Cuy, Parasites, snow, rain, and steps, steps, and more steps

Although uneventful, our last day in Lima saw the addition of the local delicacy, cuy, to my list of gastronimcal feats. Although as difficult to eat as quail, with the same number of bones and limited meat, I found guinea pig very very tasty.

The ancient city of Cusco, pronounced Kosko, is the oldest inhabitated city in South Americam founded in 1100. As the centre of Incan power, holding 300,000 pre=industrial inhabitants, it oversaw an empire streaching from chile, through bolivia, peru, argentina, ecuador, and southern venezuala. At it's height, the empire of 12 million were experts in agriculture, architecture, textiles, and gold and silver metallurgy. Unfortunately, the viceroy's are celebrated for their bravado and the incan empire relegated to a footnote in most peruvian schools. Today, the city encorportates the same population, but with obvious spanish colonial western influence that befits any tourist haven.

Unfortunately for me, I spent my first three days holed up in the hostal with parasites in the stomach, a throat infection, and a head cold..... nice. In the next day, I will attempt to explore Cusco.

With the throat infection starting to clear and a determination not to spend the four days with the hump up, we set of to the starting point of the celebrated inca trail. One pit stop included a stop at a local indigenous villiage. Their existance is modest, but deep in tradition and culture. Opportunities are limited, with men working the trail as porters and the women tending the farms, children, and weaving. A change in fate is only through education generally leading to tourism.

Spending a night Ollantaytambo, we visit the local ruins. Description to come....
One a side note, I first hear of the qualities of grilled alpaca, later consumed resting is cusco.... Tastes like kangaroo.

Health slightly improving, the troupe of twelve set of with our walking sticks, coca candy, coca leaves, ponchos, irrepresible guide washington, and 18 porters. Day one revealed many incan trails, fortresses, highland forests, rivers, creeks, indigenous communiuties, farms, and six hours of moderate hiking. Arriving at camp, we are greeted by our tents setup, a hole in the ground, and a fantastic dinner of fresh trout.

Day Two can only be described as a slog. 8 hours straight hiking, 16 kilometres starting at 3200 metres to 4200 at dead women´s pass, then back to 3600 was a day of scenary. Forest, tundra, glaciers, and dwarf forest. After settling in for the night, roughly five degrees below, it rained from 8pm to 8 am.



Day three we passing two mountains and incan ruins whilst our porters literally ran the trail in sandals carrying twenty kilo´s on their backs. Very difficult terrain to walk with a stick, I´m positive channel seven will start a new series called ¨When porters fall down¨. The camp site reveals our first shower and beer in three days.

Day four, wakeup call at 4am, hiking from 5:30 we rise to the sun gate, ominously lacking sun, to await the sunrise to shine on Machu Pichu, illuminating the temple of the sun.

And then we saw Machu Pichu....