Cusco

It was a short hop into Cusco, the regional base for Machu Picchu and the rest of the sacred valley. This is a super touristy town, but we've grown fond of those the longer we are in the road. Unfortunately there isn't great camping options here so we ended up on the edge of town, and getting there was possibly the worst road of the whole trip, and that is saying something! The appear to have dug up the road for repairs years ago and forgotten what they were doing, so it was a free-for-all to avoid the huge holes and the buses and other traffic doing the same thing.

The first day was a chore day. Elvis needed an oil change and alignment, which should have taken an hour or two but I was right to plan for it to consume the whole day! Jo got to explore the town, and the next day I made her tour guide as we admired the stupendous Incan stone work, including the famous 12 sided stone. The really important buildings have these huge blocks of stone that are beautifully worked so they mesh together without the need for mortar, and gently bulge to add to the effect. We overdosed on artisanal shops and bought way more than we should have!

The following day was another chore day as we'd run out of propane. We called first thing in the morning and arranged to meet the gas lorry 'in an hour'. By the time the Liverpool vs City Champions League game came on I was hoping he wouldn't show up for a while, and it was about 4pm before he eventually showed up. This is typical central/south america and we've pretty well got used to it by now.

We had a really nice evening hanging out with an Israeli family travelling in a huge lorry with 4 lovely kids, and a crazy Italian couple living out of their car. Overlanders come in all shapes and sizes.Read more