Cuzco is fine

After another chilly night in the bus, we started the day with a quick dip. A soak in a hot pool is a nice way to wake up, despite the griminess of these particular springs.  This is definitely a local place, and we were joined by a few other folks who had the same idea.

The 3 hour drive up to Cuzco was scenic and interesting. Since we started early, we were able to see how the folks in the valley start their day. Walking the cows along the tracks, kids running to school, farmers tending the fields or hauling their harvest to markets. Not quite San Francisco.

Before long we were entering the outskirts of Cuzco. There’s a solid 10 km of sprawl along the southern entrance to the city, and it’s pretty lousy. Terrible roads, crazy drivers, ugly buildings. It’s not until you get right into the touristy colonial center that things start to look interesting.

But, this is one of the most visited cities in South America. A walk around the main plaza will get you hassled by touts hawking tours, restaurants, horse rides, etc. Walking a few blocks in either direction is the same. Every restaurant advertises pizza and every other shop sells packaged tours. I’ve heard this city described as ‘charming’ and I can’t disagree more.

The architecture is interesting – I’ll give it that. The contradiction of Spanish churches built on top of the ruins of Incan stone walls forces a little history lesson on you. If you can block out the touts, it’s worth a short walk and look around.