Part 2: Cusco… panic buying , meeting llamas, watching the altitude sickness and understanding the Incas

It’s September 15th and Nitasha’s retreat and adventure starts today. We must be in Cusco by lunchtime to acclimatise to the altitude. We must !! So we say bye to our luxury hotel in Lima with a 4.45am get up, 5.30am taxi and a breakfast box. Like corporates in the old days the senior team would never travel together and it was the same here. The chosen six (I’ll let you work out who that could be) were on the 8.05am flight and the others just a little later. Welcome to Latam airlines.

And as we land at the small airport at Cusco the Scottish one (Susan) has a moment. No one connected this with altitude sickness at the time but unfortunately that’s what it was. We wait patiently for the others in our minibus.

Cusco is considered the traditional capital of Peru – it was for the Inca Empire. It is 3400m above sea level and a start point for most who are venturing to Macchu Picchu. I thought it was a beautiful place with crazy narrow streets, some foundation stones still in place.I don’t suppose the Incas were planning for tourist mini buses that buzzed around at all hours. And drivers with no patience. Good luck to them waiting for a group 16!!

We were staying at Hotel Marqueses which is a 17th Century colonial house. It was a home from home. Sharing some pics and no I’m not on a commission.The location was perfect, within walking distance from the main city square, shops and eateries.

This is where we first were subjected (sorry introduced) to cocatea! I believe Mr G is holding a cup below. If he wasn’t drinking the stuff he was chewing it – must have helped as he wasn’t poorly. I was popping pills to help. They made your fingers and toes tingle; a minor side effect.

The weather would be fabulous in the day but the temperature would drop considerably as the evening hit. And this got everyone thinking that they needed more layers for the trekking! Fleeces, leggings, hats, gloves and scarves were being purchased by all. I believe a certain photographer even bought a coat. It wasn’t that we didn’t have the gear – we all felt we had bought “not quite the right” gear! And of course shopping felt justified for this very reason. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Nitasha had organised for us to meet a Qero Shaman and be part of a ceremony that allowed us to be blessed. We had a warm welcome and even saw some llamas/alpacas. We were also treated to a traditional dance.

After our visit we went for a meal and a little shop. Of course we did! We became very efficient at maximising any spare time to shop.

On 16th September we did various parts of the Sacred Valley. I’ll illustrate through photos as we will never get onto the next phase otherwise.

Moray is an archeological site of great importance from the Inca world. Circular terraces illustrate the complex site which is still somewhat of a mystery. Scientists believe it was used for agricultural purposes.

I believe the below is on the outskirts of Chinchero. There is church in the background built in 1607 on top of an Inca site.

We then headed to the Maras salt mines where salt has a lot of iron /pink salt and has been producing salt for over 500 years. They still mine in the traditional method.

Our last stop after lunch was the beautiful town of Ollantaytambo , again a very popular place for visitors to Peru. It is an Inca archeological site but also has the rail network so a good travel hub and a start point for the Inca Trail.

We then headed home (all that was one day!) to our hotel for the frantic packing of a 5kg bag for our 5 day trek. Seriously 5kg! But we did it. I even managed to squeeze in a tiny amount of makeup and a shewee (never used it)Must go to bed early!! We have a 5.30am start. That’s for the next part but I leave you with this blue sky….

Seema 3.11.24 (I may get it all out by Christmas 😳)