Cusco

Our bus arrived in Cusco around 4pm and we wandered to our hostel from the station just beating a rainstorm. The hostel is pretty big with a lot of people staying there and so has a good atmosphere. After reading about an English pub which had marmite and real tea, we decided to brave the rain and go look for it for food. After about 45 minutes of walking up and down the same street in the pouring rain and asking numerous people where we could find it, it became apparent that it had in fact closed down, so we went back to the hostel and ate in the restaurant there before chilling out and going to bed. 

The next day was spent just walking around and exploring the city. Our hostel is in the historic centre and there's plenty to see. In the evening the hostel was hosting a neon party which we were more than happy to attend. We were all given free hats, glow sticks and paint and also shots. It was a very good night. 

The next day we were feeling a little fragile to say the least. However we both had a cooked breakfast and went for walk. We didn't do much else except chill out at the hostel and watch tv. In the evening we went to the BBQ the hostel was doing, which was very nice. 

Our main task for the Monday was to sort out paying the rest we owed for our Inca trek. This turned out to be a little more difficult than we had hoped as the ATMs only allowed you to withdraw a limited amount and we also had a limit on the amount of withdrawals we can make in 4 days on our cash card. However once we sorted it, we then headed to Peru Treks to pay and receive a briefing from one of the guides about what the trek would involve. It became clear that the trek was going to be quite a challenge and made us regret not hiring a personal porter, although we were reassured that it was still doable. The rest of the day was spent looking around for a decent supermarket and relaxing at the hostel. 

The Tuesday was a little more productive as we decided to walk up to the Christ statue which overlooks the city. After walking up some pretty steep streets, we were stopped by some guys, who were nice at first, but then it became clear that they just wanted to sell us a horse riding tour. A little further up the road we came to the entrance of the national park. We successfully convinced the guard that we only wanted to visit the statue, which was free, and he let us on our way. The path up the hill was cobbled and it too was steep with plenty of steps. Some good practice for our trek. We eventually reached the top where the statue stands, after venturing through fields and over a wall, avoiding llamas, to get there. The view was impressive and made the journey worthwhile. 

After the workout of the walk, we found a vegan restaurant to have lunch. The food there was ridiculously good, even for a meat eater. The evening was similar to the last where we just chilled at the hostel. 

We decided to take part in the walking tour on Wednesday. It was quite good, although they seemed to miss a lot of what the leaflet said they'd cover. However it was still interesting and we saw some nice areas of the city as well as stopping in the chocolate museum. 

Our last day before our trek was spent sorting our stuff and picking up any last bits and pieces we thought we might need or were recommended to get. These included a waterproof poncho, which were stupidly big, and snacks. We managed to find a shop that sold dairy milk chocolate, twix and skittles so we were all set. So after packing all our things and ensuring we had all we needed, we had an early night as we were due up at 4:45 ready to be picked up between 5:20 and 6:00, to start our 4 day trek to Machu Picchu.