Today was E and P's first full day in Cuzco. The day began with a free breakfast buffet provided by our hotel and believe me this was not the usual “continental” breakfast bullshit dished out by most hotels the world over. Plenty of fruits, yogurts, fruit juices, pastries, and some meats and I do have to say runny eggs. But all in all you got your fill and a great start to the day in addition to a money saver. The first order of the day was to visit the Inca ruins just outside of Cuzco called Sacsayhuamen pronounced “sexy woman” In addition to the usual sight seeing we also set out to get “more in shape” ;) as we certainly did not prepare as much as we should have before arrival, but with that said we were not exactly out of shape either. We made our way to the edge of town where I guess you could argue was the older section of the city, an eclectic collection of hostels, restaurants, great views, cobble stone sidewalks and roads with LOTS of steep steps. Little did I know at this point of the trip that the Incas must love and I mean really LOVE steep steps. It was a theme played out with grueling consistency almost everyday. The altitude adjustment was still lingering and after climbing these steps I frequently had to stop and catch my breath more than one might expect. Making our way up the hill we came across what I guessed to be the main entrance gate to the ruin site. A man was standing there and he began to chit chat with Elsa. I thought it was another “hey do you need to buy a tour” routine again (they are all over the place) when suddenly Elsa became gleeful with a particular wave of excitement and a twinkle in her eye which I have since learned manifests itself when anything equestrian related happens. To her delight (and mine also), the opportunity of visiting these ruins and much more on horseback became a real possibility. We conferred for a few seconds on the details of the endeavor and decided it was on and promptly then set off to follow our guide. After a 20 minute hike and in behind some mud huts here and there, we found our ponies in a coral all ready to go. Of course the horses knew their way around all too well so all you really had to do was just sit there and let it all happen. Even trying to get them to walk faster was an effort as they honestly could not be bothered what YOU wanted to do and for the most part only listened to the owner. Elsa had a grin from ear to ear the whole time. In fact she was so excited that I do believe the pony she was riding picked up on her excitement and let it be known in his own little way he he he.. Tooting all the way he was. So we went up this path, down this one etc... Our first stop was a small rocky hill where our guide bid us to dismount and follow him. He took us to an Incan cave that had been used to hide all the gold from the Spaniards back in the day. Of course they found it, but we climbed through it and popped out the other side of the hill through a small hole. Pretty cool and Elsa did well being claustrophobic and all. Back on the ponies and off to see more small ruins. Nothing too spectacular but a good ride and certainly got to see more than you would have if walking or taking a tour bus around. The saddles were NOT comfortable or well fitting at all, so after a while I actually preferred to just walk as the inside of my legs were beginning to rub raw and I was getting aches and pains in all sorts of places after almost 3 hours on this animal. Our final stop was Sacsayhuamen. The ruins bore the same treatment as other sites with the stone walls again being razed and tore down by the Spaniards and then they used the stones to build their shit. But enough was left to still see what fine stone masons the Incas really were. Stones that fit together perfectly and have withstood the test of time with many an earthquake over the centuries to remind everyone how well they built everything. After a full day of sightseeing it was back into Cuzco. Looking forward to lunch we found ourselves in a small cute restaurant/bar that actually had an Incan wall as part of its structure. A quaint place with lots of character and one we decided to return to at a later time. For the life of us Elsa and I just can’t remember the name of it. After a nice late lunch and my first taste of liquid bubble gum (Inka Kola), it was back to the hotel to relax before later that evening where a required pre-Inca trail meeting was scheduled. It was at this meeting where we would meet our guide for the walk and the other members of our group. Of course we all hope that we would be grouped with some cool people and upon our arrival it was relief to see that we would all probably get along quite welland have a great time. The group included two Aussies (Leon, Mario), three Brits (Jack, Anna, and Rebbecca) one German (Nico), One American (Elsa) and me the Paddy. There was actually another German Alex who at this point was tentative for the trail. Basically he caught some bug and had a high fever and everything that goes along with it. He ended up not going which I am sure was very hard for him. Our guide was a fellow name Romelo. A Nice mannered man with a thick accent, but we were all well able to understand him. The meeting covered about what to expect, what to bring and to be ready at 5am for pick up at our hotels for the 3 1/2 hour journey to the starting point for the trail. After the meeting we both headed out with the excited feeling that what we had been reading about, talking about and thinking about for months was just a wake up call away. As we made our way back to the hotel we stopped for a few Pisco sours just as a last hurrah before 4 days on the trail, and then some shopping to purchase essentials such as a poncho for me and what was to become Elsa’s new best friend a "walking stick" (more on that later)… Back at the hotel it was soon to bed where I set the TRUSTY ALARM CLOCK ON MY CELL PHONE for a 0400 wake up that I was sure would come sooner than later.
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