So much seems to have happened in the last few days, that there will have to be more than one blog.
After a very early start on Monday, at 5am!! we left for Lima airport and the flight to Cusco. Lima near the coast, where it is very dry, hardly any rainfall. The water has to be brouhgt in by pipeline and the river from the Andes.
Flying to Cusco, initially it is over barren, desert type country, including the foothills of the Andes. Next come the snow capped area, and finallyit is green and lush, even though we are talking about being over 11000ft above sea level. The flight is about an hour, and we arrived to warm sunshine. This was, we found, not to last. A short bus journey took us to our very comfortable hotel in the middle of the city. Having checked in, we were advise to rest until lunchtime, to start the acclimatisation to the high altitude. No-one knows who will get altitude sickness, until it happens.
Following a light lunch, we were due to start exploring this ancient Inca city, and the very first stop was right outside our hotel, on the other side of the road. This was the monastery of the Dominicans, established by the Spanish on their arrival in Cisco, and it is built on top of a number of Inaca temples, much of which from the foundations of parts of the monastery.
The Inacs had no written language, they did not discover the wheel, and yet thye could work very hard stone to an amazing degree of perfection. They did not use mortar, as all the surfaces were exact. The stones are not cut exactly square, but are designed to interlock. The largest pieces found in this site are in doorways, and have as many as 14 faces, with each one weighing about two tons!!
When we finished with the monastery, and went outside the weather had changed, and it had started to rain. All it did for the rest of the day was get heavier and colder. This meant a change in the programme, and visits cut short. After an attempt to see one of the out of town sites, the guide gave up and a visit to the cathedral took its place. at this point the first of our number was really suffering, and had to be given oxygen. The cathedral was very interesting, but the visit was spoilt by a number in the party, who were not properly dressed, getting silly and being rather obnoxious. Eventually, we returned to the hotel to drink more of the coca tea( one of the remedies for altitude sickness), and rest before dinner.
Early bed was called for, as on Tuesday we were in for another 5am start.