To Cusco

On Wednesday, April 13th, we were up by 5:30 and got a taxi to the airport by 6:30 to be sure we got there in time for our 8:45 flight to Cusco. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed so we had more time than we needed and we sat in the airport for an extra 3/4 of an hour or so. We had left too early to get breakfast at our hotel so we paid the airport price for a coffee to feed Anita's addiction and shared a granola bar. Neither of us had slept well so we were a little punchy.
It was a short flight to Cusco and it didn't take long to get our luggage amid the chaos and find a taxi. Cusco, like Arequipa and Lima, is very busy and many of the streets are narrow, steep and winding. The taxi dropped us off at the alley to our hotel. Even the street at the end of our alley is just 1 narrow lane and a sidewalk that fits one person at a time. At the intersections, we've counted as many as 6 cops directing traffic, even when there's a stoplight. If we hadn't already been to South East Asia we might think this was crazy.
We checked into the Casa de Mama Cusco Recoleta that we had reserved for 2 nights. After reading our Lonely Planet guide, we got a map from the hotel and headed for a Peruvian restaurant that wasn't too far away. We were so tired and hungry we could hardly figure out the menu. However, in the end we got a great meal of stewed lamb, rice. beans and a sweet red onion salad for a very reasonable price. That revived us enough that we could walk around a bit to get orientated. At the municipal office we bought a tourist ticket that entitled us to visit over a dozen sites in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, as it's called, for 130 soles each ($52 CA). It seemed expensive but in the end we'll make good use of it.
For the rest of Wednesday and Thursday we just wandered around Cusco, which has another beautiful central plaza and historic district. Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire and there are still many fine examples of Inca stonework. There has been a resurgence of indigenous pride and many street signs are now in the Quechua language instead of  in Spanish.
On Thursday morning, we followed the Lonely Planet self-guided walking tour and ended up having a great vegetarian lunch in the San Blas district. San Blas is an area of steep little streets lined with art shops and little restaurants. We took a picture there of Anita standing in front of a fence with cactus planted in mud on the top. Peruvians use this for security instead of spikes or electric fence. Later in the afternoon, we bought bus tickets on a fancy bus to Puno for the next week, for only 67 soles each ($25+CA). It's a 7 1/2 hour ride so we might as well go in style.
When it started to rain Thursday afternoon, we visited an art museum and a museum of history that were included in our tourist ticket. Although our record of dealing with indigenous people in Canada is deplorable, the Spaniards in South America were even worse. Absolutely ruthless. And assisted by the Church, of course.
Back at our hotel, we separated our stuff so that we could leave our big packs in storage there and only take our day packs for our 3 night trip to Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo.