Our next stop was Cusco where we took the train to Machu Picchu.

I was planning to do this all in one post, but I have way too many pictures.  So here is Cusco …..

Cusco is an interesting town – but we went from Cartagena at sea level, to Cusco at over 11,000 feet – and my body didn’t like the change.  We wandered around the town and enjoyed the views, but I ended up with a bad headache that didn’t go away until we got to Machu Picchu – at only about 8,000 feet.

Our hotels were all interesting – here’s the one in Cusco.

Again, not much to see from the street, but a big courtyard inside that was also the dining room.

The city is tucked into a steep valley, surrounded by mountains.  Many of the streets are only one car width wide…

and very steep.

More old wooden balconies.

The hillsides around the town have houses on them, and in between the roads are mostly dirt or gravel, and there are lots of bare patches.  The hills are very steep – it looks like they must have trouble with mud slides.

The park in the center of town.

Another of the main squares

We found this market off of a side street.  It was clearly a market for tourists.

It was raining, so we went in and wandered around.

Back in the square, with one of the steep hills beyond.

Back near our hotel we found the ‘real’ market – the one patronized by the locals.  It’s a covered market.

There are almost no lights inside, so everything is very dim.  But they sell everything.

We headed back to the hotel, and then, the next day, took the train to Machu Picchu.