Cusco has to be one of our favourite cities! Aside from pastry eating, tea drinking, and admiring contemporary art, the last two weeks has seen us visiting over a dozen Inca monuments in and around Cusco and the Sacred Valley. We have seen agricultural monuments, ritual cleansing sites with fountains, an Inca canal, moon temples, sun temples, astronomical observatories, villages, farmsteads and military sites. You could say that we have been absolutely ruined! But I think the most curious thing about this civilization was their preference to live, worship and work at the tops of mountains. In Scotland (and Canada for that matter) most of the interesting archaeology tends to be on the coast, in valleys or by rivers. Not so for those wily Incas! The amount of hiking up and down steep mountains and along precipitous cliff edges has been astounding! We have had a few moments of terror over the last week, especially at Wayna Picchu clambering up a near vertical cliff on a rickety ladder followed by a tiny Inca staircase with only a dodgy rope and our wits to hang on to! For the claustrophobic amongst you, there have been tiny narrow cave tunnels on cliff edges to clamber through. The type of exploring that little kids (and big kids) live for... 
On the big day we awoke to torrential rain and cursed our luck, but plodded on to get to the bus station by 5am. Although this sounds ridiculous and is ridiculous, it is necessary in order to secure one of the 400 coveted tickets to climb Wayna Picchu and explore the Temple of the Moon. We were completely soaked by 10am and feeling despondent. Even Lydia had a scowl on her face! However, our decision to persevere and stay a full day at the site paid dividends. After lunch, the clouds lifted and the sun beat down on a now transformed site. We were dry in no time and before long we were buzzing round the site like a couple of crazed Tony Robinsons! Leon was determined to explore every inch of Machu Picchu..... Inca Bridge, check. Sun gate, check. Wayna Picchu, check. Temple of the Moon and a 2 1/2 hour terrifying hike, check. By the end of this escapade we were completely exhausted, but elated as we had just spent one of the most memorable days of our travels in a truly awe-inspiring place. We finished the day soaking our aching muscles in the hot springs of Aguas Calientes and gorging ourselves on Machu Pizza! 
Our Cusco tourist ticket had kept us fairly busy and we managed to visit 14 of the 16 sites that you pay a hefty privilege for. However, the burning issue of Machu Picchu still remained and time was ticking on our Peruvian visas. The thought of paying 300 USD for an ´Inca trail experience´ seemed excessive and obscene after our volunteering in Pisco, and Leon being Leon, was determined to do it as cheaply and as independently as possible. We had also found out that Peru Rail which has the monopoly on the Machu Picchu train journey is owned by the Bermuda based luxury brand ´Orient Express Hotels ´ which means that we were even less inclined to pay the extortionate prices for this short ´luxury´ journey. Instead of getting the train we decided to hike along the railway line for free! Although this is technically illegal we saw many other travellers doing the same thing. The walk along the jungle lined railway was spectacular. We encountered a myriad of giant butterflies, flowers and insects and as day turned to night fireflies lit up our path. We arrived in Aguas Calientes about two hours later to find a touristy town set amid stunning mountain scenery. There was a definite air of desperation about the place as supply seemed to be outstripping demand. After a briefing from the tour guide we hit the sack ready for a 4:30 am start.
On the big day we awoke to torrential rain and cursed our luck, but plodded on to get to the bus station by 5am. Although this sounds ridiculous and is ridiculous, it is necessary in order to secure one of the 400 coveted tickets to climb Wayna Picchu and explore the Temple of the Moon. We were completely soaked by 10am and feeling despondent. Even Lydia had a scowl on her face! However, our decision to persevere and stay a full day at the site paid dividends. After lunch, the clouds lifted and the sun beat down on a now transformed site. We were dry in no time and before long we were buzzing round the site like a couple of crazed Tony Robinsons! Leon was determined to explore every inch of Machu Picchu..... Inca Bridge, check. Sun gate, check. Wayna Picchu, check. Temple of the Moon and a 2 1/2 hour terrifying hike, check. By the end of this escapade we were completely exhausted, but elated as we had just spent one of the most memorable days of our travels in a truly awe-inspiring place. We finished the day soaking our aching muscles in the hot springs of Aguas Calientes and gorging ourselves on Machu Pizza!
Our time in Peru is almost at an end as tonight we head to Copacabana on the shore of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. We are excited about travelling to the Tibet of the Americas but we will really miss this wonderfully diverse and fascinating country. We were also heartened to hear that Mark Beaumont (the crazy Scottish cycling dude who recently circumnavigated the globe on a bicycle) dropped in to Pisco Sin Fronteras during his latest challenge to cycle the length of the Americas, you can read about his experience in Pisco by clicking on the following link:
Lastly, please find a small Christmas present below which we found in the Jungle just below Machu Picchu.....
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