Ollantaytambo

Early start: 6am alarm clock, a hurried breakfast and into a taxi to the bus stop (5S). Our bus left at 8am however we were supposed to be there an hour early - we were a bit late, turned out we could have been later. An hour seemed a bit overkill however Cruz Del Sur (55S) is quite anal! Rather than the usual chuck your bags in and climb aboard we had to check in, bags were weighed and filmed and then we were scanned and filmed. Then showed an extraordinarily long safety video. It does have a great safety record for a reason. The bus was nice though and had plenty of room, working toilets, movies and a snack.

We got to Cusco at 2:30pm, got in a taxi to the centre of town (6S) where we had planned to get a collectivo but after being swarmed by men wanting our custom, ended up in a taxi for 50S. The first taxi driver at the bus stop had tried to charge us 150S! Our driver lived at our destination and was heading home to watch the footy so maybe we got a good deal.

An hour and a half later of gorgeous mountain scenery and driving through the sacred valley, we arrived in Ollantaytambo, which is a tiny, beautiful place. We were dropped off in the main square where a party was taking place and wandered to Hostel Los Andenes (70S). We then had a wander around before having pizza and burger for dinner (40S) which we both struggled to finish. The football was being shown on a large screen in the square so there was a great atmosphere - it's the South American Cup semis: Peru vs Chile. People have been glued to their TV's for the whole competition everywhere we've been.

Ollantaytambo is lower at 2,600m and noticeably milder in the evenings however it's a bit windy and still cold! Our room has no heating or carpet and it's chilly! We are missing the warmth of the last hotel.Read more