Cusco & Machu Picchu by Andrew

On the 18th we took a bus from Puno to Cusco. When we got there we went shopping and then went to our hotel and went to sleep.
On the 19th we went on a walk through Cusco, we saw lots of murals and churches, it was interesting. Cusco also has lots of old Inkan walls (if you want to know the difference between Inca and Inka I will tell you in three sentences, not including this one) because it was the Inka capital until the Spanish invaded, now here’s some history on Cusco. Cusco was founded by Manco Cápac around 1200 CE, the city of Cusco was made in the shape of a puma but now that the city grew bigger, so it doesn’t look that way anymore. The Inkas believed that the sun god Inti made the first eight Inkas and they chucked a golden staff and where it landed they would make a city there, thus creating Cusco. The name Cusco came from either qosqo, which means 'dried-up lake bed' or cozco, a specific stone marker in the city. The difference between Inka and Inca is that Inka is the traditional and proper way to spell it but Inca is the way the Spanish spelt it and the English way to spell it. When we walked around the city we saw a Inkan wall that had a stone with twelve sides, it was cool but it was creating a walk-way block because so many people wanted to take a picture. After that we had ice-cream and then we went back home. At night we went out for a night time walk, it was nice, we looked out from a view point and it was beautiful, after that we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.
On the 20th we went to visit Sacsayhuaman, it’s another Inkan ruin. When we got there we walked up a hill and then bought tickets and went in. We went on a little walk first to see a view point, we could see for ages, after that we went to see the actual ruins. All the rocks where carved so they fit each other, it’s like a giant jig-saw puzzle, they brought all the rock from somewhere else and some of them weighed over 100 tonnes. After that we looked around a bit more and then we went back to Cusco and then went to a museum, the museum had two mummies. After that we went to the hotel and went to sleep.
On the 21st we took a train to Aguas Calientes, it’s a city near Machu Picchu, when the train got there we got off, went to our hotel, and put our stuff down, then we went out. Now before I get onto what we did I will tell you some information on Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu is actually the name of the mountain and the name means old peak. Machu Picchu has an elevation of 2350m, the city was a place where the royals would go during the winter so basically it was a winter holiday resort for the emperor. We booked a bus and then that bus took us up to Machu Picchu. When we got up there we showed our ticket and then went in, when we got in we saw Machu Picchu, it was humongous. We climbed up a ladder a bit and then we got to a view point and saw it even better. We got up to a point and then we went down and into the main area of Machu Picchu, the house where part ruined and there were a lot of rebuilt houses. There were also lots of terraces that they would do farming on, they grew potatoes and coca plants. There were also lots of drainage pipes and there was a long fountain thing that carried the water all the way down, we walked around a lot and saw everything we could, when we finished the track we went out took the bus down went to the hotel and went to sleep.
On the 22nd we took a bus back up to Machu Picchu and this time we were taking another path, when we got up there we went through the ticket place and went in. We walked around a bit looking at Machu Picchu and then we went to a trail to get to a higher point but we couldn’t go in because we didn’t have the right ticket. While we were walking we saw an animal that looked like a possum thing run a cross then jump down so we couldn’t see it. We did a bit of research and we think it was a Viscacha. After that we went back out and then instead of taking the bus down we did a hike down the mountain, it took us an hour and 15 minutes to get down but it was cool, when we got down we found a restaurant had some food then went to the hotel and went back to the hotel. In the afternoon we went out to have a look at the city we were staying in and then found a restaurant that had Jenga and chess. We played Jenga once (mum lost) and I played chess twice (first time against Emma and the second time against mum, I dusted them both). After that we went to the room and went to sleep.
On the 23rd we took a train to a certain point and then took a bus the rest of the way to Cusco, when we got there we went and had lunch at the market and it was pretty yum, I had meat empanadas. After that we went to a tour company and booked some tours then went back to the hotel, had a movie night and went to sleep.
