Cusco

Finally I ended up back in Cusco. Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire until the 16th century Spanish conquest. There are still multiple Incan ruins in and around the city, but it is also a bustling city with both Spanish influences with the plaza de armas, cathedral and multiple churches other colonial buildings, as well as modern Andean culture, with a sea of low rise bulidings and streets lined with informal markets. The traffic was also horrendous and Cusco had to have the worst air pollution that I'd experienced in South America, but maybe that was just the altitude sickness speaking!

It was a beautiful city to explore, with the mountains towering behind the impressive buildings, if a little challenging considering the altitude of 3,400 metres. To get by I just drank the coca and muñeca (a relative of mint) teas, I'm honestly not sure how useful they were for that but they were certainly useful with warming me up during the freezing evenings and nights!Read more