Cusco The Early Days
We spent three days in Cusco before our trip to Machu Picchu. Not knowing what to expect we were wide open to the possibilities of the area. Our cab driver into town from the airport, Percy, recommended a hostel and even came inside with us to discuss possible adventures. We all agreed that the horse riding in the mountains sounded like a great idea for our second day and arranged to meet Percy at 2 PM. We spent our first afternoon exploring the area around our hostel, the Plaza and some of the small shops and restaurants in the neighborhood. On the advice of a friendly police constable we ate at a hole in the wall called Champa that was populated entirely by locals. We asked for three varied dishes and got fish, pork and beef which we all shared together. The food was great and the price was right! That evening we collapsed in our hostel after the day of travel and sightseeing.
The next day we had to go finalize our trip to Machu Picchu - pay the remainder of the cost, get the trip details, sign liability waivers and so on. By the time we had finished we barely had time to grab a bite to eat and rush to meet Percy for the Cabalgatas (horseback riding). It turned out we had just missed Percy, but another driver was waiting to take us up the hill to the horse ranch.
We drove past Incan ruins and eventually ended up at a little rocky trail with several dozen horses. The wranglers got them all ready and we were off up an improbably steep and treacherous trail. It would have been difficult for me to walk up it let alone ride, but at least I took comfort from the slow pace and relative ease of the travel. That would soon change. When we emerged onto a flatter area our guide began urging our horses faster and faster. Every time I would get mine to walk the guide would encourage it to run, several times I nearly fell. Eventually we reached a small hill with partially excavated ruins around one side and our guide told us we would have a 40 minute break. Gratefully I dismounted and collapsed on the ground.
Exploring the area we were approached and offered a tour. The women explained that this was the temple of the moon and we agreed to let her show us around. She exposed rock carvings, showed the sacrificial alter, the temple carved into a natural cave and explained a bit about the excavations. All of this for 10 Sols! By the end of our tour it was time to round up the horses again and head off.
This leg of the trip our guide was even more cruel. He would chase after Adrial and I cracking a whip and forcing our steeds to run through a forest of eucalyptus trees. Several times I was perilously close to hitting a tree as my horse zigged and zagged about. Relentlessly our wrangler forced us onward until it was clear our return journey would be about half as long as it had taken us to get up to the temple. Finally the last section of the trail came into view and our horses were forced to slow down to descend the rocky trail. We returned to town tired and pleased that we had survived.
Luckily we had one more day in Cusco to rest before we began our four day journey to Machu Picchu. We wandered around town, ate local food and took pictures. We met a guy from Spain staying at our hostel and he turned out to be a DJ. He said he had made some connections at a club across the street and would be spinning there that night. He even offered to get us on the guest list. Excitedly, Jammie and Adrial went searching for a massage and I took advantage of the sunset to photograph the Plaza de Armas. That evening we rested up and decided to go out for an hour or so before hitting the sack. The club had a line of about 50 people waiting to get into the Black & White themed party, but we skipped the line and told the doorman we were on the list as friends of DJ Zato. He parted the crowds like the Red Sea and we were in. Flying high on our new found celebrity status it took us about 45 minutes to notice that everyone in the club was between the ages of 15 and 18. Eventually everything started to click, the high school graduation dinner at our restaurant that night, the Black & White theme and the fact that the bouncer had us - the only 30ish people in there - confused for DJs; this was a high school graduation party! Asking around it turned out Zato had already left, probably to warn us of what the party was all about. Distraught we headed to bed to get some sleep for the adventure ahead.