It was a long way to Cusco…
Due to an earthquake near Arequipa we had to change our route and skip Arequipa by directly hiding to Curso.
According to Peru Hop the ride should start at 6pm from Nasca and should reach Cusco by 11am – depending on traffic. Traffic was the big problem. Since also all trucks had to change there route to bypass Arequipa, the roads where crowded by them. Since the road goes trought the mountains, they often drive as slow as 15-20km/h (10mph) and due to the curvy road the bus was often not able to overtake…
The route led through beautiful areas, but unfortunately we did not stop.
So the planed breakfast between 7am and 8am lipped to 11am and it was the first toilet stop too (there is a small bathroom in the bus, but you tried to avoid it after some hours of driving…).
After the breakfast we continuite to cusco and run into a traffic jam about 15km befor Cusco. It was due to a teacher strike and the street was blocked.
After a while, the bus then took a detour to reach Cusco from the other side. Shortly after 17:00 we were finally there and got a ride by a taxi into the hotel.
Since Cusco is over 3.700m high and we have passed even higher passes, we have with all problems with the altitude. Kasia has hit the worst and least of all.
We need some days to acclimatize…
Cusco sightseeing
One block from our hotel is Quricancha – a monastery with church built over an Inca temple. Itis exciting that parts of the Inca temple are still preserved and can be visited.
The monatery with the church as model
The Inca temple as a model
The front exterior wall is part of the church and monastery walls and parts of the buildings of the temple are still preserved and integrated into the masonry.
It is unbelievable how exactly the Inca the stones have processed. These are virtually seamlessly interlaced without any bindings.
Unfortunately, in large parts it is not allowed to take photos. This applies to all the churches we have visited. When asked why, the answer was: “The churches belong to the Vatican and they have forbidden it.” We find this particularly exciting because you can take photos in the Vatican. Therefore we have unfortunately no pictures of the impressive churches – very sad!
Afterwards, we walked towards Choco Museum and found a beautiful city.
For the tour through the Choco Museum you need tickets and a reservation – so be book them to come back in a few days.
On the way back, we stumbled across the Supayshi restaurant, which mix sushi and Peruvian ingredients and recipes.
It was with the best and certainly the most interesting maki and sashimi we have ever eaten!
A few more photos on the way:
What we have seen so far from the old town was impressing. Cusco is definitely worth a trip! We are already curious about what we will see in the next few days.