Cusco day 2

What an exciting day - got up really early after a fitful night´s sleep - the hotel is very noisy and it seems that nearly all the drivers use their horns even at night!
Daf and I had just got on tour bus to visit Urumbamba abd the Sacred Valley of the Incas when we got a call from Kath to say that Rosey had gone into labour - we spent the whole day waiting for news, and it´s only now on our return to the hotel that we have found that the baby still hasn´t arrived, but is due at any time now.
We went high into the mountains and saw some of the aftermath of the floods and landslides of earlier in the year - many people in Urambamba are still sleeping in tent-villages and there is still debris everywhere and some bridges not yet repaired after being swept away.
The Urambamba River was the sacred river of the Incas, and flows along a wide, deep valley below towering peaks of the Andes.  We went walking up to the Temple of the Sun which was the summer home of the 9th Inca king - it´s at about 3750m above sea level so it was a good test of our altitude aclimatisation. We managed the walk without too much difficulty, although it has to be said that Dafydd is a lot fitter than me and was striding ahead.
Most impressive are the walls of massive stones that are slotted together so tightly that you can´t even get a credit card between them.  This temple was destroyed by the Spanish when they arrived as it was a real symbol of power to the Incas.
Later we went to do more touristy things - like eat a long leisurely lunch and visit a local market filled with the usual craft stuff but also some wonderful local produce - fruit, vegetables, dyes, herbs, etc.
Glad to be back so I can have a shower and chill out for a while.
 
Elwyn

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