgeous mix of ancient Quechuan architecture and more modern colonial Spanish buildings as well. The accommodation in town is pretty average if you’re on a budget. I ended up staying in a few different backpackers as each new one I went to was just so bad. But in Cusco, you’re only in bed for a few ours each night, it’s out on the streets, in the mountains, in the bars and on the rivers where the action is!

Cusco is a tourist Mecca. All and sundry come here on their pilgrimage to the ancient Inca ruins of Machu pinch. It’s often the starting-off point for those trekking the classic Inca trail, which is exactly what it was for me. I really didn’t know much about Machu pinch before I got to Peru. In fact, at the risk of sounding like a total ignoramus, I had never even seen a picture of it! My decision to trek the Inca trail and see Machu Pichu was made on the back of a good mate’s advice.

If you’re going to see Machu Pichu you really have to trek there. Spending 4 or 5 days with a bunch of intrepid travellers and some really cool Quechuan guides and porters is the perfect way to learn about the ancient plants and architecture of the many ruins sites along the trek. Booking ahead through a tour company is a must. Try to do it a few months in advance, as they only let 500 people on it each day. It gets pretty difficult to find a place given that this is touted as one of the top must-see destinations on the planet.  I trekked with Jisa Travel Company, and they were perfect. Our guides were all native Quechuans and took us on a geographical and historical journey over our 5 days. Plus the food was great, and they seemed to treat their hard working porters very well.

Get yourself pretty fit before you attempt the Inca trail. You will finish it if you’re a lazy mama, but you’ll have a lot more fun with your new friends if you can chat with them as you’re climbing the summit of Dead Woman’s pass which is a good 4 hours up! There is also the temptation on the final night to have a few relaxing glasses with your trekking buddies, but resist. Making the 2-hour walk at 4 in the morning on the final day to the sun gate overlooking the famous site is torture when you’re a bit dehydrated and giddy. Unfortunately that’s the voice of experience providing that little warning.

I gave myself a week in Cusco after my trek to rest up after the high altitude activity and relax a bit.  My R& R lasted about a day before I became reacquainted with my Inca mates. We spent the next 6 days rafting, motor bike riding and partying till dawn in the excellent Cusco nightclubs!  If you’re looking for mischief of the South American kind, Cusco is where you want to go. There seems to be a pretty large ex-pat community who blend well with the locals so everybody is connected, and everybody knows someone who can tell you where to have a good time. Start with the Roots bar on the main drag where someone is bound to come up and say ‘hola’ of you’re sitting on your own.

So I did Machu Pichu. I saw what it looked like, loved it and moved on. Broke my arm, lost my camera, found it again, and am now on my way to Papua New Guinea to lie in the sun in Milne Bay (apparently the place that the ’90s war flick The Thin Red Line was filmed). I’ve heard it’s the perfect spot for some rancho relaxo after the adventures and brain benders of South America. It’s a hard luck life for me.

Yours in anti-malarial doxy dreams,

Kerro

Photos: from top: First two : When the clouds lift, Machu Pichu is a sight to behold. Bottom Photo: Cusco, nestled snuggly in the Peruvian highlands.