Journey to the Navel of the World (atleast the Incan World)

So what have I been doing since my last blog update you may ask, well after the jungle I continued my journey along the much travelled road towards Cusco. Having travelled these roads last year and seen the sites it was little more stopping for a break along the way with the main goal being to arrive in Cusco where I would stay for a couple of weeks, atleast until after my birthday. I did however take the opportunity to have some a bit more of the local delicacy guinea pig (cuy here) which in Puno is not only tasty but amazingly presented.

Lately I have realised that I have run out of material things that I want for my birthday and I now lean more towards trying to have experiences. With that in mind I decided that I really wanted to do the Choquequirao trek around Cusco a site that is supposedly just as beautiful but much more scarcely known than Machu Picchu, with that and the nightlife in Cusco I think this is a very suitable place to be for my birthday. This last 12 months I have particularly lucky and will count a visit to Iguazu falls (bday) and a visit to Petra (Xmas) as presents from my family – thanks guys! These places were simply amazing and I am sure that Choquequirao will continue the trend.

Arriving in Cusco immediately brought a smile to my face for as much as this is ever the gringo capital of South America it feels very much like my home away from home. The first few nights here were filled with catching up, catching up with friends I had made last visit, friends that I had made along the way and also catching up on the Cusco nightlife which never misses a beat. There are many different ways to experience Cusco and most people come here go out visit Machu Picchu and leave again which is sad because the area has some other great places to explore and anyone with a bit of time is crazy to miss out on sites such as the sacred valley.

Having visited most places last year, this time I was going to focus on Spanish classes for a week because I am feeling like I’m at the point where a week can once again make a big difference. With this in mind I moved to a much quieter hostel without any parties and focused mainly on my Spanish with the result being I am now comfortable in saying I more or less speak Spanish. It is far from perfect but I can hold a conversion and both comprehend and convey points of view. After a week of Spanish lessons it’s time to get ready to head out to Choquequirao which is comfortable enough to do in a small group without a guide which saves significantly on the normally $200 trip. Here in Cusco there are plenty of places to hire any equipment that you need so it is easy to facilitate. The trip is supposedly quite difficult but the reward at the end is that the site is so rarely visited that you supposedly will have almost the entire site to ourselves. The next week shall be the judge but I am very much looking forward to it.