25th-26th September: Puno to Cuzco

No, it wasn't a two day trip.  We just didn't do anything on Sunday except relax, plan and book upcoming weeks, and write up the blog.

We left Puno early on Monday morning, catching the InkaExpress at 7.30; two buses each loaded full with 40 tourists, not bad for low season.  Not much in the way of suspension on the bus, which made for a bumpy ride.

Our first stop was Pukhara, around two hours north-west of Puno.  This small village is home to an archaeological site (Pukhara culture, from 2nd Century BC til 4th Century AD) and museum.  The plaza was lined with tour buses, and the museum was swamped with tourists.  There were some impressive carved stones (including "the Decapitator", stood clutching a knife in his right hand and a human head in his left), but the museum was otherwise a quick visit.  We also stopped by an imposing stone church built by the Jesuits in the 17th century, still in use by the villagers.  After a quick and strictly timed stop, we piled back into the bus.

The Pukhara museum courtyard, with the church in the background

The Jesuit church at Pukhara

Next came La Raya, another hour and a half down the road, at 4318 metres above sea level.  This was a photo stop, with stunning backdrop of snow-capped mountains.  Clem was delighted to see an Alpaca and lamb (though resisted the temptation to pay to hold the lamb).

Mountain view from La Raya, the end of the altiplano

Alpaca, alpaca jumpers/hats/gloves, and lots and lots of tourists

After another half-hour's driving, we arrived at Sicuani, our lunch stop.  By now we had descended from the altiplano into Cuzco province, and the scenery was almost immediately much more verdant.  The restaurant was merely a tourist pit-stop, but its buffet was quick and decent fare.  Another regimented 45 minutes and we were off again.

Food for tourists

Twenty minutes later we arrived at Raqchi, Inca ruins that had been partially restored.  The focal point was the remains of a large wall, which had been built to protect the important Inca stores.  We had a half-hour stroll around the fairly large site, which had a spectacular setting, although the rain cut our visit a little short.  There was also a small church, housing more paintings of armed archangels (though these were very rough and ready).

The remnants of the Inca wall

Our final stop before reaching Cuzco was at Andahuaylillas, to visit the 16th century Jesuit church of San Pedro.  The guide described it as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, due to its elaborate 17th century murals and painted wooden roof.  The comparison might have been a bit of a stretch, but the murals were certainly impressive.  When the Jesuits were expelled from Spanish lands in the 18th century, the church was taken over by the Dominicans, who added some large canvas paintings to the walls that, although not unattractive in their own right, rather ruin the effect.  It was almost as busy as the Sistine Chapel, as the guides for several tour groups whispered over each other.  Nevertheless, an enjoyable stop.

The outside of the Sistine Chapel of the Americas; no photos allowed inside

On the last stretch to Cuzco, we passed the Inca gate, used to control access to their capital.

The Inca gate to Cuzco, through a dirty bus window

We arrived at Cusco and took a taxi to our hostel; except it turned out that we were booked into Los Ninos II, not Los Ninos I, so we had to tramp one block further along. The hostel is charming, in a colonial courtyard with (creaky) wooden floorboards upstairs.  It's slightly expensive, but that is because it supports a childrens' charity that we will visit tomorrow.  More about that then.

Incidentally, Cuzco is much larger than we had expected.  We'd thought it was not much more than a jumping off point for Machu Picchu and the rest of the Sacred Valley, perhaps with a few Inca ruins of its own.  Turns out it's a large city, with broad and beautiful plazas, and plenty of Inca and colonial sights to see.  Trying to do everything in four days is going to be a bit of a squeeze.

We went for a walk around town, looking for a restaurant.  We ended up at an Aussie-owned bar, where the decor and atmosphere was comfortable but the food was not great.  Clem went for the adventurous option of Alpaca meatballs, but found them heavy and overly rich (though that might have had something to do with the passion-fruit and mint sauce).