On the 24th we went to do a tour, the tour was a zipline tour. When we got there we put our stuff on and then we to the first one, we were going to do four ziplines and one suspension bridge. The biggest was 700 meters long, the longest zipline that’s I’ve ever done was 1000 meters long so it doesn’t break my record. When we did the first one it was so cool, it brings back that feeling of happiness. I absolutely love the feeling, we walked a bit between ziplines but it was always worth it. At the end of the zipline tour there was a big swing (not as big as the one in Victoria falls), it was, dad thinks, 10-12 meters tall. I was the first to do it and I got strapped onto the swing then sat on a little platform and then the platform dropped. It was a little scary but amazing at the same time, dad did it next. Emma didn’t want to do it but made a deal with mum that if mum did it, Emma would have to do it (and if she didn’t do it, no kindle or computer for a month). Mum did it and screamed the whole way, Emma was up on the platform but was freaking out, I went up there completely to comfort her (I mainly went up there to have another go). She got strapped into the swing and then put on to the platform but she really didn’t want to go, how do I know? Because Emma was saying “no no no no” but she didn’t have the choice really because she was already on the platform strapped in and ready to drop. And then it dropped. Emma did a really high pitch scream on the first swing but then was quiet the rest of the way, when she got off she said she loved it and was very happy she did it. After that I got another go and then Emma got another go and then we went to back in the car and went back to the hotel and went to sleep.
On the 25th we went on a tour that would visit lots of stuff, the first thing we visited was a place called Chinchero. It’s a little town where one of the Inkas palaces used to be but when the Spanish came they destroyed most of it, we could still see a bit of it and it was interesting. After that we went to see Moray, it’s a big dip in the earth that the Inkas made lots of terraces on. The Inkas didn’t dig away the mountain to make terraces, they build the terraces on the mountain because they respected the mountains shape. After that we went to a salt mine that had thousands of pools where they would fill it up and then wait till it was dry and then collect the salt, it was incredible. After that we went to Ollantaytambo, it’s an Inkan place that was made for the royals as a stop on the way to Machu Picchu and to guard Mach Picchu, there were also lots of retaining terraces. At the top they had a sun temple and near the bottom there was a water temple. I really liked the water temple because there were lots of fountains and it was really interesting. After that we went back to the car and went to another place called Pisac, it had lots of stuff to see but we didn’t have much time. Pisac is yet another Inkan construction that has four areas and a lot of terraces, one of the areas is the military area, another is the religious area, the third is an agriculture area and the fourth is the living area. There were a lot of holes in the mountain where the Inkas put there dead, apparently there’s 20,000 but we can only see 2-3000 because most are covered by nature. After that we went back to the car and drove to Cusco, we went to our hotel and then went to sleep.
On the 26th we went out for breakfast and then came back to the hotel to do lots of blogging, we blogged all the way up to today and then we went out in the afternoon to go to a traditional dance show. When we got there we needed tickets and we had them, but they were still at the hotel, dad said he would go back and get them so dad went to get them. We waited a bit and then we saw dad coming back, we showed the tickets to the ticket person and went in. When we got in we found seats and then waited for the show to start. Then the light went dimmer and talking died away, then the curtains opened, there was a band with some instruments but no dancers. Then the band started playing it was pretty good music then about halfway through the song the dancers came out and it was really cool. They played a couple of songs and every time the dancers came out in a different costume, when the show ended we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.
On the 27th we went back to visit Pisac but first let me give you some facts. Pisac is named after a bird that lives in the area, Pisac is in the sacred valley and is next to the Urubamba river. The Inkas weren’t the first to build in that places the. The Lucre and Killke where there before them but the Inkas built the main bit. When we got in we walked around and looked at everything we could see, we went on a long walk through the hills to see another part of it. My favourite bit was where there was a fountain made by the Inkas that was still working, it was pretty long and there were rocks carved to make it flow. After that we walked a long way to get down but about three quarters of the way down we saw some other people coming down and they were running, so I tried running and it was easier. When I got down I waited for the rest of my family and then when they got down we took a van back to Cusco and then went to sleep.
On the 28th we went to the rainbow mountain, it is a mountain that has lots of different minerals on it so it looks rainbow. It is 5036 meters above sea level, so that’s the highest I’ve ever been in my life (besides planes). When we got there we took quads up most of the way and then we stopped and took a walking path the rest of the way, then after only a little bit of walking I saw something white. I ran towards it, is it, is it, IT WAS SNOW. I touched and it was cold, I soon regretted touching it because the wind was blowing and my fingers were cold. We walked for ages and Emma was struggling because there wasn’t that much oxygen but when we got to the top it was worth it. The rainbow mountain was awesome the colours were so cool and there were amazing views around. Me and dad climbed to the highest point and could see the mountain really well, from up there we could see some glaciers. After that we went back down the mountain and walked all the way back, then when we got there we took quads back the rest of the way. When we got there we took a van back to Cusco and then went to have dinner then went to sleep.
On the 29th we went on a bus all the way from Cusco to Lima and it was 24 hours, which means long. When we got there we went to the hotel and went to sleep.
Andrew (10 years old)Read more